Skijoring has events across North America, and over time has involved horses, reindeer and dogs.Amanda Ubell
When you describe the sport of skijoring, derived from the Norwegian words for “ski driving”, every detail gets wilder: picture a rider atop a galloping horse, towing a skier or snowboarder (called a snow slider) by a handleless rope, with all having to swerve around a snow-covered obstacle course at top speed. Picture water skiing, except the boat pulling you is a horse.
A typical skijoring event occurs on either a straight or U-shaped track full of jumps, edges and gates. “It’s so much fun, I come home from competitions wanting to do nothing but skijoring,” says Simone Bourassa, director at Freedom Equine in Fernie, B.C., who has been both a rider and snow slider.
Many sports that lack a mass appeal nonetheless have passionate fans and participants. These lesser-known sports are gaining traction in Canada, as people are finding new ways to let out their inner competitor, breaking away from the mainstream.
Skijoring’s fast pace and wild visuals make it an exciting spectator sport – one that Skijor Canada says is the fastest growing winter sport in North America. That explains why events are popping up all over Canada and the U.S., including the Ponies and Planks Skijoring Fundraiser on Feb. 15 in Fernie to support a therapeutic riding program.
“At our first competition last year we were expecting 1,500 people to attend, and we had 3,800 show up,” says Bourassa, who is training for the February competition.
Another unconventional winter sport with a core of enthusiasts is ice boating, also called ice yachting, where a modified sailboat with runners glides over a frozen body of water. Top speeds have been clocked at more than 225 kilometres an hour.
An ice boat glides across Lake Ontario in Kingston.Getty Images
“There’s a solid group of sailors that go ice boating regularly. It’s a bit of a different beast, but really fun to watch,” says Megan Moir, executive director of Sail/Voile NB, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Circumstances can have a lot to do with drawing participants to some sports. While taking conventional crafts on the water has always been popular in Canada, Moir notes a surge in boat sales after COVID-19 hit. They even garnered the nickname ‘pandemic boats,’ as this was an outdoor activity people could participate in at a safe distance.
“We saw an increase in power boats, but we also saw a big increase in sailors,” she says.
That rising interest has continued. Rothesay Yacht Club in Rothesay, New Brunswick, where Moir is a member, offers learn-to-sail programs for children and adults alike. Between that club and a neighbouring one, Moir says about 35 boats are racing on the Kennebecasis River on a given Wednesday night. “Some fun little rivalries happen,” she says.
Other more niche sports are seeing a rise in interest among certain age groups. Mark Ballard, 72, is part of Veterans Fencing in Toronto, Ont., which includes participants over the age of 40.
“I got involved in the veterans when I turned 50, when it was a handful of people,” he says. “Now, we’ve got over 500 active veterans across the country and we regularly medal at international events.”
Ballard is part of a group lobbying to bring the Veterans Fencing World Championship to Toronto in 2027. At last year’s event in Dubai the number of fencers and participating countries were both up more than one-third from the 2023 event.
One factor that can drive interest in a sport that’s often off the radar is Canada’s performance at international competitions. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Eleanor Harvey from Hamilton, Ont. won Canada’s first ever Olympic fencing medal (bronze). That created a “big boost” in interest, says Ballard.
He has been a fencer for most of his life, making the decision after being told he’d have to choose between fencing or running cross-country “in a muddy field” in his native England. “It was cold and wet, so I went fencing and have been doing it ever since.”
