Chad Fike takes lead on opening night of 2025 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby
For the second straight year at the Calgary Stampede chuckwagon races, Chad Fike was a frontrunner.
Fike, from Cremona, Alberta, had the top time of the night, 1:11.73, besting Chanse Vigen by 52 one-hundredths of a second.
Jamie Laboucaine was third, Preston Faithful fourth and defending champ Jason Glass rounded out the top five.
Fike also took the top time on opening night of the 2024 event.
The grandstand was full for opening night, and possibly included Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, who was spotted on the grounds earlier in the evening saying hello to Stampede goers, eating fudge, crawling into a tank and posing for selfies with opening night Stampede patrons.
'We gotta see some chuckwagons, huh,' Carney said as he strolled down the Midway with an entourage of security and cameras, sampling mini doughnuts and pretzels as he made his way to the grandstand stadium for the chuckwagon races.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, centre, samples mini doughnuts as he walks through the Calgary Stampede grounds in Calgary, Alta., Friday, July 4, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Prime Minister Mark Carney, centre, samples mini doughnuts as he walks through the Calgary Stampede grounds in Calgary, Alta., Friday, July 4, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
It was Carney's first visit to Stampede as the Canadian prime minister.
Chuckwagon racing continues nightly throughout the Stampede, with the cumulative Top 3 after next Saturday's races advancing to the championship final of the 2025 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby.
Fike took home a winner's payout of $6,000 for having the best time, while Vigen won $5,200 and Laboucane $4,600.
The Rangeland Derby is on nightly at 7:30 p.m. It airs on Sportsnet.
With files from The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Part of Wilson Avenue to be closed for upcoming Coldplay concerts at new Rogers Stadium: Live Nation Canada
Fans who attended the inaugural concert at Toronto's new Rogers Stadium on Sunday night are calling for better crowd control after some say it took up to two hours to exit the venue. (CP24 Chopper) The owner and operator of Toronto's new Rogers Stadium at Downsview Park has confirmed that a portion of Wilson Avenue will be closed as part of its plan to better manage crowds coming and going from the site during this week's Coldplay concerts. The British rock band is set to perform at the 50,000-seat open-air facility on July 7, 8, 11, and 12. Last Sunday, Live Nation Canada hosted its inaugural concert at Rogers Stadium, featuring K-pop group Stray Kids. However, there were some significant crowd management issues at that show, with some attendees reporting that it took them up to two hours to exit the park, as both the venue and transit services seemed to be unable to deal with the massive number of people. Overcrowding Rogers Stadium In the days following the opening show, the mega-concert promoter said it is 'making adjustments' and 'working closely' with City of Toronto officials, transit operators, and emergency services to address those issues. Live Nation Canada, as well as the landowner Northcrest Developments, met with the City of Toronto and the TTC last week to discuss solutions. In a statement provided to CTV News Toronto on Sunday evening, Live Nation Canada said that it has made 'key adjustments based on fan and community feedback, including updated traffic plans with road closures, more traffic personnel on-site, and enhanced signage and communication to help improve the experience for fans and the community.' Wayne Zronik, the company's president of business operations, previously told The Canadian Press that those changes would also include lighting, staff, and water stations, noting that the venue's exit routes are being reconfigured to 'create smoother flow' and better disperse the crowd to all three nearby subway stations. 'It's really taking all of our key findings from the first night and getting better,' he said last week. On Sunday, the company said the closure of Wilson would run from Murray Road to Dufferin Street but assured that the area would not be closed to local traffic, adding that 'residents should have no issues reaching their homes.' 'We continue to encourage everyone heading to Rogers Stadium to take public transit. To help reduce traffic in the area, we're urging fans to take advantage of free and expanded TTC and GO Transit service for their ride home.' The TTC previously told The Canadian Press that it would add more staff to its Downsview and Wilson stations ahead of upcoming concerts. CTV News Toronto has also contacted the City of Toronto for comment but has not heard back. With files from The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
The beautiful game, at walking speed
Aidan Butterworth's voice booms across the soccer pitch at Toronto's Cherry Beach as his players warm up. 'Just shake it up,' he tells them. 'Go! Go! Go! 'Keep moving on your feet, don't stop.' The moving feet aren't moving all that fast. Nor is the pace of play. That's all by design. Mr. Butterworth is an assistant coach for the Toronto Walking Soccer Club, also referred to as the Loons. They're one of 20 teams from across Canada. Across multiple age groups, the club has more than 100 members from all around the Greater Toronto Area. The coach knows his way around a soccer pitch. He spent four years playing for Leeds United in England and was the club's top scorer in 1983. The game he has loved his entire life didn't fully love him back, though. 'I've had two replacement hip surgeries and another on my knees,' he said. 