The Richmond Olympic Oval left the city with a genuine sport culture and a supply chain to match. Skating, rowing, badminton, table tennis, volleyball and basketball all have serious local followings, and badminton in particular is closer to a civic pastime here than a niche.
Fishing is the other pillar. Steveston tackle shops serve a working fleet and a recreational one, from salmon gear to crab traps. Add the flat-terrain cycling trade, the soccer and field-sport suppliers around the Minoru precinct, and golf shops serving the courses on the island's edges. Big-box outlets sit at Ironwood and Bridgeport; the specialists are scattered. Each listing shows hours and neighborhood.
East Richmond tackle shop serving Fraser River anglers. Rods, reels, terminal tackle and fresh and frozen bait for salmon and sturgeon, plus the kind of local advice on where the fish are running that you will not get from a big-box sports floor.
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Racquet sports specialist on the upper level of Aberdeen Centre, with a strong badminton focus plus table tennis and snowboarding gear. It runs the adjoining Yonex shop, and does racquet stringing, which matters in a city with a serious badminton scene.
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Independent Steveston skate shop, open since 2013. Builds and repairs complete skateboards and longboards, stocks decks, trucks and wheels from Landyachtz, Sector 9 and Powell Peralta, and carries helmets, pads and slide gloves for the seawall crowd.
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From the blog
Guides and roundups written for Richmond, with the businesses linked inline.
The Night Market's final season is the loud story. The quieter one: free admission at the Cannery ends Monday, Britannia keeps summer hours through Sunday, and Steveston does sunsets better than anyone.
Nothing on Alexandra Road is a secret. It is just in a strip mall with bad signage and no patio, which is why visitors never find it. Here is how I actually use Richmond's plazas and food courts, which specialists are worth the drive, and when not to bother.
The West Dyke Trail is about five and a half kilometres of flat gravel between Terra Nova Rural Park and Garry Point, and I ride it most mornings. Here is what is actually at the north end, which way to walk so the wind is on your side, and why winter is the better season for it.
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