This past weekend, three provincial high school girls soccer championships took place across Newfoundland and Labrador.
The 2A Championship was hosted in the West Coast town of Doyles, while Saint Lawrence Academy on the Burin Peninsula welcomed the 3A Championship, and O’Donel High School of Mount Pearl played host to the 4A Championship.
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2A Championship – Fogo Island Captures First-Ever Provincial Banner
Five teams competed for the 2A title: host Belanger Memorial High, Fogo Island Central Academy, St. Joseph’s Academy of Lamaline, Valmont Academy of King’s Point, and Canon Richards High of Flowers Cove.
From the outset, it was anyone’s tournament to win. With no clear favorite emerging early, parity defined the weekend.
In the end, it was Fogo Island Academy who rose to the occasion, capturing their first-ever provincial girls soccer banner after defeating Valmont Academy in a hard-fought championship match. The victory marked a historic moment for the small school and a proud milestone for the Fogo Island community
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3A Championship – Saint Lawrence Dominates on Home Turf
The Saint Lawrence Academy Blues hosted the 3A Championship under somewhat unusual circumstances.
Last season, Saint Lawrence captured the 4A Tier II provincial title, a division created to give mid-sized schools a fairer competitive platform between 3A and the large 4A programs like Gonzaga, Holy Heart, and Mount Pearl Senior High.
However, this year, School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador (SSNL) eliminated the Tier II category altogether — a move that left many coaches and players questioning the rationale. The Tier II division had proven to be an effective “middle ground” that balanced competitiveness and fostered parity across the province.
With the change, Saint Lawrence found themselves back in the 3A ranks, hosting eight teams: Crescent Collegiate, Mobile Central High, Laval High, Mealy Mountain Collegiate (Labrador), Indian River High (Springdale), Stephenville High, and Glovertown Academy.
The tournament showcased a wide range of skill levels, with some matches highly competitive and others heavily one-sided. The standout match came in the semifinal between Saint Lawrence Academy and Mealy Mountain, a thrilling 2–1 battle that felt worthy of a championship final.
In the final, Saint Lawrence met Stephenville High’s Spartans, who defended bravely through a scoreless first half. But just 30 seconds into the second, Danica Edwards broke through the defense, opening the floodgates.
The Blues poured on the pressure, cruising to an 8–0 victory to secure the 3A Girls Provincial Championship on home soil.
4A Championship – Holy Heart Triumphs Amid Controversy Over Tier Changes
At the top tier, O’Donel High hosted the province’s elite teams: O’Donel Patriots, Mount Pearl Senior High, Ascension Collegiate (Bay Roberts), Gander Collegiate, Holy Heart High, Queen Elizabeth High, Corner Brook Regional High, and Carbonear Collegiate.
Yet even here, the effects of the Tier II elimination were felt. The disparity in team strengths became glaringly apparent — none more so than in Gander Collegiate’s crushing 22–0 loss to the host Patriots.
Such lopsided results beg the question: Who benefits from this system? These matches teach little, build no parity, and risk discouraging participation from smaller schools that simply can’t match the depth and resources of major metro programs.
Gander wasn’t alone — Ascension, Carbonear, and Corner Brook also struggled against far stronger opponents, teams that would have been more suitably placed in a reinstated 4A Tier II division alongside Saint Lawrence Academy.
Despite the imbalance, the tournament closed with a classic final as the Holy Heart Highlanders edged the Queen Elizabeth Pioneers in extra time to claim the 4A Girls Provincial Championship banner.
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Editorial: The Need for Meaningful Reform
The weekend’s results highlight an uncomfortable truth — competitive balance in school soccer is slipping, and SSNL must act.
The removal of the 4A Tier II category has not only disrupted the balance at higher levels but also rippled down through smaller divisions, leaving many programs struggling to find their place.
The problem isn’t limited to the girls’ side. On the Burin Peninsula, for example, a 2A boys championship originally slated for six teams dwindled to just two — forced into a two-game total-goal final after the remaining schools withdrew, acknowledging they couldn’t compete at that level.
It’s time to reintroduce the 1A division or a “small schools” or “fair play” format, allowing teams to compete against others of similar size and ability.
These changes would restore the spirit of inclusion and competition that school sports were meant to uphold — giving every student-athlete a chance to learn, grow, and feel proud to represent their community.
Until meaningful reform occurs, weekends like this will continue to produce both triumphs and troubling questions about the direction of high school sport in Newfoundland and Labrador.
