The CANUSA Games are an annual contest, primarily for athletes age 18 and under, between the sister cities of Hamilton,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, and

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, United States. The Games are the longest-running amateur sports competition in North America. The games are held in alternate locations, with

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, hosting in odd-numbered years.

History

As a result of the Flint Olympian Games held in Flint, Michigan, in July 1957, the Flint officials of the Games wanted a city, of similar size and population, to compete with on a yearly basis. Hamilton was selected, which birthed the "CANUSA" games, whose name was derived from combining the names Canada and United States - CAN/USA. The Games began in August 1958, and consisted of 200 athletes (from each city) competing in seven different sports. The Games have grown considerably, which is supported by the more than 1,600 athletes from each city competing in 17 different competitive sports, including

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

. An estimated 25,000 people have participated in the games in their 50 years.Holmes, Kevin.
CANUSA Games celebrate 50 years
", ABC12 News, 2007-05-09. Retrieved on 2008-12-05.

Opening Ceremonies

The Opening Ceremonies of the CANUSA Games are arguably the most highlighted piece of the weekend. One of these highlights is most certainly the running relay which covers the distance between Flint and Hamilton - 245 miles. Departing the night before from the visiting city, relay runners carry the torch over the border, which is one of the longest international runs in all of North America. The torch is run into the venue in which the opening ceremonies are held, which represents the official start of the Games.CANUSA Game
History
/ref> To symbolize the relationship between the sister cities, the national anthems (from both nations) are sung by everyone present at the Opening Ceremonies. The Friendship Trophy is also given by the Mayor of the host city to the Mayor of the visiting city as a symbol of friendship and peace. The Games take the true meaning of friendship to task as each year the visiting country's athletes "billet" or reside with their counterparts during the entire weekend beyond competition. It is considered the signature of the Game's existence.

Editions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canusa Games Canada–United States relations Multi-sport events in Canada Multi-sport events in the United States North American international sports competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1958 Sport in Hamilton, Ontario Sports in Flint, Michigan Tourist attractions in Genesee County, Michigan