The Sunshine Coast is set to be featured in a new season of The Amazing Race Canada, currently the country’s most popular television program and a widely watched summer reality series. 

The episode of Tuesday, July 9, which will air at 9 p.m. on the CTV network, was filmed at locations on the Coast this spring. 

“Teams head west to the Sunshine Coast, B.C., and decide whether to secure their spot or try for an opportunity to get ahead,” teased a publicist from CTV Communications in answer to inquiries from the Coast Reporter. “Racers put their taste and rhythm to the test, then some are caught horsing around.” 

The show is hosted by Jon Montgomery, who won a gold medal for the skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler. Montgomery narrates the travails of 11 diverse two-person teams from all parts of Canada who compete on a cross-country adventure. Teams are eliminated one-by-one at the conclusion of prescribed challenges when they are the last to arrive at designated stops. 

The winning team is set to receive a pair of Chevrolet vehicles, a round-the-world trip sponsored by the Expedia travel agency, and a $250,000 cash prize. 

The season premiere returned to the Oaks Garden Theatre, overlooking Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, for its starting line — the same location where the inaugural season began in 2013. The race will also touch down in Montgomery’s hometown of Russell, Manitoba for the first time. 

Three B.C. residents are competing on the show.  

Michael Crouse and Tyson Gillies, both from Vancouver, are both former professional baseball players (with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners respectively) and are currently baseball development coaches.  

Gurleen Maan, an Abbotsford-based farmer, is paired with Calgary resident Kevin Martin, a professional poker player.  

Maan previously appeared on the CTV reality show Farming for Love, although the relationship with her partner of choice did not endure after the series concluded. Maan later met Martin while appearing on a TV series called The Traitors Canada, a reality show that involved uncovering hidden treachery. 

A father-and-son team of Cree heritage — Michael and Amari Linklater — will be the first competitors in the show’s 10-year history to represent Saskatchewan. 

Following extensive location scouting on the Sunshine Coast, the Amazing Race production team settled on locations in Sechelt and Gibsons for their multi-day shoot. 

During the episode, one of the Coast’s most acclaimed instrumental ensembles, the nine-member Knotty Dotters marimba group, will interact with teams of racers. While filming that segment, the Amazing Race production team purchased new T-shirts and marimba mallets for the musicians. An unexpected rainfall forced a quick change of location to the Gibsons Public Market. 

Other distinctive local experiences — whose details are tightly-guarded by producers until the episode’s air date — will include an equestrian challenge, kayaking, and exposure to the Coast’s culture of artisanal food production (in particular, oil and vinegar). 

The Amazing Race Canada has averaged 1.7 million viewers in its latest broadcasts. The series ended its ninth season as Canada’s most-watched summer series among adults aged 25 to 54; it has so far amassed 42 Canadian Screen Award nominations and 27 wins. 

Up-to-the-minute details and full episodes are posted online at ctv.ca/shows/the-amazing-race-canada.