Surrey, BC/ Toronto, ON: The Canada Cup International Softball Championship and  CBC Sports today announced a new five-year partnership. The exclusive agreement will see CBC Sports, Canada’s home for high-performance sport, livestream every international game of the six-day tournament at cbcsports.ca as well as via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, including the 2018 event from July 17–22. The Canada Cup is held in Surrey, British Columbia and annually draws top female athletes and teams from around the world.

“We are extremely excited to have the premier sports broadcaster in the country, and one of the most respected entities of its kind in the world, CBC Sports, bringing our tournament to fans across Canada and around the world,” says Canada Cup Chairman Greg Timm.

”With the return of softball to the playing field at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, CBC Sports is thrilled to be the established destination for Canadians to watch these high-calibre players and teams as they compete at the top of their game,” said Greg Stremlaw, Executive Director, CBC Sports and General Manager, Olympics. “The elite female athletes who compete in the Canada Cup are an inspiration to audiences across the country, and CBC Sports is honoured to provide them with a national platform to further showcase their sport.”

Fans can see teams competing in the Women’s International Division exclusively on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app, beginning with the kick-off game featuring Team Canada, currently ranked third in the world in the WBSC rankings starting at 6 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (9 p.m. ET) on July 17, 2018.

Hugh Mitchener, CEO of Softball Canada says “We are incredibly appreciative of CBC’s dedication to showcasing and promoting a wide variety of sports to Canadians. This partnership will go a long way to showcasing softball to young Canadians and promoting participation to a new generation of Canadians.”

About the Canada Cup
The Canada Cup International Softball Championship is operated by the Canadian Open Fastpitch 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, offer exposure to potential university and college scholarships, 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.

About CBC Sports
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's Olympic Network through 2024 and Canada's Paralympic Network through 2020. The national public broadcaster is committed to showcasing Canadian and international athletes and sports across all platforms under the CBC Sports and Hockey Night in Canada brands, including on television, online at cbcsports.ca and via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. CBC Sports prides itself on telling the story of the high-performance athlete's journey every step of the way, ensuring Canadians always know the people who represent them before they see them atop the podium.

-30-

Reference:

Laura Ballance
Media Relations
Canada Cup
Laura@LBMG.ca
604-771-5176 (mobile)

Tanya Koivusalo
Publicist
CBC Sports
tanya.koivusalo@cbc.ca
416-205-8638 (office) 647-649-6067 (mobile)