Edmonton teen with medical condition participates in archery
Edmonton junior high student Kaiya isn't letting her medical conditions stop her from competing in archery. CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny has her story.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
5 minutes ago
- CTV News
Huron County teen named to Team Canada for ‘Olympics of Motocross'
14-year-old Bluevale native, Caleb Vankoughnett, will represent Canada at the 'Olympics of Motocross' in Indiana this October. Seen near Wingham, Ont in July 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) Caleb Vankoughnett pulls on his Yamaha jersey for practice at Moto86 near Wingham, but in a little over a month from now, that will be a Canadian jersey on his back. 'I'm just so excited. It's a great opportunity,' said the Bluevale teen. ADVERTISEMENT 'I'm not really going there to like to win, but I'm just going to go have some fun. And it's just a great experience. So, I'm super excited.' At the ripe old age of 14, Vankoughnett will ride for Team Canada at the upcoming Motocross of Nations taking place this fall in Indiana. He's one of nine amateurs and three pros selected to pull on the Canadian colours at the world-class event, known as the 'Olympics of Motocross'. Caleb Vankoughnett motocross London 14-year-old Bluevale native, Caleb Vankoughnett, will represent Canada at the 'Olympics of Motocross' in Indiana this October. Seen near Wingham, Ont in July 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) 'I'm just so grateful to be able to do this. I'm really fortunate to have the financial stability and support of my team MX 101 and Yamaha,' said Vankoughnett. 'They're super good supporters and I've been putting in so much work. So yeah, I'm so happy to be able to do this.' The young Huron County native has been riding motocross since the age of four. In the sixth grade, he signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with Kawasaki, becoming one of the youngest riders to do so in Canada. Caleb Vankoughnett motocross London Caleb Vankoughnett signed his first Motocross sponsorship deal at the age of 11. The now 14-year-old was just named to Team Canada for the upcoming Motocross of Nations in Indiana this October. Seen in November 2022. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) He has since moved over to Yamaha, but motocross is not a pastime or hobby for Vankoughnett, it's his job, as he pushes towards turning pro, which can't happen until he turns 16. 'I've been putting tons of work in. I was down in Texas for like a month and a half by myself, just training and putting in as much work as I can,' he said. 'And then now we're going to go back, probably after Indiana. We'll go back down and keep grinding again.' Caleb Vankoughnett motocross London 14-year-old Bluevale native, Caleb Vankoughnett, will represent Canada at the 'Olympics of Motocross' in Indiana this October. Seen near Wingham, Ont in July 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) Last year, 36 nations were represented at the Motocross of Nations, which has been running since 1947. Canada ended up in 15th place last year. Vankoughnett hopes to change that, but mostly plans to soak in his first, but probably not last, time representing Canada on the track. 'It'll be a great experience. I'll get to see some new people and represent Yamaha and Canada,' said Vankoughnett.
Edmonton Journal
35 minutes ago
- Edmonton Journal
No team with such a top-heavy roster as Edmonton Oilers has won Stanley Cup in salary cap era
Article content Article content Article content Do the Oilers have such talent at that top end and throughout the roster that they can defy this historic fact? Article content They just might. Draisaitl, McDavid and Bouchard are proven playoff performers and among the very best at their respective positions, if not the best. The Oilers also have players on value contracts, including their highly-paid top trio, who are all worth more than they're getting paid this coming year, at least according to the calculations of stats expert Dom Luszczyszyn. Article content Edmonton is an older team now with players who are likely to get banged up and injured as the season progresses. It will be no surprise at all if they have one or two significant injuries by the time of the trade deadline, which will enable the Oilers to legally fill in for those injured players with new acquisitions for the remainder of the regular season. Those new players will also be available during the playoffs. Article content Article content Whether or not Edmonton's injured players will be ready is an unknown. But it could well be that due to the timing of injuries and recovery that the Oilers (as well as other contending teams) will be able to ice a roster with a collective cap hit of more than $100 million in the playoffs. This will greatly assist any such team in winning the Cup and will work to negate the high amount any of them pay to their own Core Four. Article content But Edmonton could also be healthy this year. If that's the case, they'll need young and inexpensive players to step up with massive contributions during the regular season and playoffs. Candidates for those kind of performance include rookies Matt Savoie, Noah Philp and Ike Howard and young veterans like Stuart Skinner, Ty Emberson and Vasily Podkolzin. Article content Edmonton will also need its vets to come through, of course, in particular Nurse, who played his best hockey during the 2024-25 regular season but saw his game collapse, yet again, in the playoffs. Article content Article content A huge key for the Oilers is for Nurse to bring the strong two-way play he regularly executes in the regular season to the playoff stage. He's got to step up in the playoffs, not fade away until he's a major liability to the team, as he's been all too often in recent playoff seasons. Article content Can Nurse do that? I see no reason why not. The talent and the will are there, it's just a matter of him staying healthy and figuring out the right mindset, psychology and tactics for playoff success. My bet is we'll see the best of Darnell Nurse in the 2026 playoffs. That will be huge for the Oilers. Article content Of course, it's a treacherous mountain for any team to climb to win the Stanley Cup. With so many excellent teams and such parity in the NHL, any one of ten teams could easily win the Cup. There are no sure things.
