The 2019 Canadian Senior National Championship was held from May 17 to 19 in Granby, Quebec, with two local sides winning the titles. In the women’s competition, Champlain claimed the gold medal following a flawless campaign of only victories. Celtique raised the men’s trophy, also after taking only wins throughout the competition.

In the women’s tournament, Champlain celebrated the title following a low-scoring final, 18:15, versus CHAC. Granby took the bronze medal after beating Edmonton 26:24 in the 3/4 match, meaning all three medallists hailed from the host province Quebec.

Champlain’s strong presence in the championship began immediately, as they opened the campaign with a 27:20 victory versus Granby, then took an 18:17 win over their eventual final opponents CHAC. On day two, Champlain beat HC Toronto 40:19, before defeating Edmonton 31:21.

After the round-robin matches, Champlain sat on top of the women’s ranking ahead of CHAC in second, Edmonton HC in third, Granby in fourth and HC Toronto in fifth. The final ranking was therefore almost exactly the same, as Champlain went on to celebrate the title and CHAC took the silver medal, but Granby managed to climb one step higher in the medal round, knocking Edmonton down to fourth.

Enabling every player willing to play handball

Champlain goalkeeper Vassilia Gagnon received the Most Valuable Player award in the women’s competition, while Toronto centre back Ornella Palla finished as the top scorer, with 39 goals.

“For second year in a row, the team was super excited to participate in this tournament that has been our inspiration to our motivation due to the lack of league in our region. As the only team in the province, it is really hard for us to compete and keep up with the great level that the Canadian national tournament has shown this year. Despite our results, I am actually very happy to be able to achieve, for second year, the top scorer recognition,” said Palla.

“Without the support of the CTHF, who are really working hard for the development of handball, the situation would be much worse all over Canada. We are thankful that such an organisation is dedicated to enable every player willing to play handball, helping out on many levels. I’m grateful for this tournament, which was flawlessly organised and brought the Canadian handball community together, helping us to learn as players and clubs. Even though there is a lot to do, I feel hopeful for the future of the sport both locally and nationally.”

 
Quebec dominate the rankings

In the men’s competition, Celtique were the dominant side from start to finish. They opened with a 28:18 win over Levis, then beat HC Toronto 25:20. On the second day of the championship, Celtique defeated Saskatchewan 36:25 and CHAC 25:23. In their final round-robin match, Celtique recorded a commanding 44:11 win over HC Toronto 2. 

At the end of the preliminary round, Celtique led the men’s table, with Levis in second, CHAC in third, HC Toronto 1 in fourth, Saskatchewan in fifth and HC Toronto2 in sixth. Celtique therefore met Levis in the match to decide the title. Levis managed a much stronger fight than in the tournament opener, but ultimately succumbed to a 20:23 defeat.

CHAC won the bronze medal with a 21:17 victory versus Toronto 1 in the 3/4 match. Saskatchewan defeated Toronto 2 39:12 to claim fifth place in the final ranking.

Therefore, just like in the women’s championship, all three men’s medallists came from Quebec.

 

The men’s MVP award went to Celtique’s goalkeeper Jonathan Leduc. The top scorer was Saskatchewan left wing Brandon Chow, with a tally of 54 goals. Chow scored 18 goals more than the second top scorer.

 

Photo: CTHF