From the Canadian Football League at Royal Athletic Park to Olympic hammer and rugby glory at the Stade de France in Paris, it was an eventful year. Here is one opinion on what were the top-10 stories in Island sports for 2024:
1. HAMMER OF THE GODS: Ethan Katzberg hurled a hammer toward the heavens in Paris and it landed gold-plated. The Olympic champion out of John Barsby Secondary and the Nanaimo Track and Field Club beat out heavyweight company in respective NBA and NHL stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Connor McDavid to be named Canadian Press male athlete of the year.
2. SEVENS HEAVEN: The Stade de France was a field of dreams for Island athletes in more than just the hammer as the Langford-based Canadian women’s sevens rugby team won a breathless silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics with players such as Caroline Crossley from Oak Bay and Krissy Scurfield and Carissa Norsten from the University of Victoria Vikes.
3. ROWING TO GLORY: It wasn’t gold this time, as in Tokyo 2020, but the North Cowichan-based Canadian women’s eight sternly rallied through the repechage to stroke to the silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, making UVic Vikes-graduates Avalon Wasteneys of Campbell River and Caileigh Filmer of Victoria and Brentwood College-graduate Sydney Payne career Olympic double medallists.
4. HAPPY HOCKEY DAY: The rest of the country got to know all about the arc of Island hockey history, from Lester Patrick’s Cougars to James Patrick’s Royals, during the nationally broadcast Hockey Day in Canada celebrations. The surprise weekend of snow last January was uncharacteristic but the event was still a triumph despite it.
5. CFL COMES TO TOWN: The B.C. Lions played their first game in the 70 years of franchise history outside Empire Stadium, Empire Field or B.C. Place. Despite a few glitches, it was a glowing afternoon to be remembered at Royal Athletic Park for the league and the city.
6. CLUTCH CURLING: For the second consecutive year, a Victoria Curling Club rink won the B.C. men’s championship and competed under the bright lights in the Brier national championship. Could a three-peat and emerging dynasty be in the offing in 2025?
7. FLOOR PERFECTION: The Victoria Shamrocks produced a rarity in the Western Lacrosse Association with an undefeated regular season. They followed up with the league playoff crown before falling short in the Mann Cup national championship in Six Nations. With the WLA champion hosting the Mann Cup in 2025, the ‘Rocks feel they are on the verge and vow to be all-in.
8. HOOP DREAMS: Spectrum, a school that has had sports success but rarely in boys’ basketball, won its first B.C. boys’ high school basketball championship last March by taking the Quad-A title at the Langley Events Centre. The Dover Bay Dolphins of Nanaimo won the B.C. high school boys’ Triple-A championship to complete a halcyon season of hoops for the Island.
9. HOOP DREAMS II: University of Victoria Vikes point-guard Diego Maffia rode his searing outside shooting to the Mike Moser Award as U Sports basketball player of the year. The national championship, again however, eluded the mercurial Maffia and that is the ultimate goal as this truly generational player leads the top-ranked Vikes out of 2024 and into March Madness next spring.
10. TALE OF TWO TEAMS: The Victoria Royals made a return to the Western Hockey League playoffs in 2024 after a yawning absence, indicating better days ahead for the patiently-waiting fan base, while the Victoria HarbourCats returned to their accustomed position in the West Coast League baseball post-season although the league title remained elusive.
