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Rugby union is a quickly growing team sport in Canada; it is quite strong as a participation sport, particularly in several hotspots like British Columbia, Atlantic Canada (particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador), Ontario, and Quebec but does not attract the same level of spectator support yet, likely because the CFL's popular brand of Canadian Football is still similar to rugby in many ways, whilst also being the gridiron game. Rugby Canada is the administrative body for rugby union in Canada. Every province also has its own union. Canada has around 26,000 seniors and twice as many junior players spread across the country, the leading domestic competitions are the Americas Rugby Championship, a cross-border regional competition including the United States, Argentina and Uruguay the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship for under-20 players organised solely within Canada by Rugby Canada, the sports governing body, and the Canadian Rugby Championship, the top level of club rugby in the country. Canada is classified by World Rugby (WR) as a tier two rugby nation. Tier two nations do not have a full-time professional domestic structure in place, but they are considered by WR to be the most promising countries in which to expand the sport. The Canadian national side have competed in every Rugby World Cup to date yet have only won one match each tournament, with the exception of the 1991 tournament where they reached the quarterfinals. Canada's main problems have included the climate, because many grounds are under snow/ice for significant portions of the year, leading to a split season.〔〔Jones (1976), p21〕 Canada has long been a regional power in the sport, albeit in one of the sport's weaker regions. Argentina are the leading team in the Americas, usually followed by Canada, the United States and Uruguay. ==Popularity== The sport is played across Canada, with clubs even in places like Yukon. It is most popular on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland in British Columbia on the west coast, and Newfoundland, where rugby is considered to be the most popular summer sport. It is also quite popular in Prince Edward Island, where it is played by far more people than Football, but is less popular than Baseball as a summer sport. Rugby in British Columbia has had a strong international flavour, with the University of British Columbia playing a regular series against the University of California, and representative BC sides have made tours to Japan and England.〔 Up until just after the Second World War, rugby union was very popular on the west coast, and the east coast respectively.〔 However, despite increasing interest in the Canadian football strongholds of Quebec and Ontario, rugby union was weakened in its western and eastern strongholds, particularly the latter.〔 Despite its battle for survival, rugby has managed to maintain a presence in all parts of Canada.〔 Rugby in the Central Provinces was reinforced partially by immigration from other Commonwealth Countries.〔 Rugby in Canada has been experiencing a growing popularity. 20,396 fans came out to BMO Field in Toronto in June 2013 to watch Canada take on Ireland, a new attendance record for Canada.〔Rugby Mag, Ireland Defeats Canada on Big Night for Canadian Rugby, June 17, 2013, http://www.rugbymag.com/men/8400-ireland-defeats-canada-on-big-night-for-canadian-rugby.html〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rugby union in Canada」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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