#Canadian National Championships

[canadachronicles]

Talk about going out with a bang! It moved me to tears watching Keegan Messing skate this program, the emotion he obviously felt doing it, and shared with us, as generously as ever, and the public’s reaction! He’s just such a sweet young man and a beautiful skater, and I got chills watching this on telly! I sure will miss him on the ice too, but what a last dance that was!

[sywtwfs]

Viewing information for the European and Canadian Championships is now available on our website.

[starpillowww]

Kom så Denmark!

[allieebobo]

College Tennis: Origin Story

Demo | Characters | Dev log | Ko-fi

Tennis/Sports x Slice-of-life x College x Found-family x Coming-of-age x Coz

Experience the ups-and-downs of life as a freshman on the Cargill University varsity tennis team amongst a colorful cast of characters.

Compete in nail-biting singles and doubles matches, forge lifelong friendships, pursue budding romances and make a name for yourself, both on and off the tennis court.

Will the once-great Cargill Coyotes succeed in reclaiming the NCAA Div I championship title for the first time since the 90s? Will you come into your own as a promising young tennis star, primed for the professional leagues? Most importantly, how much are you willing to sacrifice in pursuit of these dreams?

Full character customisation

Customise your gender, height, build, personality, physical appearance, languages spoken, tennis style, dominant hand, and more!

Strike a balance between: tennis, keeping up a rich social life, and maintaining your grades

Nail-biting tennis matches

Every match is different! Play matches throughout the fall and spring seasons, leading up to the NCAO championships—that is, if you make the Cargill team.

Intricate tennis game mechanics: Factors such as your condition/energy, preparation for the match, opponent's play style, doubles partner chemistry, as well as your choices at key junctures of the match etc. will affect the outcome of the match!

Craft your own distinctive playing style and make a name for yourself on the tennis court

Hone your strength, agility, finesse, serve-and-volley skill, and endurance over the course of the game!

Romance four possible characters

Rayyan Afiq, the gruff, hot-headed no. 1 seed

Guillaume/Geneviève Lavigne, the sardonic international student on your floor

Tobin Harris, the warm, unflappable team captain

Sam O'Connelly, your nerdy and spirited high-school best friend

And forge lifelong friendships with many more...

Rayyan Afiq The rival

Gender: Follows the gender of your team Age: 20 Nationality/Ethnicity: Egyptian-American

Student information: Junior, Anthropology major Player information: Vice-captain, No. 1 position, Aggressive Baseliner

Appearance: 5′6 (f) or 5′10 (m). Lean, athletic build. Dark, wavy curls, and thick sweeping eyebrows over piercing dark-olive eyes. Tawny, honey-brown skin.

Description: Surly, intense, and proud. Ambitious and driven to excellence in everything they do. Willing to give up almost anything for their tennis career. Has a soft-spot for cats. Loves organising things, has a plan for everything, and dislikes surprises.

Tobin Harris The captain

Gender: Follows the gender of your team Age: 20 Nationality/Ethnicity: African-American

Student information: Junior, History major Player information: Captain, No. 2 position, All-court player

Appearance: 5′9 (f) or 6′1 (m). Tall, solid build. Short black hair, warm, brown eyes and a calm, assured demeanour. Dark bronze skin. A smile that lights up the room.

Description: Kind, laid-back, selfless, and sociable. Goes out of their way to make everyone feel welcome, but has a tendency to stuff down their own emotions in the process. Surprisingly private and cautious when it comes to their own desires/wishes. Gentle to a fault, steadfast and unflappable. If not playing tennis, probably can be found cooking, hanging out with friends, or going to the library.

Geneviève/Guillaume Lavigne The exchange student

Gender: Gender selectable (f/m) Age: 20 Nationality/Ethnicity: Half French (father's side), half French-Canadian (mother's side)

Student information: Third year exchange student, Political science bachelor’s degree. Hall-mate.

Appearance: 5′6 (f) or 5′11 (m). Toned, supple build. Dark, tousled hair with fair skin. Smoky grey eyes, with a smattering of freckles. Permanent half-smile.

Description: Rarely excited or enthusiastic, always armed with a dry remark. Slightly cynical, but softer than they look. Very intelligent, though they don't often let on what they're actually thinking or feeling. Rich (and intensely private) inner world.

