All team sports, in their own way, are lessons in history or geography. In the latter, Canada has connections to Sweden, Finland, Czechia and Russia through ice hockey.
The two great bat-and-ball sports of the world are an object lesson in where British and American influence has been the most pronounced — with cricket massive in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Jamaica, Trinidad, Bermuda, Bahamas, while baseball is huge in Japan, Korea, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.
Although Canada is the lone Commonwealth nation in which baseball is more popular than cricket, the biennial Victoria International Six-A-Side Tournament (VISAS) has been a staple of summers since 1986, when it was established as a way to lure people to the Island from Expo 86 in Vancouver. The 2023 VISAS tournament started Friday and runs through next Saturday at Beacon Hill Park and Windsor Park.
The 2020 and 2022 tournaments were cancelled due to the pandemic.
“It’s always been held in even years, but there was so much interest around the world to get it going again, we decided to hold it this year rather than wait to 2024,” said Izak Brussow of the organizing committee, in a statement.
“It has been a challenge to restart after the pandemic-forced break and we are very thankful for the financial support of the Province of B.C. and the Greater Victoria Sports Tourism Commission, as well as our major sponsors Hoyne Brewing Company, Amica Jubilee House and the Strathcona Hotel.”
With frenetically-paced scaled down versions of sports now the rage and even making the Olympics — including sevens rugby, three-on-three basketball and mixed-doubles curling — cricket’s answer in Victoria is the six-a-side version of the game.
The 2023 VISAS tournament features nine teams from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England and the U.S. Games are each day at Beacon Hill and Windsor parks between 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Group play runs through Wednesday with the playoff rounds Friday and Saturday. Admission is free.
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