DCHP-2

import DCHP-2 (June 2016)

• 1 n. — Sports, informal, slang

  a player who is brought in from elsewhere to play for a team representing a town, province, company, etc.

  Type: 3. Semantic Change — Import, in this colloquial sense, is a noun designating a person, especially an athlete, that plays for a team representing an area to which he or she is not native. OED-3 (s.v. "import" (n.3a)) defines import as 'that which is imported or brought in; a commodity imported from abroad'. Within the context of sports in Canada, this definition is semantically narrowed to a person brought in from abroad for a team, typically because they possess a certain skill that is considered a an asset. There is evidence of the term among participants and fans of a variety of sports, including soccer (see the 1958 quotation) and hockey (see the 1978 quotation). Import can also be found in less structured settings, such as in the context of an office softball team (see the 1949 quotation).
  See also Gage-1, s.v. "import" (5b), which is marked "Cdn. Slang", COD-2, s.v. "import" (5b), which is marked "Cdn Sport".

  See also: designated import  

  • 1949  "Be glad to see more of the employees on the [softball] team . . .' Stead of all these imports."
  • 1955  Taking item by item it was agreed that the senior 'A' group be classed as open league, which would allow the use of imports and paid playing coaches.
  • 1958  Imports are adding color to soccer in Canada just as they did for football.
  • 1962  One of the greatest of all the imports was Bill Cowley, a smoothie from Ottawa.
  • 1978  The International team, as it is officially known (unofficially they call themselves The Rest of the World), was and is quintessentially Canadian, right down to its Scandinavian imports. The gung-ho optimism has always been in wild contrast to the terrible results; hope was this team's only friend, while despair was its constant companion. That first face-off six years ago was simply the first joke in a recurring debacle where happiness was keeping the Russians from getting more than 10 goals. 
  • 1984  The problem is that many North American fans already have an image of soccer being a foreign sport that is "too ethnic." In the past, it has been. Toronto's Metros-Croatia drove away many English fans because of the heavy Croatian connection. Similary, when the Blizzard was formed in 1977, it was referred to as "too British." Now, the team is two-thirds Canadian, but the fans cheer loudest for the imports. 
  • 1994  The University of Winnipeg Wesmen women's basketball team bids for its 89th consecutive victory Friday night against the University of Manitoba Bisons. [...] All but one of the 14 players on the roster are Manitobans. Andrea Hutchens is the lone import - from Newfoundland. 
  • 2016  Moose Jaw Warriors -- Exchanged imports with Kamloops, picking up F Patrik Maier and a pick for F Jiri Smejkal. 

• 2 n. — Canadian Football

  a non-Canadian professional player (in practice, an American).

  Type: 3. Semantic Change — According to the Canadian Football League, an import is a player not native to Canada, standing in contrast to the native Canadian non-import players. These titles, however, have since been replaced by the terms "International Players" and "National Players", respectively, though the older terms are still used. Though this sense of the term is similar to meaning 1, the CFL has outlined specific rules designating an import in the breakdown of team rosters. To be deemed an import, or International Player, the athlete in question must not be a Canadian citizen at the time of their first contract signing and cannot have spent five years in Canada prior to the age of eighteen. A team of 44 athletes is allowed a maximum of 20 import players (see CFL reference).
  See also Gage-1, s.v. "import" (5a), which is marked "Cdn. Slang", COD-2, s.v. "import" (5b), which is marked "Cdn Sport".

  See also: Canadian football  homebrew (def. 1a)  non-import  Canadian Football League  CFL  

  • 1958  It is understood he may receive his citizenship papers this year and not be classed as an import on Stamp's roster.
  • 1966  If he had known two years ago what he knows now, Atamian would be playing as a Canadian for Ottawa Rough Riders, not as an import for Argos.
  • 1973  Reed hopes that CFL teams will restore the Canadian, or non-import, player to their lineups that was dropped last year in favor of another import.
  • 1982  While that may be true, it is also a fact that, so far, the CFL clubs have not signed a single import selected in this year's NFL draft.
  • 2001  The Stamps also are allowed to protect nine import players, and Ottawa can pick one import off each roster. 
  • 2012  Finally, in 1947, the Bombers made it close. The Argos refused to use imports but the Bombers brought five, including quarterback Bob Sandberg. The Bombers jumped out to a 9-1 lead before (you guessed it) Krol found Copeland for a touchdown. Krol then kicked a single for the winning point as time expired, giving the Boatmen a 10-9 win.