Sports in Saskatchewan consist of a wide variety of team and individual games, and include summer, winter, indoor, and outdoor games. Saskatchewan's cold winter climate has ensured the popularity of sports including its official sport, curling, as well as ice hockey, ice skating, and cross-country skiing. The province also has warm summers and popular summer sports include baseball, football, soccer, basketball, track and field, rodeo, horse-racing, and golf.
Saskatchewan is home to three professional sports teams, including the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, one of the oldest sports teams in North America. The province is also home to many junior teams, especially in hockey. University athletes at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina compete in U Sports. Saskatchewan has hosted many major national and international sports events, especially in hockey and curling.
The province has produced notable athletes in many sports, especially in hockey and curling, along with many Olympians, including gold and multi-medalists like Ethel Catherwood, Catriona Le May Doan, and Mark McMorris.
Sports teams
Major leagues ClubSportLeagueVenueCapacitySinceCityChampionships Saskatchewan Roughriders Canadian football CFL Mosaic Stadium 33,350 1910 Regina5 (1966, 1989, 2007, 2013, 2025) Saskatchewan Rush Box Lacrosse NLL SaskTel Centre 15,195 2016 Saskatoon2 (2016, 2018) Saskatoon Mamba Basketball CEBL SaskTel Centre 15,195 2019 Saskatoon1 (2019)
Amateur ClubSportLeagueVenueCapacitySinceCityChampionshipsSaskatoon ValkyriesFootball WWCFLGordie Howe Bowl 5,0002011Saskatoon10 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)Regina RiotFootball WWCFLLeibel Field 1,2002011Regina3 (2015, 2017, 2018)Saskatoon Berries & Regina Redsox, Moose Jaw Millers, Swift current 57s Baseball WCBLCairns Field 2,0002023Saskatoon1 (2026) Saskatoon
Major junior ClubSportLeagueVenueCapacitySinceCityNational championships Regina Pats Ice hockey WHL Brandt Centre 6,000 1917 Regina4 (1925, 1928, 1930, 1974) Saskatoon Blades Ice hockey WHL SaskTel Centre 15,195 1966 Saskatoon0 Swift Current Broncos Ice hockey WHL Innovation Credit Union iPlex 2,879 1967 Swift Current1 (1989) Prince Albert Raiders Ice hockey WHL Art Hauser Centre 2,580 1982 Prince Albert1 (1985) Moose Jaw Warriors Ice hockey WHL Mosaic Place 4,500 1984 Moose Jaw0Saskatoon HilltopsFootball CJFLGordie Howe Bowl 5,0001947Saskatoon22 (1953, 1958, 1959, 1968, 1969, 1978, 1985, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)Regina ThunderFootball CJFLLeibel Field 1,2001999Regina1 (2013)
University ClubCompetitionConferenceCitySinceSportsNational championships Saskatchewan Huskies U SportsCanada West Saskatoon 1911Basketball, football (men's only), ice hockey, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, cross country, track & field27 Regina Cougars U SportsCanada West Regina 1968Basketball, ice hockey, soccer (women's only), volleyball (women's only), swimming, cross country, track & field, curling, golf, rugby5 Regina Rams U SportsCanada West Regina 1999Football (men's only)0
Defunct ClubSportLeagueCityYears activeSaskatchewan Prairie FireRugby union RCSLRegina1998-2009 Saskatoon Yellow Jackets Baseball WCBL Saskatoon 2002–2014 Saskatoon Accelerators Soccer CMISL Saskatoon 2007–2010
Team sports
Curling Curling is the provincial sport of Saskatchewan, and many towns and villages across Saskatchewan feature curling rinks. One of the first curling clubs of Saskatchewan was at Moosomin, which arose as early as 1880. By the early 1950s, the province was home to more than 500 affiliated curling clubs and boasted approximately 19,000 curlers, the most per capita in Canada.
The first world curling title was won in 1959 by Ernie Richardson's team from Regina, and they went on to win three more world titles in the following four years. Women's teams from Saskatchewan also enjoyed early success, with Joyce McKee's rink winning the inaugural Canadian women's championship in 1961; McKee went on to win five more. Overall, teams from Saskatchewan have won 7 Canadian men's championships, 5 world men's championships, 13 Canadian women's championships, and 4 world women's championships. Some other notable curlers from Saskatchewan include Vera Pezer, Rick Folk, Sandra Schmirler, and Ben Hebert. The latter two won gold medals at the 1998 and 2010 Olympics. In a 2019 poll conducted by The Sports Network (TSN), experts ranked Schmirler's team as the greatest women's team in Canada's history.
Saskatchewan communities have hosted 19 editions of the men's and women's national championships along with 6 editions of the men's and women's world championships.
Ice hockey
Hockey has long been one of the most popular sports in Saskatchewan, and the province has produced a large number of notable hockey players. Among these are Gordie Howe, also known as "Mr. Hockey," and Hayley Wickenheiser, who are widely regarded as among the best male and female hockey players of all time. More than 500 NHL players have come from Saskatchewan, the highest per capita for a province in Canada.
