Canada Cup (softball)
Encyclopedia
The Canada Cup is an annual international women's softball
tournament held at the Softball City Complex in South Surrey
, British Columbia
.
that women's fastpitch was being made a full-medal sport at the 1996 Summer Olympics
in Atlanta
, the Canada Cup was created to provide the Canadian national softball team
with a world calibre team competition in order to help prepare for Olympic qualifying.
Over the years, the Canada Cup has evolved into one of the most prestigious international softball tournaments. Today, the competition is split among four separate tournaments:
Although a number of US and Japanese club teams have competed in the Canada Cup, the showcase event has evolved primarily into a national team competition between the following countries:
This tournament enjoys strong local support with hundreds of community volunteers. Each team is assigned a bat girl from one of the local teams plus a family support liaison from the community. Another unusual part of this tournament is the concurrent co-ed Slow-Pitch
Friendship Division tournament for developmentally disabled adults which is run at the same site as the premier International Women's Fastpitch tournament. You can watch both at the same time.
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
tournament held at the Softball City Complex in South Surrey
South Surrey
South Surrey is a neighborhood of Surrey, British Columbia. It borders on the city of White Rock, and at 10,535 people, South Surrey has the largest concentration of persons over the age of 60 of all Surrey's town centres...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Format
Following an announcement on June 13, 1991 by the International Softball FederationInternational Softball Federation
thumb|Map of member states.|400px|rightThe International Softball Federation is the international governing body for the sport of softball. The ISF is a non-profit corporation recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the General Association of International Sports Federations .The...
that women's fastpitch was being made a full-medal sport at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, the Canada Cup was created to provide the Canadian national softball team
Canada women's national softball team
|- align=center bgcolor=white valign=middle |bgcolor=white| 5th || 1996 Atlanta|- align=center bgcolor=white valign=middle |bgcolor=white| 8th || 2000 Sydney|- align=center bgcolor=white valign=middle |bgcolor=white| 5th || 2004 Athens...
with a world calibre team competition in order to help prepare for Olympic qualifying.
Over the years, the Canada Cup has evolved into one of the most prestigious international softball tournaments. Today, the competition is split among four separate tournaments:
- Canada Cup: Showcase event, featuring the top women's teams globally
- Canada Cup Futures: featuring about 30 of the top U19 teams globally
- Canada Cup Showcase: featuring top U16 teams
- Canada Cup Special O: a mixed Special OlympicsSpecial OlympicsSpecial Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
Division
Although a number of US and Japanese club teams have competed in the Canada Cup, the showcase event has evolved primarily into a national team competition between the following countries:
This tournament enjoys strong local support with hundreds of community volunteers. Each team is assigned a bat girl from one of the local teams plus a family support liaison from the community. Another unusual part of this tournament is the concurrent co-ed Slow-Pitch
Friendship Division tournament for developmentally disabled adults which is run at the same site as the premier International Women's Fastpitch tournament. You can watch both at the same time.
Tournament History
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Attendance |
| Redding Rebels | 43,968 | ||
| Redding Rebels | 56,829 | ||
| California Commotion | 70,108 | ||
| 79,136 | |||
| 95,869 | |||
| (Gold) | 100,419 | ||
| 109,814 | |||
| (Red) | 110,346 | ||
| (World) | (Elite) | 122,504 | |
| (Elite) | 113,916 | ||
| 91,201 | |||
| (Elite) | 105,856 | ||
| 112,676 | |||
| 119,301 | |||
| 102,647 | |||