Memories of a national softball championship are as vivid as ever for N.L. players 50 years later
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CBC
5 minutes ago
- CBC
Raw power
The Vancouver Canadians' sushi race is on a roll that shows no signs of stopping. Sushi racers approach the finish line at Vancouver's Nat Bailey Stadium on June 27, 2025. Team officials say the sushi race has become a key part of the ballpark Nelms/CBC Written by Jon Azpiri Jul. 25, 2025 On an overcast Friday in June, a group of hungry young athletes took to the field at Vancouver's Nat Bailey Stadium, home to the Northwest League's Vancouver Canadians, to square off in a heated battle as thousands of fans cheered on. There was also a baseball game. The sushi race, which pits runners dressed as anthropomorphic sushi, chopsticks and assorted Japanese foodstuffs against each other in a mad dash around the bases, took place during a break in play at the Canadians game against the Tri-City Dust Devils, just as it has at C's home games since 2008. Over the years, the sushi racers have, in a strange way, become the face of the franchise. ADVERTISEMENT Rob Fai, the team's director of sales and marketing, notes most players who suit up for minor league affiliates like the Canadians are on the roster for a relatively short time as they work their way through Major League Baseball's farm system. That can create marketing challenges for the Canadians, the Class-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, not faced by the NHL's Vancouver Canucks, whose players can spend years with the franchise and build roots in the community. 'We don't have a Luongo, we don't have the Sedin twins … we have sushi,' Fai said. 'They're the only staple.' Sushi racers are in it to win it Among the racers are Ms. B.C. Roll, Chop & Stix and the dastardly Chef Wasabi. There is also Sadaharu Soy, a giant bottle of soy sauce named after Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh. The sushi racers have distinct personalities. Ms. B.C. Roll is considered dainty and elegant while Chef Wasabi — a blob of Japanese horseradish donning a hachimaki, or Japanese headband — plays a villain, going to any lengths to win a race. During the June event, the racers took off from first base with Sadaharu Soy jumping out to an early lead. Chop — the wife in the husband-wife pairing of chopsticks — was near the back of the pack as they made their way past second base, but found another gear after rounding third, passing Sadaharu Soy on the outside and breaking the tape at the finish line for the dramatic win. After the race, the racers made their way back through the stands, high-fiving fans. Mascot races like the one at Nat Bailey have become a staple in baseball parks across North America. The Milwaukee Brewers' sausage race, which features a bratwurst, chorizo, hotdog, Italian sausage and Polish sausage, is considered the granddaddy of all mascot races and dates back to the early '90s. Back in 2008, the Canadians were under new ownership and staff brainstormed ideas for Vancouver's version of a sausage race. Sushi, a seemingly ubiquitous food in the city, seemed like a natural fit. Former Canadians general manager Andrew Seymour said that in the race's early days runners weren't overly concerned with the final results. 'At the beginning, our biggest concern was, oh, let's not wreck the outfits because they have a significant price tag to them,' Seymour said. As the costumes were cumbersome, efforts were made to ensure that none of the racers collided or 'lost their way' and there were rare occasions when a result was predetermined to fit with a particular promotion, he said. 'We honestly didn't imagine the success they would have,' he said. ADVERTISEMENT Fai said today's racers take it seriously. 'Let's just say those who don the costumes of the mascots are pretty competitive folk,' he said. He said somewhere in the ballpark's offices is a chart that tracks the results of each sushi race. As the end of the season approaches, competition among racers near the top of the leader board can go up a notch. The Canadians declined a CBC News request to interview the competitors, opting to place a cone of silence over the sushi racers to preserve the race's mystique. 'They talk with their feet,' Fai said. Face of the franchise The sushi race is nothing if not ridiculous, but team officials say the silliness serves a larger purpose. While Major League teams receive revenue from broadcast rights, minor league teams rely heavily on gate revenue, making the fan experience at ballparks a key part of their business model. A visit to Nat Bailey can include three-foot-long hotdogs, T-shirts shot into the crowd with a cannon and a performance of the chicken dance led by the team's other mascot, Bob Brown Bear. 'You're looking for these signature moments that really bring a family to the ballpark,' Fai said. A Vancouver Canadians game is one of the most popular summer pastimes in the city. But how much do you really know about the team? Take a look behind-the-scenes into the challenges and triumphs of Minor League Baseball in Vancouver. People around the team say those moments have largely stayed the same even as the team has changed hands. In 2023, the Canadians were sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a private equity group that now owns more than 40 minor league teams. The Canadians are the group's only holding outside the U.S. Tom Hawthorn, the Victoria-based author of Play Ball!, a new book that chronicles the history of baseball in Vancouver, said DBH has kept the fan experience at Nat Bailey mostly intact, and the team's front office is largely from B.C. 'Local people know what the local audience wants and it sounds like they seem to understand the importance of local content,' Hawthorn said. Fai said one of the joys of working in the minor leagues is that they're allowed to take chances when it comes to promotions. 'Vancouver dictates what plays in the stadium,' he said. 