'My playing days are behind me, but I get a lot from walking football.' The appeal of the game is similar to that of pickleball – a more contained, less physically demanding alternative to tennis. Pickleball Canada claims 1.54 million people are playing the sport in this country. Walking soccer – invented in 2011 in England, where there are now more than 700 clubs and 200,000 players – has experienced an international boom over the past decade. In Canada, six provinces have launched multiple active programs that continue to grow in participation. 'People aren't ready to give up soccer when they get a little bit older,' said Patrick Yao, founder of the Canadian Walking Soccer Association, or CWSA. 'Their passion for the sport is still there.' The rules of walking soccer are designed to minimize the health risks to participants and increase accessibility. The pitch and goal size are smaller than in conventional soccer, the ball cannot be kicked higher than two metres, throw-ins are replaced with kick-ins, and goalkeepers are not permitted to leave their zones. There is no running or jogging allowed, regardless of whether the player is handling the ball or not. What counts as running or jogging is dependent solely on the interpretation of the referee. 'The rule is that you're supposed to plant your feet,' Mr. Butterworth said. 'The player must always have at least one foot in contact with the ground.' Club founder Kerrin Hands said the golden rule is 'If you can salsa, you can do walking soccer.' The Loons' over-50 team gathers every Thursday evening for two hours of intense training drills, finishing off with a 30-minute game. Before starting, the players are reminded to enjoy themselves, but to go hard. No swearing, though. A 2024 survey by the CWSA revealed that more than 60 per cent of respondents discovered the sport through family or friend referrals, followed by a close split between news and social media. Mr. Hands founded the Toronto Loons three years ago, after stumbling across the sport in Spain during a family visit. The native Englishman played soccer at various competitive levels in South London, but moved into coaching when he relocated to Canada. His efforts to grow the club have included reaching out to non-walking soccer organizations with programs for those aged 40 and up, inviting them to join sessions and hosting pop-up events. Still, his most effective strategy for securing sign-ups is ensuring that everyone who steps onto the field leaves with a positive experience. 'The way most people find out about the sport is through word of mouth,' Mr. Hands said. 'People have enjoyed it so much, they go around and tell their friends.' Andrew Hilton also played competitive soccer for most of his life, and once joined an over-50s competitive team in Denmark for a brief period. He returned home to Stratford, Ont., during the pandemic, but the team he used to be a part of was no longer there. He began searching online for ways to play in the area. That's how he found walking soccer. 'It's more fun than I thought. It's better exercise than I thought, and I was reconnecting with people I played with when I was in high school. I just really enjoyed it,' Mr. Hilton said. 'I get to play the sport I love and see people I know.' Mr. Hilton's commitment runs so deep that he makes the almost three-hour trip from Stratford to Toronto's Cherry Beach field at least once a week. His teammate, Faisal Ahmed, knows the route to the field with his eyes closed after three years of weekly drives there. A 2020 review of research on the sport determined that there are health benefits connected with walking soccer, and that it can help build social connections. Another 2022 study highlighted the importance of socializing and developing new friendships that came out of the sport. Among the Loons, there is living proof of that. Mr. Ahmed wears his Apple Watch for every session to track his heart rate, calories and all other important health information. He underwent heart surgery five years ago and followed a strict training program as part of his rehabilitation. 'What I've found through walking soccer is that I can still maintain a heart rate above 145 beats per minute for 45 minutes,' Mr. Ahmed said. 'If I can do that three to four times a week, that is beneficial for keeping my heart healthy.' Mr. Butterworth said he has seen the sport do incredible things for the quality of life of some of the players who have trained under him. He credits walking soccer for improving his own mental and physical well-being. 'Seeing the joy on people's faces and telling me about the health benefits really inspires me to keep building and trying to get this sport out to even more people,' he added. This October, Canadians are headed to Spain to participate in the second edition of the Federation of International Walking Football Associations' World Nations Cup with four age groups, including a women's over-50 team. The Canadian men's over-60 team finished fourth in the inaugural 2023 cup, and it was a 'no brainer' to ensure qualification for this fall, Mr. Yao said. A total of 63 teams from 25 countries will gather to compete for medals, three times the number of teams that participated two years earlier. Canada will face powerhouse soccer countries Spain, England and Italy. Canada's team will be made up of players from eight clubs from Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. 'Our claim during the bidding process is that there would be a legacy left after this World Cup,' Mark Coleman, founder of Walking Soccer Team Spain and director of Spain Walking Football, told The Globe and Mail. 'Hosting this global event is going to boost participation around the world to millions of people.' The Loons are gearing up for the fall competition, but enjoyment remains the main goal. 'Our objectives are to create a very positive and happy environment where people can thrive,' Mr. Butterworth said. 'When the players come down for two hours, the goal is that they enjoy it and feel a benefit, and maybe they go home a bit tired.'
