PLANT CITY, FL (USA) — International Softball executives have announced the official game schedule for the 10th edition of the Junior Men’s Softball World Championship, to be held in Whitehorse, YK, Canada.
The ten-nation flagship youth event will feature 45 games in a round-robin format, followed by four playoff (page playoff system) games.
Youth National Teams from five continents of the globe (Asia, Europe, North- and South America, and Oceania) will unite on the two competition fields at the Pepsi Softball Centre in Whitehorse.
Opening day — 11 July — will feature all ten nations, as the action begins at 12:30 (local time) — Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and USA.
It will be an all-Asia match that will officially kick-off the championship with Singapore vs. Japan.
Opening ceremonies will begin at 17:30 at the main competition field, which will be followed by Canada meeting Europe’s Czech Republic in front of the home crowd.
A key contest will be the rematch of the 2012 gold medal game between Argentina and Japan to take place on 16 July at 17:00. Defending champion Argentina earned the honour of being South America’s historic first-ever softball world champion across any category.
The gold medal game will take centre stage on 20 July at 16:00, and will be preceded by the bronze medal match at 13:00.
“This is always an exciting moment for the fans, athletes, entire National Team delegations and the LOC,” ISF President Dale McMann expressed. “The athletes will be ever-more focused and motivated, and this is what sport is all about — these athletes are the stars and this will be their international stage to shine, to represent their countries and to measure themselves against their young peers around the world.”
McMann also reiterated WBSC’s focus on and positioning with the youth/lifestyle demographic.
“The sports world is continuing to shift its target to more youth-driven activities, and that’s why the WBSC is particularly proud that softball and baseball, especially together, have an already established stronghold among young people practicing sport,” said McMann. “WBSC’s line of products is increasingly popular across a wide range of age categories and across both genders — and is deepening across all continents.”
The WBSC has a full list of official events on the calendar that span from July to November which include the 2nd 15U Baseball World Cup in Mexico, the 14th Women’s Softball World Championship in the Netherlands, 6th Women’s Baseball World Cup in Japan, and the Inaugural 21U Baseball World Cup in Taiwan (ROC).
