Competitive sports emerged almost as quickly as schools and churches on the prairies and have always been an important expression of the community. Good teams and lively crowds bespoke vitality in every aspect of life; poor teams and small audiences suggested apathy. For the first generation of settlers, the existence of a local team demonstrated that wilderness had been replaced by civilization. For the second generation, sports became an important socializing influence both because they helped to "Canadianize" children from non-British lands and because they set the ideals of manly and womanly behaviour. In recent decades, the educational function of sports has not changed nor has the social importance. Though many aspects of rural cultural life have withered, including educational groups and even, to some extent, churches, games continue to be significant social occasions. Indeed, there is no more active building in most prairie towns in mid-winter than the curling and skating rink.
Naturally enough, immigrants brought their own sporting traditions to the prairies. Polo and cricket both were played by newcomers from Britain. This photograph shows the Battleford Cricket Club of Battleford, Saskatchewan, in 1890.
