PRINCE ALBERT — Eight teams from nations around the world are in Prince Albert for the 18th , six-day competition.
Coaches and captains from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic, Japan, U.S.A, New Zealand, and Venezuela gathered with local dignitaries and organizers at the Art Hauser Centre Monday morning for the opening press conference. The Prince Albert Rotary Club drew attention to the peace pole symbol.
“Its presence at Prime Minister's Park, a hub of athletic competition and community gathering, encourages reflection on the values of sportsmanship, respect, and global unity,” said the Prince Albert Rotary Club’s outgoing president Lisa Bos-Atchison.
The WBSC says it’s a chance for the public to see some of the greatest softball in the world.
“We look forward to an extremely passionate, professional, and well played event,” said WBSC Executive Vice President Craig Cress.
A 12-game round robin starts Tuesday at Prime Ministers Park Rotary Field ball diamonds. The first pitch is Tues. July 8 at 11:30 a.m. at the New Zealand versus Japan game.
Team Canada is currently ranked No. 4 in the world. They will play in Group A against Argentina (No.1), Venezuela (No. 5), and New Zealand (No. 8). The Group B tournament consists of Australia (No. 2), Japan (No. 3), USA (No. 6), and Dominican Republic (No. 11).
“The excitement has been building since last year. We’ve had some good selection camps and are very excited with the 16 athletes that we’ve chosen,” said Team Canada’s head coach John Stuart.
Team Canada has two players from Saskatchewan, Devon McCullough from Saskatoon and Max Major from Delisle.
Canada lost out to Australia in the last world’s match-up at the 2022 Pan-American Championship and finished with a silver medal.
“You can take so many elements from that gold medal game that you can learn from and at the end of the day that’s what it’s about, learning what could we have done better, or what could we have done period, to make that game a different result,” said coach Stuart.
Team Canada hopes to advance to the Super Round on July 11 and 12. The final championship games are slated for Sun. July 13 weather contingent.
“I’m not going to lie, 2022 hurt a lot. Being so close but yet so far. Usually our motto is, how you steer the ship, 'if you're not first, you’re last.’ We are here for one goal, and that is to come back out on top. Hopefully we can get to that game and prove to the world that we are going to come back out on top,” said Team Canada’s captain Shane Boland.
Australia’s head coach says they are prepared to defend their title.
“We try to deliver a product that matches the other seven teams we are competing against. It’s very exciting for us to be playing against the top eight nations in the world,” said Australian Head Coach Mike Titheradge. “Hopefully provide the fans with a spectacle that's going to be pretty exciting for the next week.”