Sam O'Connelly The childhood best friend

Gender: Gender selectable (f/m) Age: 18, Freshman Nationality/ethnicity: American

Student information: Freshman, Undecided major. Player information: No. 6 position for the UCLA Bruins

Appearance: 5′4 (f) or 5′8 (m). Trim build, with a small frame. Curly russet hair that often sticks out in all directions. Mischievous light blue eyes and an infectious smile.

Description: Excitable, with a chaotic positivity that radiates from them like sunshine. Fun-loving and scattered, and nerdy. Competent tennis player, but too often distracted by other hobbies and interests. Somehow manages to survive on a diet of Cheetos and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

More character descriptions here, face-claims here.

[billybob598]

No Idea Who They're Dealing With (Trinity Rodman x Reader)

Ummm, it's like 1am and I just banged out like 2k words?!?!? This was requested by a lovely anon (hope this is kinda what you wanted). I'm gonna go have a nighttime snack real quick so, byeeee. As always, any feedback good or bad welcome. Enjoy!

Word Count: 2k (actually it's like 1987 but that's basically 2k so fuck it)

You hated Trinity Rodman. With a passion. She was always getting the best of you, no matter how hard you tried she always seemed to be one step ahead. The rivalry between the two of you went back to your U-18 days. You played for Canada during the U-18 World Cup, in that tournament you had really shone, putting yourself at the top of the list for up-and-coming Canadian soccer players. While you had done well, Trinity had done even better. You never played against the USA in that tournament, but she beat you out for the Golden Boot and the Player of the Tournament award. 

The next time your rivalry was rekindled was in the U-20 CONCACAF Championships. Both Canada and the US came top of their groups, respectively. In the semi-finals, the two teams faced off. It was a pretty physical game. Tackles were flying in left and right. Numerous cards were given out. Throughout the match, you and Trinity had been at each other’s throats. It started with just some shoving. Then, it escalated to pulling on each other’s jerseys. The tackles kept getting dirtier and dirtier. It didn���t help that Canada was 2-0 down. At one point, you were both going for the ball, you thought you had definitely beat her to it when you felt a cleat connect with your ankle. You screamed out. Toppling to the ground while clutching your ankle, you knew it was bad. Like, tournament ending bad. With your face buried in the grass, you can hear loud voices, presumably your teammates who had come to defend you. The whistle was being repeatedly blown, but all you could focus on was the immense pain shooting through your leg. 

Trinity was horrified. She hadn’t meant for that to happen. Of course, she was getting frustrated with the physical battle between you. But she really hadn’t meant to hurt you. She had never seen you in so much pain. Your reputation preceded you, everyone knew that you were tough and that if you went down something must be seriously wrong. A number of your teammates came to your aid. They shoved Trinity and got all up in her face. She tuned all of them out, though, preferring to watch the trainers as they started feeling your ankle. When you were on your feet and limping off the field, she wanted to go over and apologize, but one of her teammates dragged her away before she could. 

You had ruptured your Achilles tendon. It took almost six months before you stepped on a soccer pitch again. While Trinity was off becoming a star in the NWSL, you were sitting in physio, fuming. It was mentally and physically exhausting to return to full strength. And when you finally returned you tore it up. At UCLA you established yourself as one of the best players in college soccer. Bev Priestmann was impressed enough to give you a call-up for your first-ever senior national team camp in 2021.

Now, heading into the 2023 SheBelieves Cup you’ve become a regular on the national team. You had played against Trinity a couple of times, but you had tried your best to just ignore her presence altogether. It most certainly confused Trinity. She thought you would be pissed at her and that you would hold a grudge forever. You hadn’t. Actually, it was like Trinity didn’t even exist anymore in your world. Within the Canada camp, there was a lot of things going on. The players, yourself included, were in a dispute with Canada Soccer. Everyone had decided to wear their practice shirts inside out to protest, among other things. Heading into the opening match against the USA, the battle between players and federation was anyone was talking about. Janine and Christine had done an interview with TSN, you hadn’t even spoken publicly about the job action, other than putting the players’ statement on your Instagram. Yet, you were on the receiving end of all the blame coming from Canada Soccer. There had been multiple interviews and statements by Canada Soccer officials and they all stuck to the same narrative, your arrival in the past year or two had changed the mindset within the team. You were the root of this. If it had not been for you, everyone would have been happy still, and the team would not be asking for something that was impossible. You chose to handle this with class, not wanting to stir the pot anymore, you did not respond to those comments. 

The USA had watched all of this happen in complete shock. First of all, the fact that a job action had to be put in motion in the first place. Considering you guys were Olympic champions everyone thought you would have earned a little more respect from your federation. Second, you specifically were enduring most of the public bashing. It was absolutely insane for Canada Soccer to put this all on one player, especially you. This entire fiasco made Trinity’s blood boil. No way they thought they could actually get away with blaming you. When asked by the Canadian team if they would join in making a pre-match protest, they of course agreed.

Soon enough, the two teams were standing in the tunnel, preparing to step out on the pitch. There had been a few hugs given out among the different players. Rapinoe had said some encouraging words to you as she passed by. You didn’t realize how much you needed to hear them until you started to tear up. As the US lines up alongside you, you try your best to not let anyone see the emotion overcoming you. All of a sudden, you feel a hand land on your shoulder. Looking over, you’re surprised to see Trinity Rodman giving you a warm smile.

“Hey, you’re doing a really good job, don’t let them get to you,” Trinity says softly to you. You wipe at your eyes before mumbling out a quick “thanks.” She removes her hand and you immediately miss the contact. Before you can say anything more to her, the refs have started to move forward, with the teams following close behind. The cameras start to click rapidly as Canada’s national team appears wearing the purple “Enough is Enough” shirts. After the anthems, the two teams form a heart around the centre circle. You end up standing beside Trinity. The taller woman’s hand lands on the small of your back, sending shivers up your spine. She notices this and smirks at you. 

That entire game, Canada looks flat. You guys looked like a team that was mentally exhausted, which you were. It was only through pure determination that you were able to put your name on the score sheet. The game finished as a 2-1 US win, it probably should have been more.

When the game ends, you and the rest of the team refuse to do any media and head straight back to the locker rooms. Trinity ends up at the ESPN panel, standing alongside a man she doesn’t recognize and the hosts. It’s only when the hosts introduce the man as the Vice President of Canada Soccer that she realizes what’s going to happen. This was definitely set up by Canada Soccer to continue putting down the players. The hosts ask Trinity a few questions about the match before they address the elephant in the room. For a bit, Trinity thinks that maybe she was wrong. Maybe the vice president wasn’t here to blame the players, maybe he was just here to try to appease the public or something. He wasn’t saying anything too controversial, mostly trying his best to deflect, saying he can’t comment and things like that. For a few minutes, everything is going okay. Until it isn’t.

“Obviously, we only want our women’s teams to thrive. They have shown just how world-class they can be playing against some tough opponents. We just think that some of the demands they’re making are unreasonable. It’s possible that Y/N Y/L/N has gotten some far-reaching goals inside of her teammate's heads. Before, the team was making reasonable demands and we were happy to negotiate with them,” the vice president says with such contempt that Trinity doesn’t know how such an asshole can be elected for anything. 

“Interesting…” ESPN’s host slowly starts to say before Trinity jumps in.

“Or maybe, you guys have just been taking the entire team for push-overs and they, including Y/N, have finally realized their worth. That they are deserving of more than just whatever you have left in the bank account. Also, if you’re going to start publicly bashing Y/N, then you better know that she’s not going to back down without a fight and that she is going to come at you guys with everything she has. You have no fucking idea who you’re dealing with.”

This leaves everyone on the panel in a little bit of shock. Trinity decides that she doesn’t feel like being interviewed anymore. She gives the mic back and then walks off, not having the slightest clue about why she did that. As she gets closer to the US locker room, she stops in her tracks when she hears a voice.

“What the hell did you do that for?” She takes a deep breath before turning around to be met with your beautiful face.

“Uhh, I don’t know,” she stutters out.

“Trinity, you just blew up at a Canada Soccer official and swore on national television. You must know why.” There’s something about how her name sounds coming off your tongue that drives Trinity crazy. 

“Y/N…” she starts as she takes a step towards you. You can feel a blush creeping up your neck as the space between the two of you closes.

“Yeah?” Your voice comes out small and it only encourages Trinity. She takes another step closer, at this point you’re chests are close to touching. Trinity is looking down at you with a smirk that makes your knees weak. It doesn’t help that she’s got probably five inches on you so, you feel incredibly small this close to her.

“I’ve never really hated you, y’know?” Her voice is so smooth, it makes your stomach do flips.

“Oh yeah?” You say not daring to take your eyes off of hers. She starts to lean in slowly. 

“Yeah,” she whispers against your lips before connecting them. Her hands go to your waist, pulling you as close as possible to her. Your fingers find their way into her hair, giving it a light tug. Her lips were like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. They were soft and perfect and moved perfectly against yours. You couldn’t believe what was happening, not too long ago you swore you hated her, but now, she was too good of a kisser to even think about hating her. Soon, you both pull away. She leans her forehead against yours.

