Western Canadian Championships

The Western Canadian Championships are the championship tournaments of the Gaelic Athletic Association, played every year in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

History

In 2004, the first formal GAA sanctioned Western Canadian Championships were played. The Divisional Board, in order to facilitate tournaments that include unaffiliated teams (i.e. not in the Western Divisional Board), and to allow each teams host critical games (understanding the travel distances between venues), agreed that the Championship would be played out in a League format. Each member team would play each other team twice, over two tournaments. The venue for Championship games would be rotated so that each team is required to cross the Rockies only once each year. Only the 4 member clubs (4 men's & 3 ladies' teams) compete in this Championship.

To date the Men Championships have been fairly open with the closest so far being the 2006 season where each team recorded 2 wins & 2 losses. In those days the Championship was decided on points difference (sparking call for change). In 2008, Vancouver dominated, with Calgary narrowly losing both its matches against the Harps. 2008 was also the first year that 4 men's teams competed for the title with the addition of the Red Deer Éire Óg boys to the mix.

The early days of the Ladies Championships were dominated by the Edmonton Wolfe Tones, with their vibrant club spirit and commitment to practice paying dividends. They won the first 3 Championships. However Vancouver made 2007 a year of change, adopting those self-same virtues, by gaining their first of back-to-back Championships. The Albertan sides have had mix fortunes in the Championship and will have to up the ante in 2009 to bring the Trophy back to the eastern foothills of the Rockies.

The Tom's

2008 will be historic also because the teams will be vying for silverware with the "Tom Butler" Cup on offer for the Men's, and the "Tom Gibbons" Memorial Cup up for grabs for the Ladies. The families' of these two Vancouver legends, the former will likely be on hand to present his cup to the first winners, were kind enough to sponsor these perpetual trophies to the Western Canada Division.

2009 Championship dates

The Western Canadian Championship is played out over two weekends, and the dates for these tournaments this year are:
* Vancouver
**Saturday & Sunday, June __th & __th, 2009

* Edmonton
**Saturday & Sunday, August 1st & 2nd, 2009

Roll of Honour

*Roll of Honour (Men's)
# Vancouver Harps - 3
# Calgary Chieftains - 2

*Roll of Honour (Ladies')
# Edmonton Wolfe Tones - 3
# Vancouver Harps - 2

= 2008 WCC Results =

;Ladies:Vancouver Harps became the first team other than the Edmonton Wolfe Tones to win back-to-back titles, when they went unbeaten in the Championship for the first time ever. The Ladies of Calgary put it up to them on the field of play though, as it was the Harps who took the tournament honours at the Vancouver & Calgary Tournaments. Edmonton failed to represent in a single Championship match and there are growing concerns about the future of Ladies football in the City.
*Best for Vancouver: Alaina Bleker, Rene McGloin, Eimer Grogan
*Best for Calgary: Erin LeBlance, Alison Zmurchuk
*Best for Edmonton: Kim Budd, Dawn Krawchuk
* Special Mention: Radean Adams (Red Deer)

;Men's:Vancouver Harps lead the way with 6 wins against their opponents. Though Calgary were unbeaten in all their games against the other teams in the Division, they succumbed to two narrow defeats at the hands of the Harps. Red Deer competed well throughout and though they only had a walk-over victory against Edmonton to show for their Championship endeavors, they made their presence felt at all the tournaments they attended.
*Best for Vancouver: Steven Hanney, Vincent Crowley, Peter Agnew
*Best for Calgary: Barry Sinclair, Tom McAroe
*Best for Edmonton: Brian Daly, Brian Byrne
*Best for Red Deer: Rory Lynch, Phil Harris (Red Deer)

= 2007 WCC Results =

;Ladies:Vancouver Harps became the first team other than the Edmonton Wolfe Tones to take the honors, when the Alberta sides failed to turn up in Vancouver for the second round of matches. The Ladies of Calgary & Edmonton can have no complaints on the field of play though, as it was the Harps who took the tournament honours at the Edmonton Tournament (the only one that included all 3 Western Canadian ladies teams in 2007)
*Best for Vancouver: Stephanie Hahn, Rene McGloin, Tara Philips
*Best for Edmonton: Ainsley Baldwin, Dawn Krawchuk
*Best for Calgary: Maeve McKiernan, Mandy Tuohy
* Special Mention: Radean Adams (Red Deer)

;Men's:Calgary Chieftains lead the way with 3 wins. The Harps & Wolfe Tones basically ended each other's chances with their draw in their first match-up. Calgary were beaten in Vancouver in the second round, but comfortably dispatched of Edmonton to secure their first title since 2004.
*Best for Calgary: Adrian Lagan, Tim Hamill, Tom McAroe
*Best for Vancouver: Kevin Murray, Peter Agnew
*Best for Edmonton: Brian Daly, Colin Baugh
* Special Mention: Mick O'Toole, Rory Lynch (Red Deer)

2006 WCC Results

;Ladies:Edmonton Wolfe Tones were victorious having won 3 of their 4 games played. The Vancouver Harps had 2 wins (both at home) and the Calgary Chieftains rounded the table out with 1 win.
*Best for Edmonton: Ainsley Baldwin, Dawn Krawchuk, Carlin Acheson
*Best for Vancouver: Rita Burke, Katrina MacAndrew
*Best for Calgary: Cindy Chalmers, Kim Tulloch

;Men's:After 4 games played each Men's team had won 2 and lost 2. In a nailbiting, see-saw season, the Vancouver Harps topped the table by virtue of points difference, with a 9-pt victory over the Wolfe Tones giving them the necessary edge over the Calgary Chieftains.
*Best for Vancouver: Kevin Murray, John Crimmins, Padhraic Leavy
*Best for Calgary: Adrian Lagan, Calum Bonnington
*Best for Edmonton: Colin Baugh, Larry Conneely

2005 WCC Results

;Ladies:Edmonton Wolfe Tones were victorious having won all of their 4 games played. Calgary Chieftains & Vancouver Harps rounded the table out with 1 win each.
*Best for Edmonton: Ainsley Baldwin, Colleen Whelehan, Carlin Acheson
*Best for Calgary: Kim Tulloch, Mandy Tuohy
*Best for Vancouver: Cathy Jackson, Tara Philips

;Men's:Vancouver Harps were victorious having won 3 of their 4 games played. There was controversy as the Harps walked off the field protesting the actions of Calgary Chieftains players in their match-up in Edmonton. Calgary were awarded the win in this instance; Vancouver deemed to have forfeited the game.
*Best for Vancouver: Sean Minagh, Shane Donnelly, Tony Doyle
*Best for Calgary: Adrian Lagan, Tim Hammill
*Best for Edmonton: Mick O'Toole, Luc Berthiaume

2004 WCC Results

;Ladies:Edmonton Wolfe Tones were victorious having won all of their 4 games played. The Calgary Chieftains & Vancouver Harps rounded the table out with 1 win each.
*Best for Edmonton: Ainsley Baldwin, Andrea Mooney, Karen Hansen
*Best for Calgary: Cindy Chalmers, Mandy Tuohy
*Best for Vancouver: Nuala Cyr, Linda Louie

;Men's:The first Men's Championship was won by the Calgary Chieftains, who were undefeated in their 4 games. It was a tense & close campaign, since the two games the Chieftains played against the Edmonton Wolfe Tones were tied. Vancouver Harps very nearly snatched the Championship, but they were unable to win their final game against Calgary.
*Best for Calgary: Adrian Lagan, Noel Tuohy, Ben Lambert
*Best for Vancouver: James Kirk, Sean Minagh
*Best for Edmonton: Gavin McInnie, Mick O'Toole