Raptors training camp wraps up with open practice, Calgarians descend on UCalgary to bid farewell to ‘Canada’s team’

By Maggie Hsu, October 12 2025—

The Raptors have come and left UCalgary, and while their focus now shifts towards a successful NBA campaign, the Raptors have undoubtedly left a lasting impression on the city.

Thousands of Calgarians gathered outside the doors of the Olympic Oval last Friday to camp out and reserve their spots to ensure they could have the best seats in Jack Simpson Gym to see the Toronto Raptors up close and personal. What was a simple practice scrimmage became an event as over 3000 students and basketball fans packed the Jack. With even more looking for stray tickets turned away as the venue was sold out and many more across the city simply excited to hear about the team visiting Calgary, the buzz over the week of training camp had fans buzzing to catch a glimpse of the players.

At the end of the week, the score or the discussions surrounding who played the best or even who we could predict would make the final roster didn’t matter as much as the significance of this event for the city of Calgary, basketball fans in Alberta and the university as a whole.

Putting UCalgary on the map

When the Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology, Dr. Nick Holt, was presented with the potential to host this camp by the Dinos Athletics Department, he expressed some brief apprehension because such a major event on campus was bound to disrupt the campus and its students. However, without much contemplation, Dr. Holt said yes.

“Them [the Raptors] coming here, kind of being Canada’s team, what does that mean for the university community?” Dr. Holt said in an interview with the Gauntlet. “It’s a sense of excitement on campus.”

Dr. Holt recalled a moment on the Thursday of training camp, when the fitness centre finally opened its doors to the public after the conclusion of the day’s practice session. Students rushed upstairs to the track to try and catch a glimpse of the Raptors and luckily, one of the players was still there.

“They’ll remember that forever. The people who are here will remember it forever.”

And it’s these moments that Dr. Holt and the Dinos athletic staff who put this event together, wanted to create for students and Calgarians. With this camp serving as a valuable time for the Raptors to work and start their season off on the right foot, there was a high level of privacy and security, but word spreads quickly around this campus and that anticipation was apparent when the fans arrived in droves.

“I got goosebumps,” Dr. Holt said, commenting on the crowds of people lined up since noon earlier in the day to try and get the best seats possible to see their favourite players.

“Just to see the excitement and the lineup out there before people came in and the rush when we did open the doors was pretty cool to see,” said Director of Athletics Ben Matchett. “Hopefully it’s something we can see more of in this gym.”

Above all, this was an opportunity for the Dinos and the University of Calgary to show what our campus is capable of and how decades of advancement in kinesiology have directly contributed to the venues and facilities the university has built.

“This city and this university have benefitted immensely from sports — hosting events over the years, going back to the Olympics. Our faculty of Kinesiology is one of the best programs in the world and you can directly draw a line to hosting the Olympics,” explained Dr. Holt. “Support is really important in the city and the university, and this reflects that.”

Sharing the stage with the Raptors

It was a unique experience for many Dinos athletes as their usual training grounds had been taken over. But the Raptors’ visit was less of an inconvenience, as it was a feeling of disbelief for many Dinos, particularly men’s basketball head coach Dan Vanhooren and his players.

“[This event] brings energy to campus,” said Vanhooren. “You have a high level of professional organization here, not only from the player’s perspective but even the organizational perspective and how they approach things, how they approach practice — it’s been great to be around the coaching staff and see some of the players we know from the past, so there’s some great relationships there too.”

Vanhooren and lead assistant coach, Kyle Landry have both represented Canada at the National level, proving the Canadian basketball scene to be rather close-knit. Having the opportunity to see the NBA’s stars on their home court brought a sense of optimism and a larger goal for many Dinos players.

“We’re seeing all this stuff going on now. Now, when we go to practice, let’s try to play how they play,” Dinos’ forward Deandre Francis said when asked about what they’re taking away from getting an up-close look at a professional team. “Taking that next level experience into our practice and having fun and just enjoying ourselves, going out there with their brothers and having fun playing basketball.”

For Francis, this was a major full-circle moment. Growing up in Toronto, the Raptors were the team.

“Growing up, I played against AJ Lawson in my freshman year of high school,” Francis reminisced. “So getting to see him now and where he is, it’s a surreal moment — a great moment to show you to never give up on your dreams. You can go anywhere.”

Raptors fans are everywhere

For Raptors fans, this was their chance to see their favourite team in a more intimate setting. The Raptors have played preseason games in Calgary before, with their most recent being in 2016; however, Jack Simpson provided a more intimate setting for fans that they wouldn’t necessarily see in any other capacity.

“It’s great,” said Mike F, a Raptors fan who jumped on the opportunity to grab tickets for the open practice. “It’s great for the community and it’s great to see how many basketball fans are in Calgary and support the Raptors.”

Another fan, Jacob D added to this sentiment. “This is huge for grassroots basketball — It’s everything.”

Riley M, a graduate studies student in community health sciences, is another long-time Raptors fan but recognizes the value this camp has brought to students and the campus community. “It’s something that excites the student body and something they really want to do and be a part of — we’ve never seen this happen on campus before.”

All love from the Raptors

“We can feel a lot of love over here,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “Our guys really competed and tried their best so whoever showed up had a chance to enjoy great basketball.

“Hopefully, those fans that couldn’t be here can come support and see us in Toronto or on the road. Every time we go anywhere on the road, there are a lot of fans who come with their Raptors jerseys. I know these people are coming from every part and every corner of Canada so that brings a lot of pride for us.”

“Calgary showed up,” RJ Barrett added. “That was amazing. That was really fun — it’s so cool to see the people come out and support us and see what we do makes an impact in some way.”

What’s next? The Raptors have begun their preseason and put on display what they were working on here in Calgary to its fullest. And while Calgarians continue to follow along through their TVs, they can know that the city has left an impression on these players.