“When do you guys leave for the next game?” The American asks quietly.

“I think two days from now,” you reply, “why?”

“Do you want to go on a date with me, say tomorrow?” You can’t help the grin that takes over your face.

“Thought you’d never ask.” You kiss her one last time before entangling your fingers with hers. “I’m not sure you have any idea who you’re dealing with, though,” you joke. Trinity just laughs.

“Trust me, I know exactly who I’m dealing with,” she says with a chuckle. You smile one last time at her before moving to head back to your own locker room. But, she pulls you back and presses a firm kiss on your forehead, then she decides you are free to go. 

When you were named to the World Cup roster, the first person you called was your girlfriend.

“The world has no idea who they’re dealing with, babe.”

[lil-shiro]

Some Lance (+ Fernando) Lore

If you didn't know, Lance and Nando have *technically* been on a podium together!

On June 9, 2010, the Wednesday before the Canadian Grand Prix - Scuderia Ferrari organized a karting race for the whole team, all the staff from Maranello were invited.

During that week, Ferrari also announced that Lance had been signed to the FDA, the youngest person to ever do so even til now. He won the Canadian national championship - Rotax Mini Max and Florida Winter Tour that same year.

From Ferrari's press release: This friendly tournament organized by the team at an indoor venue a few minutes from the centre of Montreal, brought together engineers, mechanics, catering crew and logistics, with every competitor getting two chances to race. At the end of an unforgettable evening, with a very unexpected grid, the twelve fastest took part in a race with a standing start. 

Lance finished P2 in that kart race.

Pics from the event!

First pic is Lance, second pic Nando is there in the black shirt

Pics from the same weekend

Bonus: this is the race where Lance was in the Ferrari garage and got broadcasted during quali (watching his future teammates)!

[figureskatingcostumes]

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir skating their original dance at the 2007 Canadian National Championships and, with a different flower, at the 2007 World Championships. Their music was Luis Bacalov's Assassination Tango.

(Sources: 1 and 2)

[kxlitz]

HIII can you please do bill with a ice hockey player s/o it can be smut if you want p.s: I LOVE YOUR WORK😍❤️❤️

That’s sweet! While I am canadian I don’t know too much about Ice Hockey so I’m basing myself off players in my entourage and research. I’m sincerely sorry if I got something inaccurate in there !!

I’m sorry if this was short by the way!!

NSFW UNDER THE CUT

❅ Bill Kaulitz & Ice hockey player ❅

Setting the record straight, Bill is not an athletic person. The most you will get from him are walks and the occasional at home workout. He would rather die than run a mile so he finds it so fascinating that you found passion in a sport.

He sometimes wishes he had the skills to play with you or to simply enjoy sports in general. He likes watching soccer so there’s a chance for him to enjoy other sports for sure!

Is willing to make the effort and learn the rules to understand what goes on better.

He will show up to every match and he means it. If you were to live in a different country he would ask your match schedule and squeeze any important championship into his own busy schedule.

Bill will literally ask you if he can bring the band with him and sing your national anthem.

If he can’t well, he will still stand up and proudly sing your anthem because it’s yours and symbolizes your victory and he loves everything about you.

Will bring his mom to your games too <3

Screams the LOUDEST.

Your number one cheerleader, really.

(2023 Bill would be willing to wear a cheerleader fit even.)

Once the match is over Bill will run down and wait for you besides your coach, with a towel and water bottle at hand.

He will sit around the rink during your practice and make funny faces when you pass by to make you laugh.

It made you bumb against your teammates a couple of times, he’s sorry. But will continue doing it.

Your coach has definitely kicked him out before lmao.

He will always offer you massages if you’re sore after training :)

For some reason he really seems to be someone that gives an amazing back massage.

Oh this man is CRAZY about your muscles.

He melts when he sees your back flexing.

Will come behind you and trail kisses down your spine.

Hand on your thigh. ALL.THE.TIME.

Oh you will definitely catch him staring at your ass.

Likes to be the little spoon so he can be all wrapped up in your strong arms and, especially, your legs :)

₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡ ₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡ ₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡ ₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡ ₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡

••••••••••••••••NSFW AHEAD••••••••••••••••••

It’s a fantasy of his to fuck you in a closet after or during a match.

You just look so cute and flustered. Once your helmet’s off and your hair is all ruffled he can’t help but imagine all the things he’d do to you.

