Organizers and guests praise the world-class event



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Thousands of people attended the World Junior Softball Championships held in Prince Albert from July 7 to 15, 2018 (Peter Lozinski / Daily Herald)

If the organizers of the World Junior Softball Championships wanted to Prince Albert on the map,

The tournament, which ended on Sunday, attracted thousands of people, and many were eager to return to the Prime Minister's Park.

Australia has finally won the gold medal,

"This tournament ranks as one of the biggest," said Lance Winn, one of the members of the Ballpark Broadcasting team who broadcast the games live on Youtube throughout the week.

Our main comments were that he did not feel like a junior tournament. It looked more like a senior tournament. All countries and all support and hospitality committees were exceptional. The way everything happened was really impressive.

Riccardo Fraccari, President of the World Softball Baseball Confederation (WBSC), made similar comments. In his closing remarks, he thanked the community for all that he did to organize a "world clbad" event.

It is time (the local organizing committee) to continue building on the overall success of this event.

"Prince Albert will always be part of the history of softball.A special mention to all volunteers and staff.You have been wonderful hosts, in the hope that everyone would feel here at Prince Albert. "

For Derek Smith, co-chair of the tournament, it was" wonderful "to see the project he had imagined with six others four years ago

" When we made an offer, our fences were too short and we were somehow "oh are we going from the front," he said, "We have an establishment that will be there for many years for all our levels. baseball and many softball teams throughout the province. "

Smith said the tournament had" exceeded "expectations. [19659003] "I guess our slogan when we started was" if we built it, they will come, "and the world has … for sure."

The crowds were plentiful all week, to the point where more stands had to be extinguished by the fence of the outside field to accommodate everyone. On Tuesday night, when Canada faces New Zealand, about 5,000 people broke through the doors, setting a record for attendance.

Participation in the Sunday championships and bronze medal matches was still good, despite Canada playing in the playoff competition on Saturday.

"The weather played a small factor on Sunday, I think we would have been close to an attendance record if we had good weather, but overall, the participation was impressive and the tournament was excellent" , said Smith

. The economic impact is estimated at $ 10 million for the province, of which $ 8 million would be in Prince Albert.

Locally, 26 directors and 300 volunteers banded together to make things happen

Volunteer Morley Harrison shakes hands with Mexico team players after the last game of the World Junior Softball Championships on July 15, 2018 (Peter Lozinski / Daily Herald) [19659021"Wehadsomanyvolunteers"saidSmith

"We had so many of them, we had no more jobs for them. Community effort that allowed this tournament to go out.It was a great atmosphere at the park.I think all teams really enjoyed being here. "

Some of the teams also moved into the city. A South African fan complimented the city's shops, and another South African went to the Joe Fafard exhibition at the Mann Art Gallery. The Indian team was in uniform and, according to CTV, has developed a new love for poutine

Already, the softball community is making noise to return.

"After the early days, (the WBSC) was" We will already take the time to reflect and reflect on what we have done here, and I am sure that in the future, we will put set up some sort of committee to think about the next event.

The return of a great event to Prince Albert is certainly something that Winn would like to see

"I think Prince Albert has" If the WBSC or someone else does Do not knock on your door, if they have not already done so, then they should. It's a world clbad facility and it should have world clbad events. "

 AP Exhibition - July 5 to August 4, 2018

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