Competitors criss-cross Canada in ‘Race’
Map reading is a skill that has fallen by the wayside since the arrival of the GPS and smartphone, and that’s a shame because it really can come in handy.
For example, if your Internet or cell service gets interrupted or you find yourself on what is sure to be the hottest competition on Canadian television this summer, “The Amazing Race Canada,” premiering Monday, July 15, on CTV.
That’s right, we finally have our own version of the international hit show. But this incarnation will be limited to our own borders.
As with the show’s foreign counterparts, contestants will need to get from one place to another with little more than a map and a prayer and with the help of some fairly difficult clues, says Olympic champion and Canadian skeleton hero Jon Montgomery, who’s been tapped as the host.
“‘The Amazing Race Canada’ features planes, trains and all kinds of automobiles,” says Montgomery. “But it isn’t always the remoteness that lends itself to challenges; I think sometimes just dealing with different ethnic communities within this country presents itself with challenges. Finding somebody that you can converse with at a level that is gonna give enough direction and detail to get you to where you need to be can be challenging.”
That’s a diplomatic way of saying that the contestants are in for a heap of difficulty when faced with finding the clues necessary to advance.
“Some of these things are pretty vague,” says Montgomery. “They are looking for ‘needle in a haystack’ type clues. So your ability to communicate with people around you is certainly paramount, and in some of the communities that was a challenge. You don’t even need to get off the grid to be able to experience some of these types of challenges. But then, of course, we do go off the grid on the show, and you are going to experience challenges with local geography and even climates and weather and stuff like that. It’s pretty cool.”
Montgomery, of course, knows what it’s like to compete in some high-stakes races, so he’s the perfect person for the job. Certainly no stranger to podium finishes, he brings a love for new challenges to “The Amazing Race Canada.” In fact, it was a mere eight years after his first run down a skeleton track that he took gold at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010.
For the uninitiated, Mongomery was born and raised in Russell, Man., and transitioned from a career as an auctioneer to become a champion skeleton racer. He captured a silver medal at the 2007/2008 FIBT World Championships in Altenberg, Germany, and has earned eight World Cup medals — four gold, two silver, and two bronze — and five Canadian national titles to date.
He became a household name following his powerful gold-medal run down Whistler’s Blackcomb Mountain in 2010, as Canadians across the country instantly fell in love with this inspirational hero. He currently lives in Calgary with his wife, Darla, a fellow skeleton racer.
And while the formula of “The Amazing Race Canada” will stick pretty close to its American counterpart, one key difference is that the host actually participates and demonstrates to both the competitors and viewers at home the risks involved and the skills required for some of the challenges facing the racers.