The Chieftainettes Strike Back
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CALGARY WOMEN'S Gaelic football squad.
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By RONAN DEANE
In Calgary, the men's football team has set the standard in the Western Canada division, winning the first Championship in 2004, after having spent the two previous years winning every tournament they'd entered.
In that time, there was a healthy ladies squad that competed against the Edmonton Wolfe Tones and with 2003 the highlight year when the club fielded two ladies teams in the Calgary tournament.
However since the championship commenced, they had been also-rans and have finished at the foot of the table. When the Albertan teams failed to field in Vancouver in 2007, things certainly did not look good for the ladies game in Cowtown.
The Calgary club notified the organizers that 32 players were coming to the Vancouver tournament, and that, everyone supposed, meant a healthy men's team and some ladies. Edmonton were sending four girls. Another bad year for Alberta. But how wrong we were.
Calgary ladies fielded by far their largest showing at an away tournament with 18 ladies. There was no wooden spoon at the end of this championship. The Calgary girls beat a very good Harps second side to win the Vancouver tournament plate.
Vancouver were then fortunate to win their clash against the Chieftainettes in Cowtown. The LeBlanc sisters, Anna Doyle, Maeve O Neill, and rookie Leslie Zmurchuk are sparkling talents that set the Division alight with their performance in 2008.
Welcome back, Chieftainettes.
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