For Immediate Release
May 29, 2023
TEAM UKRAINE TO COMPETE IN CANADA CUP!
Surrey, BC – The war in Ukraine has placed a tremendous strain on the country’s ability to support the participation of their athletes on the world stage. In light of these circumstances, the organizing committee for the Canada Cup International Softball Championship has established a fundraising campaign in collaboration with the BC Amateur Sport Fund to support their efforts to play in the July 7-16 event at Softball City in Surrey, as well as continue to raise money to benefit the tournament and amateur softball in general.
You can financially support the Canada Cup and assist with Team Ukraine U19’s ability to participate! Your gift is eligible for a tax receipt. To make your donation online, please visit: Canada Cup / BC Amateur Sport Fund.
“Each year our committee reaches out to the international community to bring world-class teams to our event. When we learned that the U19 national team from Ukraine desperately wanted to participate in the Canada Cup, but didn’t have the resources to do so, we saw it as our duty to simply do the right thing,” says event chair Greg Timm. “Our understanding is the team has a great deal of enthusiasm and have a great desire to represent their country – so we are going to make it happen.”
The Ukrainian team has tried to its best to stick together throughout the war, but because of the consistent threat of attacks in Kyiv, many of these brave young women have been forced to leave their families behind and flee to the Czech Republic and Poland. Representing their country at the Canada Cup will also allow the team to fully reunite and get back to the sport they love.
“Nothing unites people like sports and we are thrilled to be coming to Canada to compete in this world-class tournament,” says Team Ukraine U19 Coach Vasyl Kysil. “We have had to overcome some major obstacles, but we have remained committed to fielding an elite fastpitch team that prides itself in representing our great country.”
“Sport BC is proud of our BC Amateur Sport Fund and the opportunity it provides for sport organizations to fundraise for unique programs and projects. Projects like the initiative to help support the Ukrainian U19 Team to participate in this summer’s Canada Cup.” We know participation in sport can be a game changer for young people and these softball players are deserving of this opportunity,” says Rob Newman, President & CEO of Sport BC.
The Canada Cup will run from July 7th-16th at Softball City, Surrey. The 2023 event will be the largest in the tournament and Canadian history with more than 1500 elite athletes already confirmed to compete, including the Canadian National team.
Canada Cup tickets are now on sale: https://canadacup.com/tickets-2023/
Work is now underway on the tournament schedule, with details to be released in the coming months. For more information, please visit: www.CanadaCup.com
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About The Canada Cup International Softball Championship:
The Canada Cup International Softball Championship is operated by the Canadian Amateur Sport Society, a registered not-for-profit society dedicated to advocating and encouraging the development of the sport of softball by staging a first class, family oriented elite international fastpitch event. The event is devoted to providing young, high caliber, female athletes the opportunity to expand their potential and ability by fielding elite level fastpitch teams, provide a source of inspiration and mentorship to the youth of the sport, and provide an entertaining, fun-filled sporting experience for the Canada Cup spectator.
Media Contact:
Laura Ballance
604.771.5176
Adam Forsythe
778.989.1469
Allison Mailer
778.839.8576
allison.mailer@sportbc.com