OTTAWA- Last October, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, declared 2015 as the “Year of Sport” in Canada and with one look at the upcoming Calendar of Events for Baseball Canada in 2015 – it could very well be the “Year of Baseball” as well with a busy schedule that has already begun.
The year officially kicked-off last weekend in Toronto with the 13th annual National Teams Awards Banquet and Fundraiser that saw new Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin become just the seventh member of Baseball Canada’s Wall of Excellence sponsored by RBC Wealth Management.
February will see the annual girl's baseball development camp take place in Havana, Cuba for the sixth consecutive year. The camp also marks the 10th anniversary of Baseball Canada sending a group of female players to the island.
No fewer than four major international baseball tournaments are on the 2015 schedule along with ten National Championship tournaments and host of other baseball activities.
The road to the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) U18 World Cup for the
Junior National Team begins in March with the annual Spring Training/Alumni Week Camp in St. Petersburg, Florida. In addition to exhibition contests against prospects from several MLB clubs and a series of games against a touring squad of draft-eligible players from Puerto Rico, the juniors will travel to Dunedin on March 15th for a split-squad game against the Toronto Blue Jays that is sure to be a highlight for all players.
Annual camps in Orlando (April) and the Dominican Republic (May) lead to the squad’s final selection camp in Australia in mid August before the WBSC U18 World Cup in Nishinomiya, Japan from August 28th to September 6th.
Challenger Baseball will be front and centre on June 6th at Rogers Centre in Toronto when the 3rd annual “Challenger Baseball Jamboree” takes place following an afternoon tilt between the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.
The month of June will also feature the Baseball Canada Annual General Meeting that will move to Ottawa for 2015.
In July, the Pan Am Games will take place in Toronto providing fans in Canada a chance to see both our women’s and men’s national teams up close!
Yes, for the first time ever, women’s baseball is included in the Pan Am Games sports program. The women’s competition takes place in Ajax from July 20th -26th, while the men’s competition, where Canada will defend its gold medal won in 2011, will also take place in Ajax from July 11th-19th.
National Championship season gets underway August 5-10 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with the Baseball Canada Cup featuring some of Canada’s top players 17 years of age and younger.
Nine other National Championships will occur throughout August and September across six different age categories. For a complete list, please click here.
In October, the Junior National Team will hold their annual Fall Instructional League Camp in Orlando as the program transitions from a post world championship tournament.
The last domestic event on the 2015 calendar is the annual Baseball Canada Fall Convention slated for November 4-7 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Finally, a busy year on the baseball field four our national teams wraps up on the other side of the world as the inaugural “Premier 12” tournament hosted by the WBSC that will see the Senior National Team compete for the title against the top 11 ranked nations in the world.
To view the 2015 Calendar of Events please click here.