Professional hockey existed in Saskatchewan on-and-off through the first half of the 20th century, ranging from the Prince Albert Mintos in 1911 to the Saskatoon Quakers in 1959. The Quakers won a minor-professional Pacific Coast Hockey League championship in 1952. In the later stages of the 20th century and the early 21st centuries, a number of efforts were made to bring a National Hockey League franchise to the province, but none were successful. Most notably, local promoter Bill Hunter purchased the St. Louis Blues in 1983 and tried to relocate the franchise to Saskatoon, a move that was blocked by the league.
Saskatchewan has a long tradition of junior hockey. In the major junior arena, the province is home to five teams in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The oldest and most successful are the Regina Pats, who have won four Memorial Cup championships. The Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos have each won one national title, in 1985 and 1989 respectively, while the Saskatoon Blades have made two appearances. The now-defunct Moose Jaw Canucks also made two appearances in the 1940s. The Memorial Cup tournament has been hosted in Saskatchewan nine times, most recently in 2018.
Saskatoon has twice hosted the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, in 1991 and alongside Regina in 2010. Prominent Saskatchewan players to play in the tournament for Canada include Theoren Fleury, Ryan Getzlaf, Jordan Eberle, and Brayden Schenn. Canada's all-time leading scorer at the tournament, Connor Bedard, played three seasons for the Regina Pats and served as team captain.
Saskatchewan hosts its own Junior 'A' league, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, which features 12 teams. The teams compete for the Credential Cup and the right to advance to the Anavet Cup against the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champion. If they win that series, they move on to the Canadian championship called the Royal Bank Cup. The Prince Albert Raiders have won the tournament three times, the Weyburn Red Wings twice and the Notre Dame Hounds and Humboldt Broncos once each. At this level internationally, the IIHF has created a tournament known as the World Junior A Challenge. This tournament, created in 2006, was first held in Humboldt and Estevan. It featured teams from Europe and North America, including two teams from Canada.
The province briefly hosted a women's professional team, the Saskatchewan Prairie Ice, which was based out of Lumsden. The team existed from 2003 to 2007 and competed in the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL).
Football Football is highly popular in Saskatchewan. The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) has two Saskatchewan teams competing in the Prairie Football Conference: the Saskatoon Hilltops and the Regina Thunder. Previous Regina teams included the Regina Bombers, Regina Dales, Regina Pats, and Regina Rams. The Rams joined with the University of Regina in 1999. Before departing the CJFL, the Rams were one of its most successful teams with 16 titles; only the Hilltops have more titles, with 22, including 9 out of 10 from 2010 to 2019. The Thunder were the only team besides the Hilltops to win that decade, winning their lone championship in 2013.
Saskatchewan also boasts two successful teams in the Western Women's Canadian Football League (WWCFL), the Saskatoon Valkyries and the Regina Riot. Since the league was established in 2011, they are the only two teams to win the league championship, with the Valkyries winning 10 titles and the Riot 3; the league took a two-season hiatus from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saskatchewan's most popular professional sports team are the Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. Established in 1910 as the Regina Rugby Club, the "Riders" are one of the oldest sports teams and community-owned franchises in North America. They compete in the CFL's West Division. The Roughriders have made 20 Grey Cup appearances and have won the Canadian championship five times, most recently the 112th Grey Cup in 2025, which was hosted in Winnipeg.
Baseball Many recreational leagues abound around the province, and baseball, both fastball and slowpitch, are featured in many community festivals, rodeos and reunion gatherings. The sport has a rich history in the province. A number of Saskatchewan teams participated in the Western Canada League Minors in the early 20th century, with the Moose Jaw Robin Hoods and Saskatoon Quakers each winning multiple titles before the league disbanded in the early 1920s. In the 1940s, a number of Saskatchewan women played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, including Arleene Noga, Mary Baker, and Daisy Junor, whose stories were re-told in the play Diamond Girls. The women were inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. In the 1950s, the community of Indian Head became the home of an all-black baseball team called the Rockets, made up of segregated Negro league players from Jacksonville, Florida. The team was extremely popular and reportedly drew crowds of thousands of people to the small town. In 2022, the Rockets were inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) is a summer amateur college wood-bat semi-pro baseball league, which features several Saskatchewan teams. The Swift Current 57s are the league's most successful team along with the Okotoks Dawgs, having won 6 titles, most recently in 2017. Saskatoon was awarded an expansion team in 2023; the Saskatoon Berries replaced the defunct Yellow Jackets, who folded in 2014.
Saskatchewan has seen a number of minor-professional baseball clubs come and go since the early 1990s. The Saskatoon Riot and Regina Cyclones were formed in 1994 and were members of the independent North Central League, which featured teams in Saskatchewan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. In 1995, the Riot and Cyclones left the NCL to help form a new independent league called the Prairie League. This league also saw the creation of a third Saskatchewan-based team, the Moose Jaw Diamond Dogs, with other teams in Manitoba, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The Prairie League lasted three seasons, folding in 1997.