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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 21, 2003
Amateur
Sport Hits Home Run With ‘Olympic’ Event
Slated
For Windsor
1700
Canadian all-stars expected for 2003 Baseball Championships
Windsor,Ont. – Canada’s
best amateur baseball athletes will converge on Windsor,
Ontario this summer to compete for the sport’s most
coveted trophies in seven division championships. From communities
small and large players will set their sights on one city
to compete in the 2003 Canadian Baseball Championships from
August 13 – 25.
For
the first time in its 36-year history, Baseball Canada will
hold its championships at one site, a move to showcase Olympic-calibre
talent to a national audience as well as dozens of major
league baseball scouts and U.S. college coaches searching
for future big league prospects.
“Our
goal is to increase the recognition and awareness of amateur
baseball and its significance as a widely-played and attended
sport from coast-to-coast,” says Jim Baba, Baseball
Canada director general.
Featuring
274 playoff games and seven division championships, the event
will draw 77 teams, 1,700 athletes and more than 8,000 coaches,
umpires, support staff and family members from 10 provinces.
Tournament
highlights include bantam, pee wee, midget, junior and senior
championships plus the first girls bantam championship and
the prestigious Canada Cup with 10 provincial all-star teams
competing for the coveted national title.
Past
Canadian Baseball Championships participants include major
league players such as Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies (Maple
Ridge, BC) Jeff Zimmerman, Texas Rangers (Carsland, Alberta)
and former Toronto Blue Jay Rich Butler (Toronto, Ontario).
The
Canada Cup Gold Medal game will be broadcast live and televised
across Canada by Rogers Sports Network with Cogeco Cable
carrying broadcasts of various tournament playoffs for the
regional Southwestern Ontario market.
To
emphasize the importance of the competition and the quality
of players the Windsor Festival of Baseball committee has
created an Olympic-style event. Special ceremonies will feature
a parade of teams at the tournament’s opening and closing
celebrations, medal awards and an Athletes’ Village.
“Many
of the athletes participating in this event may be future
Olympians and it’s important to recognize their abilities,
says Bill Kell, co-chair of The Windsor Festival of Baseball
2003. “By bringing all of these teams together in one
location we can more easily raise the profile of baseball
and display the talents of players from our own Canadian
communities.”
Mic
Mac Park, one of Windsor’s 30 premier ball fields,
will host a Festival Village with food service and hospitality
venues, merchandising, interactive displays and demonstration
games. A mini tournament for players aged 55 and older, as
well as the ‘Challenger Game’ for the physically
challenged will be held.
Windsor
is recognized nationwide for its individual and team successes
in amateur baseball. “Tournaments go to a city that
has a legacy of good baseball and Windsor has been a good
baseball city noted throughout the country for its ability
to successfully organize great baseball events,” comments
Reno Bertoia, former Detroit Tiger and honourary chair of
the Windsor Festival of Baseball.
With
first-rate facilities and a history of hosting numerous events
such as the bantam division of the Canadian Championships,
three world youth championships and midget and senior division
nationals, Windsor was the preferred choice by Baseball Canada
to host the event from a shortlist of communities selected
in a Canada-wide competition. The two-week event is expected
to attract over 100,000 spectators.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact:
Bill Kell
Tel: (519) 796 - 7308
Fax: (519) 255 - 7990
email: bkell@city.windsor.on.ca
www.canadianbaseballchampionships.com
About
Baseball Canada
Founded in 1971, Baseball Canada is the national governing
organization for 11 provincial and territorial associations
representing over 500,000
players, 62,000 coaches, 11,000 umpires and 13,000 teams nationwide.
As a member of the Canadian Olympic Association, Baseball Canada
is responsible for Canada’s baseball teams at
Olympic and Pan Am Games and has been empowered by
the International Baseball Association to represent
Canada in international competition.
About
The Windsor Festival of Baseball 2003
Formed in 2000, The Windsor Festival of Baseball 2003 is a collaborative
of Windsor-Essex County sports associations, City of Windsor Parks and
Recreation and a ‘workforce’ of subcommittees including key
community leaders, institutions and volunteers, all providing the skills
required to ensure a successful and widely popular competition.
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