From celebrity athletes' visits to local team accomplishments, the Richmond sports community has a lot to look back on. It's difficult to pinpoint what the best sports story was, but here are some of the top stories in no particular order:
1. Ukrainian table tennis champion starts new career
Zoia Novikova, a table tennis Euro Cup gold medalist, sought refuge in B.C. with her family during the Russo-Ukrainian war and has since called Richmond their home. Novikova and her family have been working to build a new life in Canada as she and her husband use their expertise and experience as table tennis players to coach the next generation of athletes in the sport.
2. Canadian golfing icon Brooke Henderson meets fans
Families and fans of Canadian golfer Brooke Henderson lined up for a chance to meet her in Richmond in July. Henderson was in the city just a day after finishing a solid 12th in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. She is hoping to inspire more female athletes to push the boundaries of the sport and in life.
3. India wins Nations Cup after dramatic penalty shoot-out
The annual 42nd Nations Cup soccer tournament went into overtime this year as India and Croatia went head to head in a penalty shoot-out with the former claiming first place in the men's open division. The three-day amateur soccer tournament saw thousands of players and fans from across Western Canada in Richmond for the games.
4. Richmond and B.C. athletic community mourns
Earlier this year, the athletic community mourned the loss of Kim Young, a longtime Kajaks coach and BC Elementary championships founder. Young has been with the Kajaks since 1965 and was the co-founder of the BC elementary track and field school championships in 1968. He then became a Team Canada Coach at the 1979 and 1982 Pan Pacific Games.
5. Richmond figure skaters named to Team BC for Canada Winter Games
Seven of Richmond's Connaught Skating Club's figure skaters were selected to join Team BC for the Canada Winter Games. Jessie Sun, Mitchell Dunn, Ava Cheung, Stephen Lee, Louie Fukuda-Wu, Emily Liao and Vicky Pan were selected to compete in P.E.I. this year. This was the most athletes the club has seen selected for the province.
6 McMath girls volleyball team crowned Richmond champion
The junior girl's volleyball team at McMath secondary was crowned city champions in an undefeated regular season this year. The Wildcats nabbed the city champion title against the Richmond Christian School Eagles 3-1. This was the first time the Wildcats won the city champion title since 2018.
7. Hundreds honour Ray Sawada in a jersey retirement ceremony
Richmond's Minoru Arena was maxed out on Nov. 17 as friends, family, firefighters and athletes stood in the stands to watch the late Raymond Sawada's jersey fly high to the rafters. The 38-year-old hockey player passed away while playing recreational hockey in Richmond earlier this year. He was a local hockey hero who played for the Richmond Sockeyes and in the NHL before becoming a firefighter with the Burnaby fire department afterward.
8. Camryn Rogers win 2023 World Championship gold
Richmond's hammer-throwing star Camryn Rogers became the first Canadian female athlete to win a World Championship gold medal in 20 years. She led from start to finish with her first throw setting an unattainable standard the rest of the field could not equal. Rogers also had the second, third and fourth longest throws of the final.
9. Pickleball craze booms in Richmond
If there's one sport that boomed in Richmond this year, it was definitely pickleball. Gordon Farrell, the Richmond BC Pickleball Association said membership has grown since 2019. A major factor contributing to the sport's popularity is the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Farrell.
10. More than 1,000 athletes march through Richmond for CARHA
Colourful jerseys took over the streets as athletes marched to the Richmond Olympic Oval to kick off the Molson CARHA Hockey World Cup this year. The March of the Athletes parade saw approximately 1,500 athletes wearing their country's jerseys to signify the start of the largest international adult recreational hockey tournament ever, which takes place every four years in Canada.
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