It’s common knowledge that CARSA is always busier in September, usually with first-years who think they’ll actually have time to workout amid their schoolwork. This year, however, a few of the new faces at the gym will be decidedly more familiar than most.
Photo by Myles Sauer, photo contributor
The Toronto Raptors are set to hold a pre-season training camp at CARSA from Tuesday, September 26, to Friday the 29. The camp takes place three weeks before the start of the 2017–2018 season, and any member of the public can watch an open intra-squad game held on the 28.
This is the tenth time the NBA team has held a training camp outside of Ontario, and the fifth year in a row the Raptors have opted to hold the camp in British Columbia. Previously the team has trained in Halifax, Buffalo, Rome, and Madrid.
“It’s an honour to visit a different part of Canada and prepare for our season in the first-class facilities at the University of Victoria,” Raptors’ head coach Dwayne Casey said in a press release. “We are extremely proud being Canada’s only NBA franchise. Our players and staff feel enthusiasm for basketball in every city we have visited. We don’t ever want to take that for granted.”
It may come as a shock for some that an NBA team is visiting CARSA to use its facilities. It does make sense, however — millionaire professional athletes are among the few people who can afford the gym’s rates.