Or that he wants you to do to him.

The second you’re off the rink. Something about how you look all sweaty and tired is such a turn-on.

Would love to fuck you in your gear but it’s kind of unpractical unfortunately :(

The same way that he wants to innocently be wrapped around your arms and legs, he wants you to wrap those thighs around his head as he eats you out. Don’t be afraid to squeeze, he loves it.

He could spend hours on end between your legs, doesn’t care if you’ll be late to practice.

He will be there until you quiver.

Speaking of practice, you bet you’re on for lazy morning sex before practice. Your alarm woke him up at 4:30 in the morning now you have to make it up to him.

Oral fixated Bill is my fav.

PULL. HIS. HAIR.

You will be left with handprints on your hips from how hard he grips you when you ride him.

He is so sensitive.

Runs his hand up your thigh, soft like a feather.

He loves feeling your muscles flex.

I genuinely don’t know how to continue this, his sex habits don’t really change depending on what you do in life. It’s mostly little bonuses that come with your sport <3

[boxboxblog]

Driver Profiles: Lance Stroll

Hello, this is part of a series where I focus on one driver on the current (as of Oct 2024) grid and give an overview over their career and driving styles. I will be going in championship points order. Enjoy!

Name: Lance Strulovitch

Age: 25

Nationality: Canadian

Years in F1: 8 (Williams 2017-2018, Racing Point/Aston Martin 2019-Present)

Number: 18

WDCs: N/A

Driving Style: Stroll is know to have a rather reactive and sensitive driving style. This sensitivity means that he his highly tuned in to his car, and can easily analyze if anything is wrong with the setup, which is very helpful for his team. He is also a driver who takes corners at high speeds, allowing himself to gain seconds where other driver lose them. In general he pushes to the limits, and so this paired with his sensitivity makes him a great driver to develop a car around. He tends to take much more risks than other drivers do, which has led to some stand out performances. The negative side of his style is that his aggression in turns can sometimes be sacrificed for precision, meaning he is prone to crashing in tough battles around corners. He has also been criticized as being over eager in overtaking situations and pushing the card too hard, leading to contact or lost positions.

History:

Stroll is the son of Canadian Billionaire Lawrence Stroll, and started karting at the age of 10 in 2008. He would win multiple races and championships in North America, and won rookie of the year in 2008. That same year, Stroll won the Italian Open Masters 60cc category, showcasing his natural talent and determination. 2 years later, he became the youngest champion in the Florida Winter Tour - Rotax Max Junior category, impressing the racing community and garnering European attention. He would become a Ferrari Academy Driver in 2010. In 2013 he had a breakthrough year, winning the CIK-FIA European Championship - KF category, his first real foray into intense European competition.

(Stroll in his karting days)

In 2014 he debuted in car racing, at the Florida Winter Racing Series. he would have positive results, achieving multiple podiums and pole positions. Stroll took part in the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, and despite missing the final round due to injury, Stroll emerged as series champion, taking seven race wins, thirteen podium finishes, and five pole positions.

(Stroll on top step after winning the 2014 Italian F4 title)

At the beginning of 2015, Stroll won the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing series, earning ten podiums and four wins. In the same year, he also drove in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. He won one race and achieved six total podium finishes, coming in 5th in the standings. 2015 was also the year Stroll left the Ferrari Drivers Academy and joined Williams as a test driver.

In 2016 Stroll competed yet again in the F3 championship, and dominated the season, clinching his win before the last race 187 points above his nearest competitor. He earned 14 wins and 20 podiums throughout the year, in the process gaining more attention from F1 teams. In late 2016 it was announced he would be driving for Williams in the 2017 season.

(Stroll after winning the F3 title)

His first year with Williams was a very positive ones. His early races saw a few retirements due to crashes and mechanical errors, but he achieved his first podium and became the second youngest driver after Max Verstappen to finish on the podium in F1, at the age of 18 years and 239 days. He also broke a record at the 2017 Italian GP, when he became the youngest F1 driver to start on the front row at the age of 18 years and 310 days. He ended the season 12th in the championship and winning half of his teams points. Furthermore, he gained more positions on opening lap than any other driver that year.

(Stroll on the podium with Williams)

2018 he remained with Williams and had a much more negative year, mostly due to the Williams car being the slowest car on the field by a wide margin. He finished 18th in the championship that year. This led Stroll to sign with another team for the 2019 season.