CBC
36 minutes ago
- CBC
Growing popularity in Canadian women's rugby could culminate in a deep run at World Cup
Social Sharing Canadians are known to be polite and generally kind — but what if I told you a talented team of Canadian women are heading to the United Kingdom to shove, tackle and straight-arm anyone in their path? Yes, folks! Canada's women's senior rugby team is about to embark on a campaign at the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025. On Saturday, at York Community Stadium in the No. 2-ranked Canadians take on Fiji, ranked 14th in the world, for Pool B play. Canada will then play Scotland and Wales respectively. Canada's rugby sevens delighted the world when they clinched the silver medal at the Paris Olympics last year but the team has been steadily growing and fortifying its talent. While rugby is certainly becoming more popular it's not one of the major women's sports in Canada like soccer, basketball or hockey. But the sendoff match at TD Place in Ottawa against the United States drew a record crowd — a first for the rugby team at home. I asked Canadian national team member Olivia Apps about the country's momentum for women's sports right now — and rugby in particular. "It does feel like we're at, like, the middle of something that's about to really explode," she told me after the match. "And I hope this Rugby World Cup does that for women's rugby particularly, but for women's sport generally. But I'm hoping it's [not just] momentary. … We have the LA Olympics, which is basically at home for Canada. It's not too far away. And there's just a lot of excitement within the sport right now in Canada." Like many women athletes, the rugby community advocates for themselves and are a committed group. A fundraising campaign to help curb the cost of their World Cup. Although ranked high globally, rugby is not a professional sport for women in Canada. Women advocate and elevate the sport, helping to encourage participation and pride. One of the biggest global stars of the sport at the moment is Ilona Maher, the most followed rugby player on earth. Maher's popularity skyrocketed after the Olympics, where she won a bronze medal with the United States' rugby sevens, and then went on to place second on Dancing With The Stars. Maher's frank conversation about body positivity and strength as beauty has resonated with so many women and girls. She has amassed millions of fans who see her physical strength as power and her attitude as appropriately unapologetic. The stadium was absolutely roaring with joy as she walked around TD Place following the match and waved to fans and posed for photos. Despite the U.S. being vastly outperformed by the hosts, Maher was aware of what her presence meant. And she leaned into it. I caught up with her and asked her about the rise of rugby as a popular sport. I was also surprised at how brash she was to take (valid) credit for bringing new fans to the sport of rugby. I don't know why I was surprised because she was truthful. Maher's presence has brought new eyes to women's rugby. But we don't have to look far for amazing role models on and off the pitch. WATCH | A shift in Canada's mindset ahead of Women's Rugby World Cup: One month out from Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 29 days ago There's been a shift in mindset in Canadian women's rugby 15s, Tyson Beukeboom explains ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 which begins in just one month in England. Canada's first game is August 23rd vs. let's just say, they are ready! Apps is a recognizable face for women's rugby in Canada. Apps has alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. She is vocal about her condition and although she wore wigs as a child, she has embraced her beautiful baldness. Her role on the team enables her to bring awareness to it. "Even though I was only seven years old, I knew there was something so powerful in just being able to say, 'Hey, this is who I am and I don't actually care what anyone thinks'," she said in an interview. Having that confidence and acceptance is certainly something I want kids around the world to embrace. The growing appeal at home Up north, we aren't at a place where captain Sophie de Goede (just returning from an ACL injury), Pamphinette Buisa (ruled out of the World Cup four days ago due to injury) or Apps are household names — yet. What I can assure you, is that these athletes are some of the most humble, dedicated, passionate and wonderful people I have ever met in my career. They are professionally generous and kind. They remain unafraid to ask for what they need and don't hesitate to work for it. They come back from injury, bring their best selves. Plus, their social media feeds are brilliant. The candor of rugby players is necessary for a sport that is still growing in a country that gets a fraction of the financial backing as the other major teams. In England, the final will be played at Twickenham Stadium, which is already sold out. It is expected to beat a previous record set at Stade de France, where 66,000 spectators watched the rugby sevens opening match at the 2024 Paris Olympics. I appreciate the social media, the storytelling of rugby players from around the world, but the increase in support for Canadians remains vital. The try celebration songs were New Orleans is Sinking and Blow at High Dough by The Tragically Hip. The players on this team would have been quite young when these songs were released but they remain Canadian anthems of culture and intensity. A few days after the match in Ottawa, I was thrilled to find out that The Hip collaborated with the team to help raise funds for the World Cup. I contacted Rugby Canada and it told me the idea came from looking to extend invites to Canadian icons to send videos and wish the team well for the Rugby World Cup (ideally to air in Ottawa). However, it quickly morphed with the band wanting to give back to 'Mission Win Rugby World Cup' with a limited edition shirt. The effort was led by David Fortier, a Rugby Canada board member who is the co-founder and partner at Boat Rocker Studios. "This partnership is about getting all of Canada behind one of the most inspiring untold stories in this country. It's lifting up a team and a nation on the world stage, cheering on our women as they aim to achieve their dreams," the band said in a statement. In an ideal world, neither rock stars nor athletes would have to fundraise in order to help women's sporting dreams be achieved and represent Canada at the highest echelon. But as Canadians fall deeper in love with women's rugby and want to support the team, they have a sure shot to win the World Cup. And do it with grace, too.
