OTTAWA – Baseball players of all ages will be taking part in baseball tournaments across Western Canada this weekend as this marks the third week of Baseball Canada championships. The Senior Men’s tournament will be played in Prince George, BC, and the Peewee Western tournament will take place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Senior Men’s Championship
Prince George, BC, welcomes back the Senior Men’s Championship after a 10-year hiatus. The city last hosted the event in 2002 and will look to host another classic event. The city also was the home for the 2009 World Baseball Challenge, a tournament in which several current and former major league players have participated.
New to the tournament (compared to ten years ago) this year is the six year-old Citizen Field, where the majority of games will be held. According to tournament chair Jim Swanson, the new ballpark may never have been built if it wasn’t for hosting the 2002 tournament. “That 2002 tournament got the ball rolling – on a new park, and on bringing the World Baseball Challenge to life in Prince George,“ he said.
This year’s edition of the tournament will feature eight provincial teams, including two from Ontario. Just like the other Baseball Canada tournaments, this tournament will feature the eight teams divided into two pools, A and B. Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario (1) and Prince George will round out Pool A while BC Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Ontario (2) compose Pool B.
Tournament action kicks off Thursday at 11am MT (2pm ET) when New Brunswick and Manitoba square off and will run through Sunday’s Gold Medal game.
Note: All stats and live in-game action can be followed via Pointstreak.
Peewee Western Championship
The Peewee Western Championship tournament kicks off on Thursday in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The tournament provides an opportunity for kids between the ages of 11 and 13 to be exposed to playing baseball at a national level – some possibly for the first time.
Just like in many other provinces, the summer baseball season usually comes to a close at this time of year. For a province like Saskatchewan and more specifically Saskatoon, which isn’t typically known as a baseball hotbed, having a tournament such as this to close out the year is meaningful.
“This event signals the end of the summer baseball season in Saskatoon and leads into the beginning of the fall baseball program. With over 1,100 minor baseball players participating in the sport each year, Saskatoon has a strong baseball community and the opportunity to see the top Pee Wee teams from the four western provinces in action at Saskatoon’s best minor baseball facility is sure to create a strong spectator base.”
Eight teams will battle for tournament supremacy, and similar to other tournaments this one will be divided into two pools. Alberta (2), BC, Manitoba (2) and Saskatchewan (1) will represent Pool A while Alberta (1), Manitoba (1), Saskatchewan (2) and the host Saskatoon Blue Jays will form Pool B.
First pitch is scheduled for 1pm CT (3pm ET) when Saskatchewan (1) takes on Alberta (2) at Joe Zeman field in the Geoff Hughes Baseball Complex.
Note: For more information on stats and live in-game updates, please visit Pointstreak.
