The city of Thunder Bay has been chosen to host one of two groups of the IX Women’s Baseball World Cup.

For Aug. 8-13, 2023, will be hosted by Thunder Bay International Baseball Association (TBIBA), and they will run the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the tournament.

“We’re extremely excited that the community of Thunder Bay will host these two prestigious events and provide our Women’s National Team athletes with the unique opportunity to compete on home soil in front of Canadian fans,” said Baseball Canada CEO Jason Dickson. “The TBIBA has hosted first class international baseball events for over two decades and we know that they will once again deliver a quality experience for all teams, officials, volunteers and visitors to Thunder Bay.”

“The Thunder Bay International Baseball Association is delighted that WBSC has chosen Canada to host IX Women’s Baseball World Cup group and final stage in Thunder Bay,” added President of TBIBA Nick Melchiorre.  “We welcome the world and the global baseball community to our city and look forward to working with Baseball Canada again to make these events a fantastic experience for the teams, visitors and community as a whole.”

Seven teams have already qualified for the first stage including World No. 6 France who won the European Championship on home soil in Montpellier in August 2022.

No. 5 Venezuela, No. 7 Cuba, No. 9 Puerto Rico, and No. 12 Mexico were the top four finishers of the Americas Qualifier, played in August 2022 in Venezuela while No. 8 Australia qualified as the top-ranked nation in Oceania.

Canada’s ranked No. 3 and will enter the event as the host nation and wild card entry.