Fleur de Lys and Saskatchewan capture Senior Flag Invitational

Winning squads to represent Canada at worlds in the Bahamas

Photo credit: Mona Ghiz

Fleur de Lys (QC) and Saskatchewan won the respective female and male draws at Football Canada’s Senior Flag Football Invitational on Sunday May 29, 2016 at Dalhousie University in Halifax. With victories, the national champions earned the right to represent Canada at the 2016 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, September 7-12 in Grand Bahamas, the Bahamas.

Following round-robin play on Friday and Saturday, both of Sunday afternoon’s finals featured matchups between teams from Quebec and Saskatchewan.

View full results here.

Defending champion Quebec return to world stage

Quebec-based Fleur de Lys are no stranger to international competition after having captured gold at both the 2010 and 2014 world championships. The Fleur de Lys went undefeated in Senior Invitational play and earned a bye to the gold medal game with a 28-18 victory over Saskatchewan on Saturday evening.

Meeting once again in the finals, the Fleur de Lys kept their undefeated streak intact with a 30-6 gold medal game victory against Saskatchewan, earning a berth at the worlds. Emilie Pfeiffer-Badoux led Quebec with three touchdowns and an interception while Emilie Carrier and Audrey Sauve each scored touchdowns in the victory. Julene Friesen scored Saskatchewan’s lone touchdown in the final.

Fleur de Lys roster:

Photo credit: Mona Ghiz

Saskatchewan look to ride wave of momentum into Bahamas

After dropping their opening game of the tournament, Saskatchewan’s men’s team got stronger every game they played at the 2016 Canadian Invitational.

They finished round-robin play with a 3-1 record, earning second place in Pool A. They began Sunday morning with a 41-14 win against Nova, the third place team in Pool B. Next Saskatchewan handed Manitoba, the top ranked team in Pool B, their first loss of the tournament with a 44-28 victory.

The Big Doggs, the second place team in Pool B, followed a similar path to the finals as they knocked off the Montreal Wolfpack, the third place team in Pool A, in Sunday’s other quarter-final. They setup a gold medal game matchup against Saskatchewan after defeating top seed from Pool A, DMB, in their semi-final game.

Saskatchewan continued their hot play in the gold medal game as a three-touchdown performance from Mitchell Hillis and a late touchdown from Chad Braun sealed the green and white’s victory, 38-26, over the Big Doggs. Jacques Void scored a team high two touchdowns for the Big Doggs in defeat.

With the win, Saskatchewan will now represent Canada in the male division at the 2016 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, hoping to improve upon a fourth place finish in 2014. Nova Scotia previously represented Canada’s men at the 2010, 2012 and 2014 world championships.

Photo credit: Mona Ghiz

Team Saskatchewan’s roster:

In the men’s third place game, Manitoba rebounded from their semi-final loss to capture bronze with a 33-27 win over Nova Scotia-based DMB.

This post is also available in: French