Most of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ road trips take place during the off-season.
That is especially true of late, with representatives of the community-owned CFL team routinely hitting the highways via three avenues:
• Rider Reading.
• Win With Wellness.
In support of the latter two initiatives — under the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation umbrella — Player Ambassadors have once again visited schools throughout the province to promote literacy and mental health.
On top of that, Roughriders players and/or Gainer the Gopher have travelled to various destinations in the fine company of the Grey Cup. Saskatchewan won the fifth championship in franchise history by defeating the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 in Winnipeg on Nov. 16.
“It has been an exciting winter for us and for our fans,” President-CEO Craig Reynolds said. “We’re so grateful for the support we receive from across the province and, while we have the Cup, we want to share it with as many people as possible.”
The Grey Cup Community Tour, which will last two months, includes several stops that are just around the corner:
Thursday (Feb. 26): Assiniboia (Southland Co-op Centre, 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.).
Friday: Foam Lake Community Hall (4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.). This will be a homecoming for Reynolds, who grew up in Foam Lake.
Saturday: Fort Qu’Appelle Winter Festival (202 Boundary Ave.; 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
Sunday: Saskatoon (Telemiracle 50, Prairieland Park, noon to 1:30 p.m.; Wanuskewin Heritage Park, 4 Penner Rd., 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
The Tour began on Feb. 7 with a stop at Elgar Petersen Arena for an SJHL game between the Humboldt Broncos and Estevan Bruins.
Since then, the Grey Cup has been present at two other hockey games — hosted by the Prince Albert Raiders (Feb. 10) and Weyburn Red Wings (Feb. 16).
Also on the radar are SJHL games presented by the Yorkton Terriers (March 6) and Estevan Bruins (March 14).
The Roughriders will have possession of the Grey Cup until early April, when it is to be returned to the CFL.
The travels, however, will continue as the Roughriders Foundation builds upon a landmark year.
Player Ambassadors visited 143 schools, conducted 132 presentations, and interacted with 34,888 students during the off-season of 2024-25.
During the current off-season, the Roughriders have made appearances at 208 schools (104 in each program) and reached 25,000-plus youngsters … and counting.
As well, students from 20 schools have been introduced to football via the Grow The Game program.
All of that is in keeping with the Foundation’s three pillars — amateur football, health and education.
The Foundation donated $1.8 million to amateur football in 2025, when 1,000 new helmets were provided to young players across the province, and the contribution for 2026 is expected to be substantially greater than last year’s already-impressive benchmark.
“The other pillars are the mental health program and the literacy program,” Roughrider Foundation Executive Director Cindy Fuchs said.
“We were told by a family, ‘Keep these players talking about anxiety and stress, particularly because they’re male and they’re Riders and they’re talking about it openly in front of our kids. Then kids, particularly males, feel it’s OK to talk about mental health.’
“One family said, ‘Please, please, please keep going to schools. They lost their son to suicide and they said, ‘Had he felt like it was OK to talk, I’m not saying for sure, but …’
“It has made a huge impact, so we tell our players that every day. But when it comes from a family with a child, it’s a different story.”
Stories in general are fundamental to Rider Reading.
“Kindergarten students get their first book in many schools from the Rider players who are reading to them,” Fuchs said.
“I’ve heard from some of the players that it has encouraged the players to actually read again as well. You start reading when you’re a kid. Then you start reading to your kids. Now they’re thinking, ‘Actually, reading is kind of cool,’ so they share that with kids to encourage reading.”