So you think you know Canada, eh?

Happy Canada Day!
Technically I’m a day late, but it’s still fun to wish everyone the best in the days surrounding Canada’s 142nd birthday.
If it didn’t rain last night, I’m sure the ball diamonds behind the Walkerton Community Centre drew a big crowd to watch the fireworks. As for me, I was sitting on a boat in the middle of a lake near Huntsville, watching the celebrations there with my husband’s family. Good times.
Before I left, however, I came across a Web site that claims to be Canada’s first online trivia game in support of Canadian athletes.
Called Toques and Beavers (www.toquesandbeavers.ca), the game is a fun way to refresh your memory about all things Canadian, learn things you didn’t already know and support Canadian athletes. Most of all, bragged a news release on the game, it brings together family and friends and lets you show off your Canadian pride. Wow, sounds like a beer commercial.
But still, everyone loves trivia questions, right? And with Toques and Beaver’s all-Canadian content, we Canucks have an advantage this time around. (Take that, Alex Trebek!)
The game works like this: Players access Toques and Beavers online and sign-up for free (that part was easy, I registered through Facebook). Everyone begins with $0 and an online persona. The dice is rolled and you move around the board, landing on one of four different types of playing cards that can help the player earn or lose money. All cards ask Canadian trivia questions on a wide range of topics.
Sample questions include:
• What was the original name of Regina, Saskatchewan?
• What’s the maximum number of gold medals Canada won in the Summer Olympics?
• What was Wayne Gretzky’s first professional team?
• Who was the first woman leader of a federal political party?
(I only got two of the sample questions right so I guess the game really is educational. Who knew?)
All of the questions are multiple-choice. Topics include tourism, politics, landmarks, history, current events, geography, entertainment, music, wildlife, food, native culture and Canadian-isms. Once players have earned enough money, they move to the next level of the game where their character morphs and the questions become more challenging.
The goal of the game is to reach $1,000,000 in the fastest time. Each month, the winner with the highest point total wins a monetary prize.
Isn’t that swell? The fine print says you have to be 18 or older to collect a prize, but there’s no age requirement to play.
The best part of the game is the partnership with the Canadian Athletes Now Fund (CAN Fund) to raise money for Canadian athletes. When an on-line donation is made (which is also really easy to do), the donor can immediately find out which Canadian athlete their money is assisting with things such as training, coaching, nutrition and living expenses.
How can you not love a game that is all about Canada and supports our athletes? Log on and give it a try, and let’s keep the celebrations going all summer long.