Sport in British Columbia

There are four major sports in British Columbia which are the most popular and which have high-level, fully professional competitions: association football, rugby union, hockey (ice), and baseball; football is the only one which has a fully professionalised women's league, in addition to the men's league; the only other fully professional women's competition is in hockey.

Rugby is the most popular spectator sport in BC by a significant margin, followed by men's football. Men's hockey, baseball, and women's football attract similar numbers of spectators; average numbers are notably lower for women's hockey, but the advances made since the professional league's inauguration in 2007 have been significant.

In addition to the national leagues, the Vancouver Orca hockey club play in the North American National Hockey League since 1992.


 * Baseball
 * British Columbia Baseball League (BCBL)


 * Football
 * British Columbia Football League (BCFL) (men)
 * British Columbia Women's Football League (WFL)


 * Hockey
 * British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) (men)
 * Women's Hockey BC (WHBC)


 * Rugby Union
 * British Columbia Rugby Union (BCRU)

= International competition = British Columbian athletes have taken place in international competition since the 1908 Olympic Games.

Olympic Games
''Main articles: British Columbia at the Summer Olympics, British Columbia at the Winter Olympics

British Columbians have been taking part in the Olympic Games since 1908, when three athletes - Sydney Brown in shooting, John Fortescue Foulkes DSO and Robert Powell in tennis - competed, but no medals were won. The first medal won by a British Columbian came in 1908, a silver won by Duncan Gillis in discus; the first gold medals wer won at the 1928 Games by Percy Williams, who won both the 100 and 200 metre sprints. The first woman to medal for BC were Lillian Palmer, Mary Frizzell, Mildred Thompson, and Agnes Szabo in the women's 4×100 metre relay at the 1932 Summer Games, the first woman to win gold for BC was Dame Nancy Greene Raine DBC in the women's giant slalom at the 1968 Winter Olympics. British Columbia hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, winning two gold medals.

At the Summer Games, BC athletes have won 50 medals - 10 gold, 20 silver, and 21 bronze, with the greatest success coming from rowing, with 15 medals - 5 gold, 8 silver, and 2 bronze, followed by 12 from swimming (6 silver, 6 bronze), and 10 from athletics (2 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze). Fifteen medals were won at Winter Games - 7 gold, 6 silver, and 2 bronze, with the greatest success coming from freestyle skiing, specifically women's ski cross, in which four medals - including three gold - have been won.

All-time medals ranking
British Columbia is 46th in terms of total gold medals, 46th in silver, and 48th in bronze medals.

Football
BC's greatest success in international football was the bronze medal in women's football at the 2012 Olympics in London, UK.


 * British Columbia men's national football team
 * British Columbia women's national football team

= Stadia = A list of stadia in BC used by clubs presently or recently in professional leagues, sorted by capacity. Almost all indoor hockey arenas are or have been used for concerts, as have many football, rugby, and multisport stadia.