'We've tried many things that didn't work and the sushi mascots, in particular, did and that's why they're here every year.' Success doesn't appear to have gone to the sushi racers' cartoonishly large heads. Year after year, they compete in front of thousands and find time to greet fans before and afterward, and they do it all with a smile. ADVERTISEMENT 'One thing I will say is Chef Wasabi is probably as big as any fixture in the stadium,' Fai said. 'So any player that's ever come through here has to go through Chef Wasabi if they want to be the most famous.' About the Author Related Stories Footer Links My Account Profile CBC Gem Newsletters Connect with CBC Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Mobile RSS Podcasts Contact CBC Submit Feedback Help Centre Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6 Toll-free (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636 TTY/Teletype writer: 1-866-220-6045 About CBC Corporate Info Sitemap Reuse & Permission Terms of Use Privacy Jobs Our Unions Independent Producers Political Ads Registry AdChoices Services Ombudsman Public Appearances Commercial Services CBC Shop Doing Business with Us Renting Facilities Accessibility It is a priority for CBC to create a website that is accessible to all Canadians including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. About CBC Accessibility Accessibility Feedback © 2025 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved. Visitez
Globe and Mail
23 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
McIntosh eyes 5 individual golds at world championships
Summer McIntosh won three individual gold medals a year ago at the Olympics, the star in the Paris pool alongside France's Léon Marchand. Apparently unsatisfied with three, she'll go for five gold medals starting Sunday at the world swimming championships in Singapore. Call it a trial run for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The worlds is the highest profile swim meet since last year's Olympics, a showcase for newcomers as well as veterans who hope to stick around until Los Angeles. McIntosh will be very busy during the eight days in the pool, packing her schedule with five individual events. She'll contend with prelims in some events, and she'll also add relays. 'This means 14 or 15 races she could swim in eight days, demanding races,' Canada's head coach Iain McDonald told The Associated Press. 'It's a very challenging schedule she's set for herself.' Summer McIntosh's star set to soar with Olympics still three years away The 18-year-old Canadian set three world records in five days in June at the national trials. She broke her own 400-metre individual medley mark, dropping it to 4 minutes, 23.65 seconds, and set the 200 IM record (2:05.70) and the 400 freestyle record (3:54.18). She was also a mere half-second behind the 200 butterfly record, which has stood since 2009, and just off the 800 freestyle record set last month by American Katie Ledecky. 'She's such a versatile athlete, it's kind of tough to nail what her best events are,' McDonald said. 'She's pretty good right across the spectrum.' McIntosh will be the focus on Day 1 of the pool events in Singapore. She swims the 400 freestyle final, and comes back about 30 minutes later for a semifinal of the 200 IM. Despite holding the world record in the 400 free, she's never won gold in the event at the Olympics or worlds. This time she's ready, and credits coach Fred Vergnoux. 'I'm super pumped for the 400 freestyle and I'm really excited to see how I manage doing the double,' McIntosh told Canadian broadcaster the CBC. McIntosh said Vergnoux has boosted her endurance, pointing more to distance events. 'It's true that I haven't been able to do it on world stage yet,' she said of the 400. 'I think going into past big meets I haven't had the confidence in my training and my freestyle in general — technique-wise and endurance-wise — that I have now.' Ariarne Titmus was the gold medalist in Paris with silver for McIntosh, but the Australian swimmer is taking a year off. It's Titmus's record that McIntosh just broke. Ledecky, the bronze medalist in Paris, appears to be McIntosh's chief rival. McIntosh will also face Ledecky in the 800, which might be the only race where McIntosh is not favoured. It's probably 50-50, and it might be the biggest race of the championships. Ledecky set the world record this year of 8:04.12, and McIntosh is right behind, having clocked 8:05.07. 'I think she loves it (the challenge),' Greg Meehan, the U.S. team director, said of Ledecky. 'There are always threats coming at you because you've set yourself to be the gold standard.' McIntosh dominates the two IM races, and should also be a favorite in the 200 butterfly. Ledecky's best race is the 1,500 where she holds the world record and also has the 23 top times in history in the event — and No. 25, too. McIntosh is not in the field here. McIntosh, who will swim this fall under Bob Bowman at the University of Texas at Austin, arrived on the scene aged 14 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, finishing fourth in the 400 free. 'She's been such a strong performer through her entire career at such a young age,' McDonald said. 'But she always manages to surprise you, upping her game a little bit.' Some of the attention in Singapore will be on 12-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi. Yu has qualified in the 200 and 400 IMs and the 200 butterfly and could face McIntosh in all three finals. Unbelievably, she could win a medal — at 12. Yu's time of 2:10.63 in the Chinese championships in May was the fastest by any 12 year old — female or male — in history. She's also swum 2:06.83 in the 200 fly and 4:35.53 in the 400 IM. Both of those times would have been good for fourth place in last year's Olympics. Astoundingly, Yu is 12 to 15 seconds faster than McIntosh was at age 12, depending on the event. That's roughly a half-lap of a 50-metre pool. 'There is always somebody coming up next,' McDonald said.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Women's softball players fired up to represent P.E.I. at Canada Games
Team P.E.I.'s women's softball team is ready to take a crack at gold in next month's Canada Games. They've been training for almost a year, and now it's time to swing away under the brightest lights in youth sports. CBC's Connor Lamont brings you their story.
