The Western Canadian Championship, is a Gaelic football championship tournament of the Western Divisional Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, played every year in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. The championship includes Men's and Ladies' Gaelic football, two of the sports which make up Gaelic games.
The Trophy for the men's division is called the Tom Butler Cup, and the corresponding women's trophy is the Tim Gibbon Cup. Information on the internet about the championships post 2018 is scarce.
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 5 member clubs (5 men's & 3 ladies' teams) compete in this Championship.
The Edmonton Wolf Tones would win the first 3 ladies championships, whilst the Calgary Chieftains won the 2004 men's title, and the Vancouver Harps won the 2005 and 06 men's titles. These three clubs would split the championships amongst themselves for the next 10 or so years, before a 4th club won their first cup, with the Fraser Valley Gaels winning the men's cup in 2016 and 2018.
Roll of honour
# Team Mens wins Ladies wins 1 Vancouver Harps/ISSC 6 7 2 Edmonton Wolfe Tones 4 4 3 Calgary Chieftains 2 14Fraser Valley Gaels20
By year Season Ladies Men's2018Fraser Valley Gaels20172016ChieftainsFraser Valley Gaels2015HarpsHarps2014HarpsWolfe Tones2013HarpsWolfe Tones2012HarpsWolfe Tones2011Wolfe TonesHarps 2010 Harps Harps 2009 Harps Wolfe Tones 2008 Harps Harps 2007 Harps Chieftains 2006 Wolfe Tones Harps 2005 Wolfe Tones Harps 2004 Wolfe Tones Chieftains Source
References