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Media Release
Re: ISF XII World Men’s Softball Championship
We are only one week away from Day One of the International Softball Federation XII Men’s World Championship. The opening ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 17, at what may well be Canada’s premier softball stadium, Bob Van Impe Stadium.
An expected capacity crowd of approximately 7500 of Canada’s most knowledgeable softball fans as well as supporters of the sport from other countries will take in a proud moment in Saskatoon’s sport history. Dignitaries will include Softball Canada President Kevin Quinn, ISF President Don Porter, and special guest Mike Chambers, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee. This is a major boost for softball as the sport is presently in a competition for reinstatement into the 2016 Olympic Games.
Local fans will appreciate the involvement of Canada’s first three members of the ISF Hall of Fame who all hail from Saskatoon: Bob Van Impe, Gene McWillie, and Ed Bitz. Hometown hero Trevor Ethier will return to the diamond just blocks away from where he grew up playing softball to play for Canada, and he will be called upon to give the athletes’ oath.
Following the ceremony, fans will be treated to two great games featuring four of the top seven ranked teams in the world. At 7:00 p.m. local time, second-ranked Canada will take on seventh-ranked Argentina, who is likely to pitch Lucas Mata, one of the best pitchers in the world and presently playing tournaments with the Saskatoon Aspen Interiors. The second game features the two winningest countries in ISF Men’s World Championship history, the United States playing the three-time defending champion New Zealand.