The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has confirmed the dates for two Softball World Championships which will be held this year.
The Junior Men’s Softball World Championship, will take in Prince Albert in Canada between July 7 and 15, 2018.
The Women’s Softball World Championship will take centre stage in Chiba in Japan between August 2 and 12, 2018.
From the official 2018 Jr. Men’s World Championship website:
This will be one of the largest scale events ever hosted in Prince Albert. “The World Championship is the first ever for Prince Albert and something that as a community we can all come together and hang your hat on” says Ian Litzenberger chair of Project Triple Play
The City was awarded the Championship by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation in October of 2015. The hard work and dedication of the Aallcann Development Fastpitch Organization and the City of Prince Albert made the event possible.
They developed Project Triple Play in 2014 as a way to ensure the continued growth of softball in the community. Phase one of the project was successfully hosting the 2015 U16 Boys Canadian Championships. Phase two is funding the $1.2 million upgrades and expansion of Prime Minister’s Park. That piece was critical to the final component of Project Triple Play, earning the rights to host the 2018 Junior Men’s Worlds.
Anticipation for the event is building and in order to make it a world class event he acknowledges the importance of getting the community involved. “We are projecting that we will need 200 plus volunteers not to mention the numerous businesses and vendors” Not only can the community get involved by volunteering, they can also help Project Triple Play reach their fundraising goals. According to Litzenberger they are close to their goal but need a final push which is why they put together a seat sale package with two permanent seat plaques at the new complex and two tournament passes to the event in 2018.
An estimated 30,000 people will visit Prince Albert over the duration of the tournament. ADFO anticipates the event will generate a $12 million economic impact for the province, $8 million of that will stay right here in Prince Albert. “It definitely will be an event that should be on everyone’s calendar for 2018 and one that shouldn’t be missed”
-Ian Litzenberger
Editor’s note: Enjoy a great video recapping the last WBSC Jr. Men’s World Championship, at Midland, Michigan: