{"id":15509,"date":"2011-11-11T21:43:49","date_gmt":"2011-11-12T05:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=15509"},"modified":"2011-11-11T21:43:49","modified_gmt":"2011-11-12T05:43:49","slug":"softball-worlds-returning-to-whitehorse-after-%e2%80%9908-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=15509","title":{"rendered":"Softball worlds returning to Whitehorse after \u201908 success"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
Click for complete story.<\/figcaption><\/figure>The International Softball Federation (ISF) is confident Whitehorse can pull off hosting a world championship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Jonathan Russell <\/em><\/p>\n

\nThe junior men\u2019s world championships are returning to Whitehorse in 2014 based in part of the success in \u201908.<\/p>\n

The International Softball Federation (ISF) is confident Whitehorse can pull off hosting a world championship.<\/p>\n

That confidence has led the ISF back to the Yukon capital for the 2014 Junior Men\u2019s World Championship.<\/p>\n

Whitehorse hosted the Junior Men\u2019s World Championship in 2008 and is also set to host the 2012 Women\u2019s World Fastpitch Championship, from July 13-22.<\/p>\n

ISF president Don Porter told the Star that Whitehorse\u2019s most recent winning bid, the announcement for which came at the ISF Congress in Oklahoma City at the end of October, was in part due to the success of the 2008 junior men\u2019s championships.<\/p>\n

Whitehorse\u2019s bid went to the Competitions Commission for approval before being voted on by delegates. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was done up there by the people that supported the championship and the organizing of it \u2013 I thought was exceptional,\u201d Porter said. \u201cI know many of the other members of the federation that were in attendance at that championship were very much impressed also, so I think that certainly had a lot to do with it when another bid was presented.\u201d<\/p>\n

A sound organizing committee, a good facility and community support are the ingredients that go into hosting an international event, Porter explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe businesses are so important too in supporting an event like that \u2013 so I think it\u2019s a combination of those things that we try to look for in cities; and also the opportunity for a city to bring an event that\u2019s going to bring a number of people there,\u201d Porter said.<\/p>\n

The world championships continue to return to Whitehorse \u2013 and Canadian venues \u2013 for these reasons, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of it has to do with the good work that is done at all our world championships that are held in Canada. We\u2019ve had quite a number of world championships throughout Canada, and to my recollection, I think almost every one of them was extremely successful,\u201d Porter said, adding of Whitehorse: \u201cI think that\u2019s another reason that the delegates to the congress supported that bid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saskatoon, Sask., was also awarded the 2015 ISF Senior Men\u2019s World
\nChampionship.<\/p>\n

Softball Yukon executive director George Arcand said hosting a number of world championships is fairly common.<\/p>\n

Both Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, for instance, have been the sites of many international softball events, Arcand pointed out.<\/p>\n

That Whitehorse will host its third world championship over seven years is \u201cnot totally unusual,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a huge surprise, but it was welcome news,\u201d Arcand said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing for us is that our complex is considered right and they like it, so therefore as long as we want to do it I\u2019m sure we have a shot at winning a bid.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Whitehorse wants to have it continue to happen, it will happen, because there\u2019s not 50 sites in Canada that are wanting to host it; there\u2019s only a few.\u201d<\/p>\n

Softball Yukon this past summer ensured upgrades were made to the Pepsi Centre, re-building dugouts and adding a second storey to the service building to accommodate a larger umpires room and dope testing area, for the 2012 Women\u2019s World Fastpitch Championship, an event that leads up to the Pan-American Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the Pepsi Centre, we would not be able to host any kind of championship of this calibre,\u201d Arcand said.<\/p>\n

In addition, Softball Yukon will ensure infields are maintained properly to reach the standard for worlds and the fencing will be renovated. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs it is, we\u2019ve spent the summer doing a considerable amount of renovations based on what we found in 2008, what we need for 2012. So we\u2019ve upgraded the facility; you can call it part of the legacy that bringing a world championship does.<\/p>\n

Click to continue reading.<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Softball Federation (ISF) is confident Whitehorse can pull off hosting a world championship. By Jonathan Russell The junior men\u2019s world championships are returning to Whitehorse in 2014 based in part of the success in \u201908. The International Softball Federation (ISF) is confident Whitehorse can pull off hosting a world championship. That confidence has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,12,27],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15509","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"category-isf","9":"category-youth","10":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15509"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15511,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15509\/revisions\/15511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}