2019 was when his saga with Racing Point (later renamed Aston Martin) started and he still remains with the team today. He replaced Esteban Ocon to team Sergio Perez after his father led a consortium to purchasing the dying Force India team. This move gained him a lot of criticism, as many detractors stated he bought his seat. His first year with Racing Point was not particularly good. He only finished in the points a few times and was outpaced by his teammate on multiple occasions. 2020 was a better year for Stroll. He regularly found himself in high points positions, and earned his 2nd career podium at the Italian GP and his 3rd at the Sakhir GP. He was on his way to earning 4th in the championship, until a series of mechanical failures and a stint of illness dropped him down to finish in 10th.

(Stroll's second podium)

2021 saw the team become renamed Aston Martin and his new teammate was 4x WDC Sebastian Vettel. This year was less positive than 2021, and his highest finish was 6th at the Qatar GP. 2022 was an even more negative year, and he only was able to earn points a handful of times. In 2023 Vettel retired and Stroll's new teammate was 2x WDC Fernando Alonso. This year was a mixed bag for Stroll. While he had some of his highest finishes since 2020, he also was heavily out paced by his teammate, and scored 74 points to Alonso's 206. Again he was criticized by the public, and Aston Martin had to publicly defend his seat against critics.

(Stroll with teammate Fernando Alonso)

2024 so far has been another mixed bag year for Stroll. While he still is being outpaced by his teammate, he has had some high points finishes. At the Australian GP he finished 6th and achieved 7th at his home race in Canada. As of right now, Stroll is set to remain with Aston Martin in 2025, teaming once again with Fernando Alonso.

(Stroll in his 2024 Aston Martin)

Major Races:

2017 Canadian GP - Stroll's first points, he picked his way up the field to 9th place after qualifying 17th. A fantastic race where he showed how his aggression can help with overtakes.

2017 Baku GP - Stroll's first podium in his rookie year with Williams. The race was a chaotic one, filled with multiple crashes. Stroll managed to maneuver around the drama, climbing his way from 8th to 2nd. He held off much faster cars for the majority of the race, and would have finished 2nd until Valtteri Bottas passed him in the last lap.

2020 Turkish GP - In one of the biggest surprised ever, Stroll took his first pole position after a wet quali session. He demonstrated his skill in difficult conditions and his ability to push the car to its limits. Though he did not finish on the podium due to strategic errors, his qualifying showed he was a capable driver.

2020 Italian GP - Another podium finish for Stroll, he drove a consistent race and managed once again to avoid any on track drama from crashes. He showed his shrewd driving style by taking advantage of other drivers mistakes.

2023 Bahrain GP - When Stroll broke both wrists and his toe, and had to get surgery pre-season, most assumed he would not drive in the season opener. Even though he was still not healed properly, showing grit and massive mental strength, Stroll raced in Bahrain and was able to score high points, finishing in 6th position.

That's all for Stroll. Up next is Yuki Tsunoda.

Cheers,

-B

[elucubrare]

the scene: the heatbox at the North American speedskating championships, where Canadian and American skaters compete. I'm translating for the Québecois skaters.

to make small talk, one of them asks an American if she's going to Canadian nationals. I pause. another breaks in in a very heavy french accent.

"Sorry about my friend. She is a little bit stupid."

[raapija]

Valtteri Bottas and Canadian driver took on a hockey challenge on the F1 paddock - the Finn's prize stirred up confusion: "What's that?"

Finland vs. Canada - that's the name of the game when the spring hockey world championships start this Friday. In honor of the first match, there was a little warm-up game at the F1 paddock as well, when Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas and Racing Point's Canadian driver Lance Stroll met each other in a hockey challenge.

[Valtteri Bottas, Mervi Kallio and Lance Stroll, Spanish GP 2019]

Full article from 2019 translated to English under the cut !

For this, the Leijonat (Finnish national team) had gifted Bottas an official jersey with signatures.

Stroll, in turn, received Canada's own jersey, to which the F1 driver laughed:

"Where's the Sidney Crosby signature on this?"

In the challenge, Bottas and Stroll had to hit plastic bottles arranged in a row so, that when you hit your own bottle, you'd have to give a point to your opponent.

"Damn, that started promisingly." Stroll cursed as he fell one of his own; a bottle in Canada's colors.

"Practically I'd win if I don't shoot at all?" Bottas asked when his own turn came.

"Come on, some sportsmanship!" Stroll exclaimed next to him.

In the end, Bottas downed Stroll's bottle as well, winning the challenge 2-0.

