The baseball world is coming to Thunder Bay for the third time since 2010.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation on Tuesday confirmed that the city will host an six-team 2023 Group Stage qualifier for the six-team 2024 IX Women’s Baseball World Cup, which is also scheduled for Port Arthur Stadium.
Team Canada has a wild-card spot in the qualifying event and, as host, an automatic spot in the 2024 championship.
Baseball Canada president Jason Dickson said he’s really excited to bring international baseball back to Canada, and particularly to Thunder Bay, which last year hosted a friendship series between Canada and the United States’ national women’s teams.
“We’ve seen the product that Thunder Bay offers. We’ve hosted a couple of times before the U18 (event), and it is no doubt the effort that goes in and the product output, it’s a fantastic spot. Any questions or concerns were answered last year in the friendship series when we went up there with the USA and hosted a five-game series,” said Dickson, the former big-league all-star who finished third in the American League rookie of the year voting in 1997 as a member of the Anaheim Angels.
“On short notice, it was quickly organized thanks to our friends in Thunder Bay, who still produced a good product with a lot of turnout and I think really opened up everyone’s eyes to see what the women’s game looks like and really got the interest going for the next two years.”
The 2023 event is scheduled to take place from Aug. 8 to Aug. 13 and is expected to feature Canada, two Asian qualifiers, two Americas qualifiers and either Australia or France.
Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico have also already qualified for one of the two Group Stage competitions.
Joan Garcia, who spoke on behalf of the WSBC, said Thunder Bay has proven itself over and over again.
“We all have great memories of the U18 WSBC Baseball World Cup that took place in 2010 and 2017. I know the global baseball and softball community is very excited to return to this stunning city for a celebration of women’s baseball,” said Garcia, adding the event will be the first to feature the two-stage format, which was adopted in 2021.
“It sets up a more balanced and efficient competition. It’s really a historic moment, and one that will help elevate the relevance and exposure of women’s baseball, while also increasing engagement in global audiences.”
In accepting hosting duties, Thunder Bay International Baseball Association president Nick Melchiorre said work will be needed to be done to upgrade Port Arthur Stadium, including cosmetic touches and upgrades to the field.
“We’ve been assured the stadium will be ready for the 2023 season, not only for us, but also for the Border Cats. The field has not been used for a few seasons, so we definitely know work has to be put into that and money has been set aside for that,” he said. “WSBC, Baseball Canada and ourselves have identified a person to come to the stadium and Baseball Central in the spring to inspect the fields and the facilities to make sure anything that’s remaining gets done.”
Dates for the 2024 event have not been released.
Canada has won six medals, but has yet to capture gold at the event, first held in 2004 in Edmonton. Japan has six titles and the United States has won the other two championships.