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk named to his second all-star game
Alejandro Kirk didn't want to make any assumptions about being named to the American League roster for next week's All-Star Game in Atlanta. The Toronto Blue Jays catcher found out in the clubhouse during a hitter's meeting before Sunday's 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels when Toronto completed its three-game sweep of the visitors. The honour meant a good deal to Kirk, whose previous all-star appearance was in 2022. 'I had an idea, but I didn't want to get too emotional until I knew it was going to be official,' said Kirk through a translator in the Blue Jays dugout at Rogers Centre. 'It was obviously very emotional the first time around, but I think this was going to be more special because I'm going to go with my daughter.' Kirk's wife Sofia gave birth to their daughter in February 2023. Toronto manager John Schneider could have relayed the good news to Kirk earlier on Sunday morning when the two had a one-on-one conversation. Instead, he waited until the Blue Jays lineup was engaged in their hitters' meeting. 'I told them two things: that the dome was closed and that Alejandro Kirk was an all-star, which is pretty awesome and so well deserved,' Schneider said in his post-game news conference. Kirk is batting .301 with seven homers and 41 runs batted in this season. Kirk's average is 11th in MLB and second among catchers behind Will Smith (.332) of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He will join teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., named an AL starter for the fourth time on Wednesday, at Truist Park on July 15. Kirk's first all-star appearance was in 2022 when he finished the season with a .285 average and 14 homers. The 26-year-old has a .270 career average with a total of 43 homers over six seasons, all with Toronto. Schneider has watched his catcher develop from a raw talent to one of the game's best all-around players behind the plate in five years. 'I remember in 2020, him coming up, we were literally writing down on his wristband what pitchers threw,' Schneider said. 'To watch his growth is pretty cool. To watch the pitchers' trust grow in him is pretty cool. And what he's doing offensively, one of the best in the league.' Kirk credited work on his mental approach as well as the physical aspects for his return to the ASG. His health also has been a factor. 'I consider myself a complete hitter right now, more than in prior years,' said Kirk. 'I tried to hit too many homers. I'm not considering myself a home run hitter anymore. 'This year, I wanted to be a complete hitter to hit the ball the other way, trying to get runners in, find a way to help the team win.' Schneider admired Kirk's work ethic in returning to the form he exhibited in 2022. The Toronto manager also noted Kirk has a laid-back and different personality. 'He's a unicorn. He's one of one,' Schneider said. 'In 2022, he turned a lot of heads in 2022. After a couple of tough years, he understands what he needs to do to be great in the box and he has put in the work.' Kirk, who signed a US$58-million, five-year extension in spring training, played in his 75th game on Sunday. He only suited up for 103 last year and is on pace to reach his career-high of 139 outings in 2022. 'I'm doing everything I can to help the team win,' Kirk said. 'I'm very happy and I'm feeling great right now.' With the Blue Jays' recent ascension to the top of the American League East, Kirk hopes he can arrive in Atlanta next week in first place. 'It feels great being in first place,' Kirk said. 'You can feel it in the clubhouse. The vibes are great. Everybody is competing, going out there doing everything they can to win a game.' 'It's awesome to be in first place.'
