According to the Canadian Federation Website, http://www.handball.ca/newsletters/80.doc Canada has been formally notified by the PATHF that they will not be invited to participate in the 2006 Men’s PAN AM Championship, 6-10 June in Brazil. As the 9th ranked team in the PATHF, Canada’s only hope to participate had been the failure by one of the top 8 nations to register to participate. As all 8 nations met the 5 April 2006 deadline, Canada will not be included. The 8 nations that will participate are Brazil, Argentina, USA, Chile, Mexico, Greenland, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay.
Brazil and Argentina are overwhelming favorites to take the top 2 spots this June, but Canada would have been favored to repeat their 3rd place performance from the 2004 Championships. Canada’s exclusion will likely result in a more wide open competition for 3rd place. Based on recent performances Greenland, Chile, USA, and Uruguay can now all realistically envision a 3rd place finish and punching the final PAN AM ticket to the 2007 World Championships in Germany