During the trophy ceremony, Stroll followed puzzled as Bottas was handed Finnish Sisu. (black liquorice candy)

"What's that?" Stroll asked Bottas.

"It's salmiakki." Bottas quipped.

"Ah! I've heard of that stuff." Stroll chuckled along.

To Stroll, the losing Canuck, the outcome was a set of warning words when C More's F1 paddock commentator Mervi Kallio gave him Tyrkisk Peber (spicy salty liquorice) as a consolation prize.

"Don't eat it before quali or the race! It could mess up an untrained stomach!" Kallio advised.

"Thanks for the warning." Stroll laughed while inspecting his prize.

[sergeifyodorov]

How does world juniors work and where would one watch?

This is my first season watching the nhl and I’m from nz so I suspect we wont be represented lol but I’m keen to learn more and watch some! Any recommendations on what ones to watch?

omg anon WELCOME and also ... a brief WORLD JUNIORS PRIMER for you all...

Puppy Bowl!

If you're from NZ I'm not sure you know about the Puppy Bowl -- a show run concurrent to the Super Bowl, but all the participants are puppies? It means absolutely nothing but it is adorable. The World Juniors are basically that, but also it is exactly as important as the Olympics what are you talking about. Their official name is the "IIHF U-20 World Championship," which is a pretty self-explanatory name -- it's a tournament for players 20 and under (I believe they have to be at least sixteen, but because young athletes mature physically a LOT in those four years, the vast majority are eighteen-nineteen-twenty). Tradition dictates it starts on Boxing Day, and it runs for about three weeks -- it starts with a round-robin, followed by a single-elimination tournament, a bronze-medal match, and a relegation match.

Players are selected by their national hockey administration -- for Canada, it's Hockey Canada, but all countries within the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) have their own. The intricacies of ~Sports Bureaucracy~ are really long and only a LITTLE relevant, but every country ices the best roster they can, which means players are often "loaned" from CHL teams, NCAA universities, European league teams, or, occasionally, the NHL. (Note: You can usually tell how good a World Junior team is by how many players have been drafted/signed by NHL teams: the Canadians, Swedes, and Americans are almost always entirely draftees or under-18s, while the other teams in the upper division might only have a handful, or even only one, drafted player.)(Second note: The quality of a team has less correlation than you might think to them winning a single-elimination tournament.)

Like I said earlier, it starts with a round-robin: there are ten teams in the main WJ (we'll get to this in a second), divided into two groups of five, who each play each other once. The worst-performing team of each group is sent to the relegation match post-tournament, and the eight other teams do a single-elimination match until one team wins gold.

Teams and Divisions

This year, the top ten teams are: Canada, the US, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Norway, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Latvia. Because of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is banned from participating in IIHF tournaments, but when it's not it's always in the top ten (likely instead of Norway, Switzerland, or Latvia.) UNLIKE the NHL, the IIHF has multiple "divisions" of teams, and at the end of the tournament the bottom two teams play a match to avoid relegation from the official ~IIHF World U20 Championship~ to Division I, which is right under it. There is also a Division II and a Division III -- and after some sleuthing, there IS a New Zealand team in Div III!!!!!

Canada and Broadcasting

Unfortunately, the WJC is basically only popular in Canada -- essentially a Boxing Day tradition to watch the babies play and cheer for our teams' prospects, or, usually, just Team Canada. In fact, Hockey Canada has bid to host it basically every other year until 2030. Because of this (or maybe a bit of a chicken-egg situation), the WJC is... kind of hard to find online if you're outside of Canada? I know for a fact it's broadcast on TSN (one of our sports networks) without any regional blackouts, but I don't think there's anything available in NZ that will be streaming it, especially because it's not one of the IIHF top ten countries. If you're not already doing so, you'll probably have to sail the high seas for your fix. (If you don't know where to do this, you can slide into my DMs and I can send you a link!)

Who to watch?

There's basically two routes for this: one, pick the team you think is going to win, or two, go look up what prospects your NHL team has that are playing at the WJC and watch them (Note: neither the Avs nor the Oilers have any WJC prospects this year!) The IIHF website has the game schedule listed, including time-zone adjusted start times -- they're all staggered, so if you have a lot of free time you might be able to watch more than one!

Personally, as both a Canadian and a Leafs fan -- both WJC-chosen Leafs prospects are Team Canada players, including their captain Fraser Minten -- I would recommend Team Canada (unashamed homer bias here.) They're usually one of the favourites to win, and they're almost entirely either drafted or not yet eligible, so you can see either your prospects or you can look at Celebrini and hope (if your team is bad) that he's coming to you one day. The Americans are generally considered Thee tournament favourites, if you prefer your teams highly touted.

To me, the WJC has twofold appeal: one, junior hockey is, for lack of a better term, messier than high-level hockey? Pucks are more likely to bounce in silly ways, rushes can get crazy, and you can get both a super high amount of shots and a super high amount of goals. Hormonal teenagers playing super high-stakes hockey for the first times in their lives and they can get really, really into it! The passion a kid has scoring a medal-winning goal in front of a sold-out crowd is absolutely unrivalled by all but the Cup Finals. (OMGGGGG THIS IS YOUR FIRST HOCKEY SEASON TOO... ok don't let me start talking about nhl playoffs because THIS is the puppy bowl that is the super bowl. but worse! i mean better but it's worse (for your cardiovascular health.))

Two, that these guys are still so young, and that at least a few of them have long, illustrious, potentially-Hall-of-Fame NHL careers ahead of them. For a lot of young stars, the World Juniors is an important part of their Lore. Watching someone become something as an adult after you've seen him as a junior is... magical? World Junior hockey is diamond-in-the-rough hockey. There's no polish, but it's the rawness of the million-dollar stone that sells it.

[eggplantgifs]

Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha: Nureyev » 2023 Canadian National Championships

[sunshine-gumdrop]

bebe sid and flower for you! https://x.com/rowenahaths/status/1855981400404464117

Thank you, Anon! Fleury seemed to have a soft spot for Bebe Sid right from the start! Almost like Fleury knew Crosby was his guy from day one, even if that meant initiating him with a few pranks. True hockey bromance!

Also, I was looking to find the actual pie-in-the-face picture or flower's face but instead more pictures from that day:

Canadian National Junior hockey head coach Mario Durocher (C) poses with players (clockwise left) Maxime Talbot, Stephen Dixon, Sidney Crosby and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury during media day at their training camp in Kitchener, Ontario, December 16, 2003. Twenty-two players will represent Canada at the 2004 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship from December 26, 2003 to January 6, 2003 in Helsinki, Finland. REUTERS/Andrew Wallace ANW

What a handsome young man!

Also, he didn't shout out Mario here lol!

[frank-o-meter]

Edward Hanlan (July 12, 1855 – January 4, 1908) was a Canadian professional sculler (rowing). In 1880, he won the World Championship in a race against Australian Edward Trickett.

In 1926, a statue of a mustachioed, shirtless Hanlan, was unveiled on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition.

[affectionteaming]

Olympic Park, Stellarton, NS

Blayre Turnbull used to play hockey on the pond at this park so the town renamed it and put up this plaque in her (and Babe Mason’s) honour after the 2018 Olympics. transcription of Blayre’s side under the cut:

Blayre Turnbull

“No matter what you are doing, try your best….… homework, practice, work, you will not be disappointed for your effort”. —Blayre Turnbull, Olympian, 2018

Dedication to the above words of wisdom have brought Stellarton’s Blayre Turnbull a rewarding career in her chosen profession of hockey. From the lasting memories as a young child of four learning to skate on this very Olympic Park Pond, to playing the game she so loves, with the best in the world.

Growing up in Stellarton, Pictou County, Blayre had great encouragement from family, local hockey organizations, community and a variety of people. She would state “The credit most importantly goes to my family, which continues to support my dreams; my coaches at Shattuck - St. Mary’s and the University of Wisconsin, who taught me to believe in myself; and many of my teammates, who challenge me to get better and be the best player I can be”.

Hockey Career 2001-2018

Pictou County Minor Hockey (Novice)

Pictou County Minor Hockey (Atom AAA)

Pictou County Minor Hockey (Peewee AA)

Pictou County Minor Hockey (Peewee AAA)

Nighthawks - Northumberland Regional High School (Pictou County, Nova Scotia)

Northern Storm (Nova Scotia Female Hockey League)

Shattuck - St Mary’s

University of Wisconsin

Calgary Inferno (Canadian Western Hockey League)

Team Canada

International Debut: August 18, 2010 vs. United States

Canada’s National Women’s Team (2014-17)

Canada’s National Under-18 Team (201

Olympic & World Championship Experience

2018 Canada’s Women’s Olympic Hockey Team (Winter Olympics Pyeongchang, South Korea.)

2017 International Ice Hockey Federation (Women’s World Championship)

2016 International Ice Hockey Federation (Women’s World Championship)