Western Divisional Board

The Western Canada Divisional Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is part of the Canadian County Board and is responsible for Gaelic Games in Western Canada. The county board is also responsible for the football, hurling, camogie and ladies football teams. The Western Canada Divisional Board branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in May 2003.

History

There was a need expressed by the clubs in British Columbia and Alberta that Gaelic Sports in Western Canada should come under the wing of the GAA. It was founded in 2003 with 3 original member clubs.

The founding meeting of the Western Canada Divisional Board of the Canadian County Board was held in Edmonton, AB on the 31st of May 2003, attended by Brian Farmer & Diarmuid O Conner from Toronto GAA, Christy Whelehan, Dannielle Finlay & Marvin Dentzien of Edmonton, John O Flynn, Kate McNamee, & Sean Quinn of Vancouver, and Frank Campbell, Ronan Deane & Leanne Niblock of Calgary.

2007 saw the reformation of the Red Deer Éire Óg, in men's competition, with a team attending tournaments in Calgary (twice) and Edmonton, and hosting its own tournament. On January 22nd, 2008, the Western Canada Divisional Board unanimously voted for the club's addition to the Division and the Board was increased to seven officers, with one seat allocated to Red Deer (to reflect number of teams at the club).

Clubs

*British Columbia (1 Club)
**Vancouver Harps (the Vancouver Irish Sporting and Social Club, ISSC)
*Alberta (3 Clubs)
**Calgary Chieftains
**Edmonton Wolfe Tones
**Red Deer Éire Óg

Each of these clubs has a Men's & Ladies' Team, with the exception of Red Deer who only has a Men's team. These teams compete at various tournaments over the course of the summer months.

The Division is dedicated to improving the standard of competition and providing as many games as possible for the member clubs. For this reason, other clubs are invited to and attend these tournaments, even though they are
*not affiliated with the Western Canada Division, (e.g. Seattle Gaels, Fort McMurray), or
*not affiliated with the GAA (Vancouver Cougars, Calgary Kangaroos, & Calgary Kookaburras Australian rules football teams).

Each year member teams play in the Western Canadian Championships. The Championships are played out in such a way that they does not undermine the spirit or competition of each city's own individual Gaelic Football tournaments. The Championships complement these vital tournaments.

Board Members

The Board is made up of Representatives from each of the Member Clubs (with each club allocated a member to every team that club has competing in the Championship). Up until the end of the 2007 season that meant that the three founding member clubs had two board members each. Since January 2008, with the arrival of Red Deer (with only a men's team), the seven person board is broken out as follows: Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer & 4 Members-at-Large.

2008 Board

In 2008, the Western Canada Divisional Board comprises the following:
*Ronan Deane (Chairman) & Kate Clark (Member-at-Large) from the Vancouver Harps
*Sky Johnston (Treasurer) & Kim Budd (Secretary) from the Edmonton Wolfe Tones
*Calum Bonnington & Gary McCaffrey (Member-at-Large) from the Calgary Chieftains
*Fergus Lynch (Member-at-Large) from the Red Deer Éire Óg

2007 Board

*Ronan Deane (Chairman) & Erin McGinley (Member-at-Large) from the Vancouver Harps
*Danielle Bodnarek (Treasurer) & Sky Johnston (Member-at-Large) from the Edmonton Wolfe Tones
*Calum Bonnington (Secretary) & Laura Olson (Member-at-Large) from the Calgary Chieftains

2006 Board

*John O Flynn (Chairman) & Ronan Deane (Secretary) from the Vancouver Harps
*Danielle Bodnarek (Treasurer) & John O'Connor (Member-at-Large) from the Edmonton Wolfe Tones
*Kim Tulloch & Adrian Lagan (Members-at-Large) from the Calgary Chieftains

2005 Board

*John O Flynn (Chairman) & Ronan Deane (Secretary) from the Vancouver Harps
*Danielle Bodnarek (Treasurer) & John O'Connor (Member-at-Large) from the Edmonton Wolfe Tones
*Noel Tuohy & Adrian Lagan (Members-at-Large) from the Calgary Chieftains

2004 Board

*John O Flynn (Chairman) & Sean Quinn (Member at Large) from the Vancouver Harps
*Ronan Deane (Secretary) & Frank Campbell (Member-at-Large) from the Calgary Chieftains
*Danielle Bodnarek (Treasurer) & John O'Connor (Member-at-Large) from the Edmonton Wolfe Tones

External links

* http://www.westerncanadagaa.co.nr/