Softball tournament lands Cubans
Officials hope Canadian Open builds momentum for next year’s world championship
From the minute his group was awarded the 2016 women’s fastpitch world championships for Softball City, Greg Timm was talking up hosting both an athletic and cultural showcase.
They have a good test case coming up, with the Cuban national team playing in their annual event, the Canadian Open, at the South Surrey ballpark for the first time.
The tournament kicks off July 3, and Cuba plays its first game on July 7. Canada and Japan are among the other highlighted squads in the nine-team top tier of the event. There are also Futures (under-19) and Showcase (16 and under) tournaments running in conjunction.
Timm says the Open and its precursor, the Canada Cup, had been trying to land Cuba on an annual basis since the first tournament back in 1993.
“It’s one of those things that, when it finally happens, you feel a sense of accomplishment,” said Timm, who is president of the Canadian Open Fastpitch Society and chairman of the 2016 worlds.
“You get to tick another country off your list.”
The 2016 worlds are slated for July 15 to 24, and the plan is to have at least 30 nations involved. Timm says his group wants to bring various ethnic communities together, and he’s excited about what it could mean “culturally.”
“Could getting Cuba this year help us get other teams for next year? Anyone in our sport watches what happens,” he said. “Each country is so different, each country has its own challenges, but people talk. An event like the Canadian Open, which is an invitational, is about reputation. That’s how we’ve built it over the years.”
He says the preparation for next year is already under way, explaining, “we’ll be changing our game format, our administering of national anthems, some of our ticketing and other things behind the scenes.
“This is a walk-through for what’s going to happen in 2016,” he said.
Cuba isn’t the powerhouse in women’s softball that they are in baseball. They finished ninth at the 2014 worlds, for instance.
Perennial Canadian Open fan favourite Australia opted against taking part this year, as did the Americans.
Highlighted games include Canada versus Cuba on July 8 (7 p.m.) and Canada taking on Japan on July 9 (6:30 p.m.).
The final is set for July 13 (7:30 p.m.)
For more information, check out www.canadianopenfastpitch.com or www.surrey2016.com.