An Exciting 2008 Season Planned for GAA in Western Canada
By RONAN DEANE
VANCOUVER - The summer season is hotting up with most teams in the Western Canada
Division (WCD) of the Gaelic Athletic Association having played games or set to play matches.
Edmonton Wolfe Tones have already played out some matches hosting the Calgary Chieftains, Red Deer Eire Og, and the Calgary Kookaburras Ladies AFL team on May 17. On May 31 the Vancouver Harps travelled to Seattle to play full-size matches at the fields in Burlington, WA.
On June 7, representatives from the Vancouver Harps and Calgary Chieftains take to the filed in Kelowna in the annual Aussie Rules tournament there.
All this is in preparation for the real competition to be held on July 12 and 13 at Vancouver's Brockton Oval in Stanley Park. The Western Canadian Championships (WCC) will kick-off with round one matches on the Saturday.
It will be Red Deer Eire Og's first taste of football on the West Coast. All the clubs look forward to competing against this new force in Men's Gaelic football, that will add a new dimension to an already extremely competitive championship.
In the Ladies division, the Albertan teams will be hoping to make amends for their no-show last summer. Edmonton's Wolfe Tones are chomping at the bit to win "their title" back in 2008.
In what promises to be a massive tournament, the Vancouver Irish Sporting and Social Club expects to host seven Men's teams and Six ladies teams. The Seattle Gaels, the Vancouver Aussies, and the newly formed Squamish teams are also expected to participate.
The Calgary Chieftains will host the final round of matches on the August holiday weekend (August 2-3) at the Calgary Irish Rugby grounds off McKnight Boulevard.
The heads of the Canadian County Board should be on hand to present the first winners of the Tom Butler (Men's) and Tom Gibbons (Ladies) Cups in their respective codes. Affectionately dubbed the Tom's, this silverware will be the goal for all of the clubs of the Western Canada Division in 2008, thanks to the families of both fine GAA men.
Another exciting development in Alberta is that the three clubs there have come up with a format for an Alberta Cup. Played out over three weekends in the summer, the Men's title will be dedicated to the memory of Denis Walsh, the Edmonton great who we lost last winter. The Ladies will also compete and this promises to give the Albertan clubs a more competitive edge outside of WCC play.
Check out the Western Canada Division Website for details of a packed summer of Gaelic Games in the west at: www.westerncanadagaa.co.nr.
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