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Friday May 15		BC - Alberta (2) 23-26 BC - Quebec (2) 16-38
Saturday May 16		BC - Alberta (3) 27-21 BC - Manitoba 18-25
Sunday May 17		BC - Alberta (3) 31-26 BC - Ontario 29-19

Final Standings: 1. Quebec (1)  2. Alberta (1)  3. Quebec (2)  4. Alberta (2)  5. Saskatchewan  6. Manitoba  7. BC  8. Ontario  9. Alberta (3)


BC Team Handball group brings home 3 victories from Canadian Nationals.

With mixed expectations did the team arrive in Edmonton for this years National Tournament. On one side were a few strong players missing due to work and family commitments, on the other side was the team eager to bring home more games won than last year.

The first game on Friday morning against an experienced Calgary side started promising. A strong defense and an effective attack secured a 15-11 half time lead. However, with the beginning of the second 30-minute period, Calgary switched to a more offensive defense and soon equalized. At the end the Alberta side proved to have the longer breath and won 26-23, which is, despite the loss still a very respectable result for the BC side.

In game two the opponent was nobody less than last years runners up team from Quebec City. Knowing that the odds were against BC, the team saved energy for the more important up coming games. Quebec won 38-16. Day 2 started with a game against the quick junior Edmonton side. >From the beginning on BC took charge of the game and soon had a solid lead in hand. After 60 minutes the Vancouver side had secured their first win of the tournament: 27-21 for BC. However, the win had a bitter sweet taste after key player Jens Hertha suffered an Achilles injury during the last minutes and was out for the rest of the tournament. Manitoba was to be the second opponent this day. BC started willing to win but troubled to find its game. Unable to pick up on the previous good efforts, a rather frustrated BC team gave the victory to Manitoba with 25-18 at the end.

Day 3 was all about moving up in the final placement. Again the junior Edmonton side was facing BC in this second last game and BC was able to copy their good efforts from before. A 31-26 victory gave them a spot in the game for 7th place against Ontario. Eager to prove themselves and the strong will to finish the tournament with a victory, BC took on the game with confidence in offence and defense, never allowing the Ontario side to find its game. The final 29-19 win was at no time in question.

Still, BC brought home a medal. Bettina Messmer of Vancouver Handball Club joined a second Edmonton side for the final tournament of the season. After 3 wins and two losses her team came in second place to take a silver medal home!

As every season, the Canadian Nationals mark the end of the handball season. The Vancouver Handball Club Senior Men and Senior Women teams will resume practice in late August again. For those of you who want to keep playing during the summer: Keep checking our website www.vancouverhandball.ca for Beach Handball events at Locarno Beach!