Ottawa, Ont. – After careful consideration, Softball Canada’s Board of Directors has decided not to send a team to represent Canada at the 2021 WBSC U18 Women’s World Cup due to COVID-19 concerns.

“Our top priority is the health and safety of our members” stated Softball Canada President, Scott Neiles. “We reviewed the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic and related travel with our Team Doctor and other personnel and made the difficult decision not to send our Canadian team. We recognize that every country has their own set of circumstances and we wish those competing and the Host all the best. We want to recognize all the hard work our athletes and coaches have put into preparing for this event and thank them for their commitment to the National Team program.”

Softball Canada held a series of regional identification camps and a selection camp earlier this year with the intention of selecting a team to attend the World Cup if a decision was made to proceed.

Canada qualified for the World Cup by winning the bronze medal at the 2019 Pan American Championship in Barranquilla, Colombia. The World Cup was originally scheduled to be played in August 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was delayed and will now be played in December in Lima, Peru.

The next U18 Women’s World Cup cycle will run from 2023-2025.