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Softball Canada to hold identification camp in Maple Ridge

June 6 camp will assist in selecting 16 national team players
Neil Corbett
Neil Corbett
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Maple Ridge’s Larissa Franklin helped Team Canada secure their place in the 2024 WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Finals. (Larissa Franklin/Special to The News)

Maple Ridge will be the host community for one of the two Softball Canada identification camps for the Women’s National Team.

The camp has been announced for June 6, and athletes born in 2006 or earlier are invited to register to attend. It will be held at the Albion Sports Complex.

The event will be a homecoming for longtime national team member and Maple Ridge resident Larissa Franklin, who has worn the Maple Leaf since 2011. She has been a mainstay in the outfield, and at the top of the batting order.

The Women’s National Team coaching staff will operate the camp with the help of guest coaches. Each player will be evaluated on speed, throwing, hitting, defensive play and general softball game play.

There will be another ID camp on June 9 on the other side of the country, in Oshawa, Ontario.

Players can attend either camp by registering online, and paying a $150 fee. That will earn them a chance to get noticed by the Team Canada coaches, and a Rawlings National Team camp shirt.

Athletes born in 2007 may be able to participate but will need approval from Softball Canada before registering, by contacting head coach Kaleigh Rafter (krafter@softball.ca).

A final selection camp will be held from June 11 to 16 in Ontario. Softball Canada will cover the cost of flights, meals, accommodations, and ground transportation during the final selection camp.

Once the players have been evaluated, Softball Canada will name 15 players to the national team.

Major tournaments in 2024 include the Canada Cup in Surrey, and the WBSC World Cup event in Castions di Strada, Italy.

More information is available at softball.ca

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Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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