National sport culture. Sport declared as national sport by a law National sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are "de facto" (not established by law) national sports, as baseball is in the United States and Gaelic games are in the Ireland, while others are "de jure" (established by law) national sports, as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada. These sports do not have to be necessarily the most played or most followed, which would be either association football or cricket in all but a few countries are widely
Western Canada Summer Games Western Canada Summer Games held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, saw provincial and territorial team sizes grow to in excess of 700 athletes and coaches participating in 31 sports with the focus shifting from the original pre Olympic showcase of the "Best in the West", to a more broad approach that allowed each individual sport to determine an age group for their sport. This approach proved to be beyond the financial capacities of the provinces/territories to sustain, and the mix of categories was deemed difficult for hosts to market and for provinces/territories to rationalize their involvement. At the 1995 Games in Abbotsford,