Chris Szarka

Chris "Canuck Truck" Szarka (born February 12, 1975) is a Canadian former professional football fullback who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1997 to 2010. He also served as a member of the Regina City Council.

Early life Szarka was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and attended Terry Fox High School in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, and starred in football and Basketball.

In 1992, Szarka was a Provincial All-Star at running back and helped lead the Terry Fox Ravens to their first ever BC Boys' Basketball championship.

College career Szarka began his college career at Simon Fraser University. After one season he transferred to College of the Siskiyous; a junior college in Siskiyou County, California. He returned to play in the West Final and the 95th Grey Cup where he got his first Grey Cup ring after the Saskatchewan Roughriders' win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Szarka had an uneventful season in 2008 as he had 10 touches for a combined 55 yards from scrimmage. He also had a fumble recovery for a touchdown off of a muffed punt by the Calgary Stampeders.

In the 2009 season, Szarka led the Roughriders with six rushing touchdowns, including three in an overtime October game against the Stampeders. He had 15 carries for 78 yards and three catches for 20 yards throughout all 18 regular season games in 2009.

On June 1, 2011, Szarka was released by the Roughriders. He did not wish to play for another team and announced his retirement the next day.

Political career In 2009, Szarka was elected to Regina City Council as councilor for Ward 10. He served one term before being defeated in 2012 by the previous incumbent, Jerry Flegel.