The ten-day schedule of 70 games at the International Softball Federation's VIII Jr. Men's World Championship was made public today by the sport's world governing body. Taking place in Whitehorse, Yukon (Canada), the fast pitch event will be played from June 20-29. The 19-and-under national team from 12 countries will participate.
"There is a lot of softball scheduled to be played at this year's world championship," ISF President Don Porter said. "The spectators attending and the media covering the tournament will have a lot to see, with some of the entries on the schedule showing as many as nine games in one day. The unique location of this event will provide a great setting for these world-class athletes to compete for the chance to be called 'world champion'." In the northwest corner of the country, the Pepsi Softball Centre is in an area that daily gets over 20 hours of daylight, meaning that the teams will play against nature's backdrop with no artificial (stadium) lights. Australia is the three-time defending ISF Jr. Men's World Champion, with this year's host country the last to win the title before the Aussies started their run in 1997. Joining those two at the event in June will be: Argentina, Botswana, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, and Venezuela. The championship opens with Australia facing Botswana in the first of four games scheduled before all 12 teams participate in Opening Ceremonies, which will be followed by games between Canada and the Czech Republic and the U.S. versus Japan. The official event website is www.worldsoftball2008.com and the full game schedule is available here. The ISF is the world governing body of the sport as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). Softball (women's fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. There are 130 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of participants in the sport worldwide.