Gaelic Games Canada (GGC), or the Canadian GAA (CGAA), is responsible for

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling ...

across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, overseeing approximately 20 clubs. "GAA" is the abbreviation for the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

. It has the same status as one of the

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

s of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

and is one of over thirty regional GAA executive boards throughout the world. The board is responsible for

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a rounded end wooden, plastic, or metal bat. The players score by running arou ...

gaelic handball Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball; ga, liathróid láimhe) is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two ( ...

, and

ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a ...

teams in Canada. The CGAA connects with three Gaelic games and cultural organizations: the

(GAA), the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) & the

Camogie Association The Camogie Association ( ga, An Cumann Camógaíochta, formerly ga, Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael) organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Associati ...

(CA) whose headquarters are based in Dublin, Ireland. One of the more important tournaments for Gaelic football in Canada is the annual Western Canadian Championship. In North American competition, Canadian teams compete in the USGAA Finals, hosted by the United States GAA, an annual Gaelic Games championship between qualifying clubs in North America. The Gaelic games involved include hurling, camogie, and Gaelic football. Matches are held throughout the weekend of the tournament with the winning teams declared the USGAA champions in their respective divisions and sports. Internationally, Canada GAA has sent Canadian teams to the GAA World Games in

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and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

History

Gaelic games have been played in Canada since before the foundation of the

in the 1880s, with some sources indicating that games of

were played in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1788. Since the formation of the American County Board in the 1950s, Canadian teams have competed alongside teams from the United States. A separate and distinct Canadian County Board was founded in November 1987, and represented upwards of 20 clubs within Canada. The organization has since been renamed, "Gaelic Games Canada" (GGC). In 2017, Jim Kelly, the Irish ambassador to Canada, was quoted as having said:

Organization

The Canadian County Board of the GAA has overall control of GAA activities in Canada and organized into three divisional boards. These boards, representing different areas of Canada, include the Toronto Board, Western Divisional Board and Eastern Canada GAA Board.

Toronto Division (TGAA)

Established in 1947, the Toronto (or Central) Board covers teams in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater ...

. Today, the Toronto Gaelic Athletic Association (TGAA) divisional sub committee organizes Gaelic games clubs and competitions in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

areas. As of mid-2020 this included 6 Men's

teams, 5

Ladies Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a ...

teams, 2

teams and 3 minor programs.

Western Division (WCGAA)

Founded in May 2003, the Western Canada Gaelic Athletic Association (WCGAA), or Western Division, covers Gaelic Athletics Activities in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Many of the clubs in the division have field both men's and ladies' teams. Other clubs are also invited to attend tournaments, even though they are not affiliated with the division, (e.g. Lethbridge Laochra, Seattle Gaels, Fort McMurray, Vancouver Irish, etc), or not affiliated with the GAA (e.g.

Vancouver Cougars The 'Vancouver Cougars'' are a member of the Australian Football League Canada and compete in thBritish Columbia Australian Football League (BCAFL) The club was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in west ...

Calgary Kangaroos The Calgary Kangaroos is an Australian rules football club based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They welcome all new players, regardless of prior experience, practice at A E Cross High School in Glamorgan, play games at the Inland Athletic Park ...

, and

Calgary Kookaburras The Calgary Kookaburras is a ladies Australian rules football club based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They play at the Queen Elizabeth School, Hillhurst and are members of AFL Canada. They were the first women's football club formed in Canada ...

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

teams). The main competition in the Western Division is the Western Canadian Championship. Teams also play in local competitions, including the Alberta Cup, which serves as a feeder to the Championship, and is hosted by the individual teams themselves.

Eastern Division (ECGAA)

The Eastern Division Gaelic Athletic Association (ECGAA) divisional sub committee, or Eastern Division, was established in 2014, and covers eastern Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The primary competition of the Eastern Division is the Eastern Canadian Championships. This competition was first established in 2014, and held in Newfoundland. In 2017, youth games were included at the Championships held in Ottawa.

Clubs

There are clubs in every province of Canada with the exception of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

, and the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. The following are the GAA clubs of the Canadian Gaelic Athletic Association, (CGAA):

Eastern GAA

* GFC =

Gaelic Football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

Club * GAA =

Toronto GAA (Central Canada)

* GFC =

Club * GAA =

Western Canada GAA

* GFC =

Club * GAA =

* ISSC = Vancouver

Irish Sporting and Social Club Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Tournaments

Canadian tournaments

Canadians who participation in

Gaelic Games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling ...

have a number of opportunities to compete at the local, provincial, and inter-provincial level, within Canadian borders. These include the Western Canadian Championship, which is a tournament for Canadian

teams.

North American tournaments

In North American competition, Canadian teams compete in the USGAA North American Championships, hosted in America by the United States Gaelic Athletic Association (USGAA).

International tournaments

GAA World Games

Canada GAA has sent Canadian teams to the GAA World Championships in the past, including the 2016 Etihad Airways GAA World Games. For the 2019 Renault GAA World Games, thirty-four

Montreal Shamrocks The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, and then amateur again men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886 to 1924, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They were spun off from the Montreal Shamrocks lacrosse club. Starting off ...

were selected to represent Canada. This competition was hosted in Ireland in July 2019. It was the largest delegate from 1 club in Canada. This included the following: * Men's

- 5 players * Women's Gaelic football - 13 players *

Hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

- 6 players *

Camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

- 10 players

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Gaa Sports organizations established in 1987 Gaelic games clubs in Canada