Major Events and Sport Events hosting in Ottawa – Spring 2024

Rugby Canada returns to Ottawa this summer

Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team is coming to Ottawa’s TD Place this summer for two heart-pumping games against Scotland and Romania. The team will launch their 2024 season with a match against Scottish Rugby on Saturday, July 6 at 5 p.m. before competing against Rugby Romania the following Friday, July 12 at 7 p.m.

Rugby Canada is committed to providing every school-age child in the Ottawa region the opportunity to redeem a complimentary ticket to the Scotland game. We are thrilled to offer free youth tickets with the purchase of one ticket for an accompanying parent or adult. This offer applies to all ticket types and prices.

Tickets start at $30 plus taxes and fees. Choose between four levels of reserved seating, club seating or standing general admission. 

You can purchase tickets for all games here.

Volleyball Nations League 2024 came to Ottawa

The best of international volleyball came to Ottawa from June 4 to 9 at TD Place for week two of the Men’s Volleyball Nations League 2024. Participating teams included Canada, Argentina, Cuba, France, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia and the USA. 

On June 8th, Canada beat USA today in front of more than 7000 spectators, a record attendance for this tournament in North America.

Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend 2024 had 32,704 participants

Canada’s largest running and walking festival took place in Ottawa from May 25 to 26, 2024 with six incredible races and 32,704 total participants.

Local, national, eliteand recreational runners gathered in the national capital region to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Ottawa marathon held in 1975. In 2023, the event raised $1,126,273.66 for local and national charities through the Desjardins Charity Challenge.

Races included the Tartan Ottawa International Marathon (5,033), Ottawa Half Marathon presented by Desjardins (8,620 participants), Ottawa 10K presented by Otto’s Ottawa (6,899 participants), Ottawa 2K presented by ASICS Runkeeper (3,322 participants), Ottawa 5K presented by ASICS Runkeeper (7,399 participants) and Ottawa Kids Marathon (1,431 participants) — as well as three multi-event challenges.

Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend has seen more than half a million runners participate, and it was named Event of the Year at the 2019 Canadian Tourism Awards.

Call for Indigenous artists: Showcase your talent at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship

Share your artistic vision and celebrate hockey on a global stage!

Hockey Canada has launched a call for Indigenous artists to feature their work at the 2025 World Juniors. Ottawa-area artists (including those from Akwesasne, Kitigan-Zibi, and Pikwakanagan communities) are encouraged to submit a proposal by June 30.

The Indigenous art will be integrated into various aspects of the tournament, with proposed projects including Player of the Game gifting, merchandise, murals and more.

Apply now.

Anticipation builds as 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Commissionaires Ottawa Open approaches

The 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Commissionaires Ottawa Open takes place July 22-28 at Eagle Creek Golf Club with 3,906 attendees. Tournament Round 1 begins on July 25.

The PGA TOUR Americas was introduced in April 2023 as a merger of PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada into a singular tour. It features 16 tournaments across eight countries, starting in March and concluding in September with the Fortinet Cup Championship.

The tour is extremely competitive and aims to identify and transition expert players to the next level of professional goal, striving to reach the PGA TOUR.

Find schedule details.

2024 Canadian Ultimate Championships takes place in Ottawa this August

The 2024 Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) is an ultimate frisbee annual national championship that gathers senior teams (open, women, and mixed) from across Canada to compete for the National title and this year, Ottawa is the host city.

Hosted by the Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association, the CUC takes place August 11-18. The Junior Championship kicks off August 11-14, followed immediately by the Senior Championship from August 15-18.

Learn more about the CUC Juniors and Seniors.

2024 Trillium Championships leap into action this summer

Ottawa has been hosting the Trillium Hunter Jumper Association Championships at Wesley Clover Parks for years. In 2024, the event takes place from August 29 to September 1 with 3,600 expected attendees.

This annual championship show is presented by the Trillium Hunter Jumper Association, with the event featuring Ontario's top seven riders per core division from each of the seven zones across the province.

The Trillium Circuit includes 18 divisions featuring a variety of skill levels and ages.

Learn more about the Trillium Championship Show.

Ottawa to host 10th annual Canadian National Transplant Games in August

The Canadian Transplant Association (CTA) is a volunteer-led charity that supports transplant recipients, candidates on transplant waiting lists, donor families, living donors, health care professionals and their family and friends.

Each year, they invite the Canadian transplant community to participate in the Canadian Transplant Games, an event featuring a variety of sports. From table tennis to swimming to sprinting and lawn bowling, the Games are a unique opportunity to connect with some friendly competition. There are also several associated events such as opening and closing ceremonies, a family picnic, and a gala.

This year’s Games take place August 3-9, 2024, at Carleton University with 750 people attending.

Discover all the featured sports and more information about the Canadian Transplant Games.

Ottawa joins Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league

The newly named professional women’s soccer league, Northern Super League (NSL), added Ottawa to its circuit. The league, previously known as Project 8, is made up of six clubs from across Canada. So far, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, Montreal and now Ottawa, have been announced as confirmed teams. The inaugural season is set to begin in April 2025 with a 25-game regular season followed by playoffs and a national championship in fall 2025.

Did you know that the new brand is set to change the landscape of women in sports by intentionally omitting “women” in its name? 

Learn more about the NSL.

Don’t miss the final Thirsty Thursday this spring

It’s your last chance to connect with member national sport organizations in one place before fall! This time, Thirsty Thursday takes place on Wednesday (yes, you read that right), June 19. It’s held at the House of Sport in the RA Centre and provides a fun way to socialize with folks from Ottawa’s sports scene.

Devin Jenkins (Manager, Major Events & Sport), Joey Swarbrick (Manager, Major Events & Sport) and Laura Matley (Manager, Business Events) are attending.

Team OT scores in London

Members of Ottawa Tourism and several community partners went to London, England this past April for a targeted sales mission. In partnership with Air Canada, the mission got our city in front of meeting planners, events rights holders, sport event planners, tour operators, media and other tourism business development professionals. A core focus was to showcase Ottawa’s strong sports community and our unique destination’s ability to host unforgettable major sporting events.

While the mission included a busy meeting schedule with professionals from various sectors as well as a “Here to Inspire” reception, an incredible networking event on April 22, the Major Events and Sport team was particularly passionate about promoting Ottawa as must-visit running destination at the 2024 TCS London Marathon. Team Ottawa hosted a successful Run Ottawa Booth at the event. Ottawa Tourism also attended SportsPro Live 2024, a landmark event for the industry.

Green-er sports facilities

Check out the latest Major Events and Sport blog post and discover how local facilities are committing to more sustainable operations.

• Rugby Canada Summer Tests vs Scotland and Romania – July 6 & 12, 2024
• 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Commissionaires Ottawa Open – July 22-28, 2024
• 2024 Canadian Ultimate Championships – August 11-18, 2024
• 2024 Softball Canada U20 Men’s Canadian Championship – August 20-25, 2024
• 2024 Trillium Championship Show – August 29 – September 1
• 2025 World Junior Hockey Championship – December 26, 2024 – January 5, 2025
• IRONMAN Canada-Ottawa Triathlon – August 3, 2025

• Thirsty Thursday (on a Wednesday) at the House of Sport - June 19, in Ottawa
• Fuel Sports – Meetings Encore Client Conference – July 15-17, in Ottawa
• Host Ottawa – September 24-26, in Toronto
• SpoHo X – October 28-29, in Charlottetown

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