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CTV News
33 minutes ago
- CTV News
Saskatoon twirling team travelling to Italy for world championships
WATCH: Nine Saskatoon athletes are getting ready to represent Saskatchewan on the international stage. A Saskatoon baton twirling team is preparing to represent Saskatchewan at an international competition next month. Nine athletes with the Trilogy Twirling Team will compete at the Nation's Cup and World Baton Twirling Championships, held from Aug. 2–10 in Turin, Italy. Amy Ketilson, 15, is among the athletes heading overseas. 'I think we're all a little bit nervous, but we're really excited to travel, try something new and compete,' Ketilson said. She's been twirling for seven years and is always trying to improve. 'My favourite thing about baton twirling is the challenge it gives you. There's always something new to try,' she said. Amy Ketilson Amy Ketilson, 15, is among the athletes heading overseas. (Stacey Hein/CTV News) The team earned its spot on the international stage after competing in the Canadian qualifier in Calgary this past February. Head coach Kellie Towriss says the athletes, ranging in age from 13 to 19, have been putting in about five hours of training each evening ahead of the competition. 'They're incredibly hard workers,' Towriss said. 'From where they started at the beginning of the year to now — they're motivated, they're driven.' The group will perform a total of 24 routines in Italy. Before heading overseas, the team held a send-off performance Thursday night for friends and family. 'I love that my friends can come and see me twirl, because most of them haven't seen me twirl before,' Ketilson said. 'Everybody is just there to cheer you on.'While Ketilson said she hopes to do well at the championships, she's most grateful for the experience. The twirlers take off for Italy Sunday.
CTV News
an hour ago
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Elite triathletes hope SuperTri race in Toronto will inspire more Canadians to take up sport
Canada's Charles Paquet competes during the men's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin) Two of Canada's top triathletes hope that a new race in Toronto will inspire more people to take up the sport. Charles Paquet and Mathis Beaulieu will be racing in SuperTri Toronto this Saturday, kicking off the international league's season. They feel the short-course version of the multisport race is more exciting for spectators and, ideally, will lead to a new generation of Canadian triathletes. 'I think it's starting to be more popular, starting to be more known,' said Paquet, who is from Port-Cartier, Que. 'When I started the sport, I think people didn't really know what triathlon was but now it's starting to be more and more popular. 'Hopefully there's going to be a lot of people watching and I can inspire a few people to give it a try.' Beaulieu, from Quebec City, has similar hopes, noting that there hasn't been an elite triathlon race in Canada for years. 'I think it could be really huge. I think it could be massive because there's not a lot of short-course racing in Canada,' he said. 'I think SuperTri is super light, dynamic, intense. 'I feel like it's fresh, it's new.' SuperTri has shorter and faster formats, often with multiple short races in quick succession. An Olympic triathlon follows a standardized distance of 1.5-kilometre swim, 40-kilometre bicycle ride, and a 10-kilometre run. The league will also hold races in Chicago in August and in Toulouse, France, in October. In Toronto, competitors will do the Olympic distances but on shorter loops to stay within sight of spectators. That includes swimming in the sheltered waters of Ontario Place, biking on closed roads, and running along Lake Shore Boulevard and the Gardiner Expressway. Beaulieu has one recommendation for spectators hoping to catch the best view of the race. 'Everything happens in transition,' he said. 'They're going to get to see us all get from the swim to the bike then from the bike to the run. 'Some people say that we take our time in transition, but it's the most important thing in the triathlon. You go as fast as you can in the transition to get any advantage you can.' Paquet and Beaulieu will both be in the professional race, but the triathlon festival will also have categories for amateurs. Paquet hopes that fans will be inspired not just by the elite of the sport but also the amateurs trying their best. 'I think that should be, hopefully, a good event to introduce people to triathlon like I was introduced to in the past,' said Paquet, who represented Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 'Then hopefully they can join the sport.' The 20-year-old Beaulieu is on pace to represent Canada at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
CTV News
an hour ago
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Three seeded Canadians placed in separate quadrants at men's National Bank Open draw
