Vancouver Island Professional & Spectator Sports

Spectators at a hockey game, Tourism BC/Kevin Arnold photo

Thanks to a mild climate, residents enjoy outdoor sporting action year-round. Golf is especially popular, with tournaments hosted by many of the region's courses in June and July. Mt. Washington holds skiing and mountain biking competitions in winter and summer respectively. The Edge-to-Edge Marathon, voted one of the "Top 3 Events in Canada," is run every year on the second Sunday in June.

Despite the lack of snow and ice here, Vancouver Islanders are just as obsessed with the game of hockey as people in frostier parts of Canada. Junior "A" Hockey League teams such as the Nanaimo Clippers, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, the Cowichan Valley Capitals and the Victoria Salsa, draw crowds from September to March.