Canada Cup moniker redeployed as softball enjoys Olympic bump
Tournament returns to Softball City as national teams begin ramp-up to Games
Women’s softball is back in the Summer Olympics and the Canada Cup is back as the name of the sport’s marquee local event.
The Softball City tournament, which gets its international division going on July 11 this year, has taken on its original moniker, replacing the Canadian Open tag it switched to starting in 2011.
The inaugural Canada Cup was played in 1993, spurred on by original organizer Glen Todd wanting to help Team Canada prepare for women’s softball’s debut at the Atlanta 1996 Games.
The sport was dropped from the Olympics after the Beijing 2008 Games, but saw a major boost in profile and an influx of cash from both governments and sponsors when it was voted back in last summer for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
“The title Canada Cup, I think, in any sport has a high-level reputation,” tournament chairman Greg Timm said of the name used in a variety of sports. “When we went to the Canadian Open, the money was draining out and we wanted to reset expectations. We wanted to show that we were a youth-focused event.
“Now, we want to show again that we are an event that helps support Team Canada.”
Asked how much money had come to the sport in this country because of its Olympic connection, Timm said: “I don’t know if it’s millions, but it’s hundreds of thousands and, in amateur sport, that’s like bars of gold.”
There’s evidence of that influx. As well as its top team, Canada is fielding a B squad — Canada Elite — at this tournament.
The Americans aren’t part of the field, with Timm saying “they don’t have it in their budget,” but Australia is participating after skipping the past two Canadian Opens. There are 10 national teams involved this time around. The last Canadian Open in 2015 featured six.
“With the Olympic opportunity here again, some of the older players who might have retired in recent years are sticking with the sport,” Timm said. “That turns into hard choices for the coaches. It’s good news for our sport overall.”
There was no Canadian Open last year since Timm and many of his cohorts were hosting the 30-team, 10-day WBSC women’s softball world championship at Softball City.
The Americans beat Japan 7-3 before a crowd of 4,500 in the goldmedal game.
Canada won five straight games to get into medal contention after a 6-1 loss to Venezuela to open the tournament’s Round of 16, but ran out of pitching and dropped an 11-1 decision in a mercy-ruled four innings to Japan with a spot in the final on the line. Under the tournament format, they landed a bronze medal.
Timm says the WBSC has certified the Canada Cup as a rankings qualifier, meaning national teams can earn points for their performance there. He says only two other invitationals have earned that status.
“It’s recognition worldwide that we are a good tournament, a fair tournament,” he said. “We’re proud of that. I think our reputation was already good, but we polished it up even more with how things went last year.”
The Canada Cup undercards — its Under-19 Futures tournament and Under-16 Showcase tournament — start July 7.
For more information, go to canadacup.com.