Sherwood Park, AB CAN, WPH Press, 5/10/25
The Canadian Handball Association was thrilled to present the 2025 Canadian 4-Wall Nationals on the second week of May at the Glen Allan Rec Centre in Sherwood Park, Alberta.
The Canadian Nationals has created Canadian handball legends for nearly one-hundred years, with legends Danny Bell, Merv Deckert, and Tyler Hamel blazing the path for the next generations of Canadian handball, which now includes Race 4 Eight star Ivan Burgos.
Men’s Open Singles
Race 4 Eight #5 pro Ivan Burgos headlined the 2025 Canadian 4-Wall Nationals and would be in pursuit of his first Canadian 4-Wall National open singles title. Joining Burgos in the twenty-one player 2025 Canadian 4-Wall Nationals field would be second-seeded Jerome Santerre, future Race 4 Eight star Moises Gardea, and 2024 and 2025 Calgary Open finalists Patrick Shearer and Shane Vigen (read the 2024 Calgary Open recap HERE, read the 2025 Calgary Open recap HERE)
Burgos emphatically captured his first Canadian National open singles title, dropping just twenty-two points in his four matches. Burgos defeated Caolan Smith in the semifinals and met his Quebec compatriot Jerome Santerre in the final after Santerre defeated Alberta’s Shane Vigen in the semifinals.
Burgos and Santerre battled in the first game, with Santerre hanging with the Race 4 Eight top five pro. Burgos would eventually break down Santerre, clinching what promises to be the first of many Canadian open titles.
“Jerome played well the first game,” Burgos would later say. “He kept me off-balance cutting off the ball and took advantage of the mistakes I made. I just kept the pressure on throughout the game hitting everything hard. Eventually fatigue got the best of Jerome and I started making everything.”
Semifinals
Burgos def C. Smith 15-2, 15-0
Santerre def Vigen 15-5, 15-10
Final: Burgos def J. Santerre 15-11, 15-0
Men’s Open Doubles
Burgos teamed with future Race 4 Eight pro Moises Gardea to slam the doubles, defeating Team Fromstein/Santerre in two games in the final.
Men’s Open Doubles Final: Team Burgos/Gardea def Team Fromstein/Santerre 15-5, 15-2
Women’s Open Singles
Ireland’s Shauna Hilley, now living in Vancouver, BC, was aiming to defend her Canadian Nationals title. Hilley would have to contend with Canadian legend and hall of famer Lisa Fraser-Gilmore and many of Canada’s best women’s players to repeat in Alberta.
Hilley was too strong for the Canadian ladies field, outscoring her three opponents by a combined score of 90-11, including defeating LFG in the final.
Semifinals
Hilley def Lovie 15-0, 15-1
Fraser-Gilmore def Wilson 15-4, 15-1
Final: Hilley def Fraser-Gilmore 15-2, 15-1
Watch the 4-wall video via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1GQjGCJ2HT/
Follow all of the brackets from the 2025 Canadian 4-Wall Nationals HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer