2023 U15 GIRL'S

CANADIAN FAST PITCH CHAMPIONSHIP

Brandon, MB - August 9 – 13

WELCOME TO BRANDON

The City of Brandon's population in the 2021 Census was 51.313, just over a 5% increase from 2016. Brandon's growth has kept pace with the fastest-growing cities in Canada. It demonstrates the opportunities for individuals, families, and businesses to grow and succeed.

 

Brandon is known as the Wheat City and is home to Brandon University, Assiniboine Community College, and a federal agricultural research station. It is also home to excellent cultural facilities, programs, and events, including the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, the Commonwealth Air Training Museum, the Westman Multicultural Festival, and the Dakota Nation Winterfest.

 

The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba is a Brandon-based non-profit organization established in 1872. It hosts the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair each March, one of only two fairs in Canada to receive royal designation from Queen Elizabeth II. The Provincial Exhibition also hosts the Manitoba Summer Fair in June and the Manitoba Livestock Expo in late October. In addition, Canada's largest indoor agriculture trade show and program, the Manitoba Ag Days, is held mid-January each year at Brandon's Keystone Centre.

 

The Keystone Centre is a 540,000-square-foot multi-event venue with three full-size hockey rinks, including Westoba Place, home of the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings. It also includes an eight-sheet curling rink and ample convention space that allows it to host conferences and events year-round.

 

https://brandontourism.com/

 

A Great Host City

Brandon has a long history of successful sports event hosting that stretches back decades. Events returning to Brandon include the Canada Games (1979, 1997), Curling Canada events (The Brier in 1963, 1982, and 2019, The Scotties in 1993 and 2002, the 1995 Ford World Curling Championship, and the 1997 Olympic trials). In 2010, Brandon hosted the Memorial Cup. In 2016, it hosted U Sports Volleyball National Championships, which will return in 2025. In addition, it hosted the Legion National Youth Track and Field (2017, 2018). Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex has recently hosted incredible provincial, regional, and western tournaments. We are excited by the opportunity for Brandon to host a Softball Canada National event.

 

Softball History & the ANSC

Brandon is a long history of hosting Softball events. Still, the 2023 Softball Canada U15 Girls' Championship will be the first Canadian Championship held in Brandon since 2000. The Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex opened in 2017 and added lights to its main diamond in the spring of 2022. It has quickly built a reputation as the premier softball facility in Manitoba.

 

The Westman Magic is the host team for the 2023 event. The Magic program is one of eight AAA programs under Softball Manitoba. 2023 will be the second straight year the U15 team will compete at the Canadian Championships. After claiming the Softball Manitoba title in 2022, the squad tied for seventh place with an overall 5-and-3 record at last year's event in Saskatoon. Callie Hilhorst was named a tournament all-star after hitting .478 with three home runs and 11 RBI.

 

Ashley Neufeld was a talented local softball star who tragically lost her life on November 1, 2009, when the vehicle she and two teammates were riding in became submerged in a pond in North Dakota where she had been attending college and playing ball. Thanks to local support in her memory, the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex opened in 2017. It was named to celebrate her life and her passion for softball.