Four national championships this weekend

Aug. 24, 2016

Baseball Canada Championships: Four more events scheduled for Thursday

By Adam Morissette
Baseball Canada
OTTAWA, Ont. – With six National Championships already in the books this summer, it’s hard to believe there’s still more left in store. The busiest weekend of the season is about to get underway with 4 events scheduled to begin Thursday, August 25th.

A quick summary of what to look forward to:

13U National Championship
The 13U National Championship returns to London, ON, where it was held in 2014, with 10 teams set to battle it out for a shot at gold. The event will be held at Stronach Park with games split between Stronach Stadium and Field #3. In 2015, the host team Lanaudière claimed gold in Repentigny, QC. Of the 10 teams attending, Québec and Ontario will both be represented by 3 while Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan will each be sending one. To round out the group, a team from Nova Scotia will be representing the Atlantic Provinces. The competition gets underway Thursday morning at 8:00 am EST with Québec taking on Mauricie at Stronach Stadium.

15U Championship
All 10 provinces will be represented at the 15U Championship this year along with Summerside, PE’s host team rounding out the 11-team field. After 7 straight years in Vaughan, ON, the event will be held in PEI for the very first time. Ontario enters the event as the 4-time defending champion with Mississauga, ON having kept the streak alive thanks to wins in both 2014 and 2015. This year’s action will be split between VIV Field and Legends Field, both at Queen Elizabeth Park. The host team will kick off the competition as they take on Newfoundland at 8:30 am AST on Thursday at VIV Field.

Senior Men Championship
A total of 10 teams will be playing for gold in Fredericton, NB at this year’s Senior Men Championship. Two teams will be representing Ontario while PEI will be the only province without a representative. BC and Ontario have alternated as National Champions since 2010 with the most recent gold medals being handed to Tecumseh (ON) last year in Miramichi, NB. The majority of the games will be held at Fredericton’s Royals Field while a portion of the round-robin games will be played at Thompson Field. Opening ceremonies and the homerun derby are scheduled for Wednesday night at 6:00 pm AST at Royals Field before games get underway on Thursday morning.

Senior Women Invitational
The 11th annual Senior Women Invitational will be held in Red Deer, AB. This year’s hosts have medaled at 9 of the 10 past events with their only gold coming in 2014. Defending champs and all-time gold medal count leaders, Ontario, will look to repeat what they did in Saguenay, QC last year. British Columbia, Québec and a National Prospect team round out the 5-team field. Alberta and the Prospect team will get the competition started when they face off at 9:00 am MST at Great Chief Park. Following the event, 20 athletes will be selected to represent Canada at the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup in Gijang, Korea from September 3-11.