Canada froze out Mexico in World Cup soccer qualifier in Edmonton. Will it happen again in Hamilton?
CBC
It's not necessarily fun playing soccer in the extreme cold. In fact, Jelani Smith, head of soccer operations for Hamilton's Forge FC, says it's "difficult" and "very unsettling."
But when Canada's men's national soccer team meets the U.S. at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on Jan. 30 for a World Cup qualifying game, Smith said, the deep-freeze conditions will most likely challenge the visiting team.
"They're in the off season, so they're not coming in top shape and then ... they're leaving pre-seasons from warmer places, so Arizona, Florida or California," Smith, a former professional player, told CBC Hamilton.
"Having to come back here and having to deal with the weather in Hamilton outdoors would be very difficult, giving the Canadian team the advantage."
The World Cup is expected to take place in November and December in Qatar, with qualifiers underway.
For the Hamilton game, playing in the cold at the end of January would be unpleasant — for both teams.
"Inclement weather always makes it difficult, but playing in the cold is a particularly difficult task from a player's standpoint," Smith said. "Having to get warm, having to stay warm, having to stay mobile and flexible throughout the game — it's difficult in the cold weather."
Last Jan. 30 in Hamilton, the temperature ranged from –4 to –11 C with the wind chill, according to Environment Canada.
"Obviously, in regards to the guys [sitting on] the benches, it's just painful or bitterly cold to be not in motion, and the guys that are on their field, especially their breathing, any time you have cold weather it's a bit harder to breathe and harder on the lungs."
Smith said playing in the cold affects virtually every part of the body.
"Your feet are frozen, it's harder to breathe, your hands are cold, a lot of congestion happens, your chest starts to hurt, the humidity is not there — so those conditions always affect game play."
Jayashree Pathak, goalkeeper for the McMaster University women's soccer team from Hamilton — has been in competitive soccer for 16 years and has first-hand experience playing in the cold.
Pathak, 22, has been on teams including Aurora League 1, King City Royals and Unionville Soccer Club.
She said some of her games were "in pretty cold weather."
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.