Felix Auger‑Aliassime of Canada returns the ball to Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany during their second round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 3, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) TORONTO — Felix Auger-Aliassime is of two minds about the raft of withdrawals from the National Bank Open. On one hand, it is unfortunate that Canadian tennis fans won't get to see the likes of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 6 Novak Djokovic compete in the Toronto tournament. But on the other, Auger-Aliassime's chances of becoming the first homegrown tennis player to win the men's Canadian Open title in the Open Era have undoubtedly improved. 'I think (tournament director) Karl (Hale) and I might have a bit of a different angle here,' Auger-Aliassime, 24, joked as the draw was revealed at Sobeys Stadium on Friday in Toronto. 'Karl doesn't step on a court to play Alcaraz. So in my case, look, every tournament, it happens. You have to consider that the year is long and obviously players will have to make decisions about their schedule. But that doesn't change my goal here. Regardless if they were here or not, I'm here to compete, play and to try to win.' Auger-Aliassime is part of a trio of seeded Canadians alongside Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Dillo. It's the first time the country has three seeded players in the men's bracket at its national open. All were drawn into separate quadrants, meaning the earliest they could meet is the semifinals. They each receive first-round byes as part of the revamped ATP Masters 1000 tournament which will feature 96 players and take place over 12 days — running from Sunday through Aug. 7 — for the first time. Apart from the missing stars, a friendly draw and home crowd could help the Canadians' chances, too. 'I really feel the support that we have from Canadians, so that fills me with a lot of strength and desire to play well,' said Auger-Aliassime, who won Olympic mixed-doubles bronze alongside Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski in Paris last summer. 'It's nice to come back every time. It doesn't happen often, so I try to soak in every moment.' The 21st-seeded Auger-Aliassime, of Montreal, won't have to face a seeded opponent until at least Round 3. He is also staring down a potential fourth-round match against American No. 4 Ben Shelton and a possible quarterfinal against No. 7 Frances Tiafoe, also of the United States. Shapovalov, the Richmond Hill, Ont., native who is seeded 22nd, would have to get through a quadrant that includes No. 3 Lorenzo Musetti and No. 8 Casper Ruud to reach the semifinals. The 26-year-old comes home on a high after winning his second title of the season earlier in July at an ATP 250 event in Mexico. Denis Shapovalov of Canada defeated seventh-seeded American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-2 to win the ATP 250 event at the Cabo Sports Complex on Saturday, July 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP file photo, Eduardo Verdugo Denis Shapovalov of Canada defeated seventh-seeded American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-2 to win the ATP 250 event at the Cabo Sports Complex on Saturday, July 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP file photo, Eduardo Verdugo Montreal's Diallo, the 27th seed who won his first career title in June, shares a quadrant with No. 2 Taylor Fritz and No. 6 Andrey Rublev. Germany's Alexander Zverev is the top seed in the tournament. 'You still have to win any match that comes day after day. And then obviously if you get into the later stages and these guys aren't around, OK, maybe the draw can open up,' Auger-Aliassime said. 'But at the same time, all the players are very high quality these days, so I think anybody that wins the tournament is going to have a hard time.' One of those high-quality players is Norway's Ruud, a 13-time winner on the ATP Tour and three-time Grand Slam finalist. But after winning the Madrid Open in April, Ruud has battled injuries and underperformance, including a second-round loss at the French Open and a withdrawal from Wimbledon. 'I played last week in Gstaad and didn't go as well as I hoped. But … I came early to prepare. So I'm going to try to spend every hour on the practice court well and be ready for this upcoming hard-court swing,' he said. Likewise, Auger-Aliassime's season hasn't gone exactly as planned despite a pair of titles in January and February. He said he employed an early-season strategy that included playing more lower-level tournaments ahead of Grand Slams — but while some went well, it hasn't paid off at majors. Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., who announced he would retire after the tournament, will face a qualifier in his first-round match and potentially meet Ruud in the second round. Liam Draxl, left, and Vasek Pospisil, of Canada, react after defeating Peter Fajta and Mate Valkusz, of Hungary, in their Davis Cup qualifying tennis match in Montreal on Sunday, February 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes Liam Draxl, left, and Vasek Pospisil, of Canada, react after defeating Peter Fajta and Mate Valkusz, of Hungary, in their Davis Cup qualifying tennis match in Montreal on Sunday, February 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes At least seven Canadians will compete in the main draw — pending Saturday's qualifying — but there are no all-Canadian matchups scheduled for the first round. World No. 115 Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., will take on No. 92 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain. Alexis Galarneau, the Laval, Que., native ranked 198th, meets No. 65 Arthur Rinderknech of France. Nicolas Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont.— Canada's top-ranked junior — will make his main-draw debut against 68th-ranked Serbian Laslo Djere. A Canadian man has never won the National Bank Open singles title since the Open Era began in 1968. Robert Bédard, who won his third title in 1958, is the last to accomplish the feat. Bianca Andreescu's 2019 championship marked the first for a Canadian woman since Faye Urban in 1969. Dabrowski remains the last Canadian to win on home soil, having emerged victorious in women's doubles alongside Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani in women's doubles in 2021. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025. Myles Dichter, The Canadian Press
