Softball Canada – (Ottawa, ON) Softball Canada is pleased to announce the list of athletes who have been selected to represent Canada this summer, culminating with the 2016 WBSC Women’s World Softball Championship from July 15 to 24 in Surrey, BC. The final roster has been determined following a camp held in Tucson, Arizona in January.
 
“We are looking forward to getting on the field” stated Mark Smith, Head Coach of Canada’s Women’s National Softball Team. “The team has been working hard all winter and are eager to play ball.”
 
The 2016 roster includes fourteen (14) returnees from the 2014 World Championship roster that finished fourth in Haarlem, Netherlands, as well as the return of Lauren Bay Regula (Trail, BC) who last played at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
 
The Canadian Women’s National Team will assemble for a training camp June 11-17 in Southern California before heading overseas to Japan for a series of exhibition games from June 18-28. The team will then travel back to the United States and play in the US World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City from July 5-10 before returning to Canada for the World Championship.

The athletes who will represent Canada as members of the 2016 Women’s National Softball Team are:

Athletes

First Name	Last Name	Hometown
Lauren	Bay Regula	Trail, BC
Kyla	Benz	Surrey, BC
Larissa	Franklin	Maple Ridge, BC
Sara	Groenewegen	Surrey, BC
Megan	Gurski	Dalmeny, SK
Victoria	Hayward	Toronto, ON
Karissa	Hovinga	Edmonton, AB
Joey	Lye	Toronto, ON
Sara	Plourde	Fredericton, NB
Erika	Polidori	Brantford, ON
Kaleigh	Rafter	Guelph, ON
Sara	Riske	Richmond, BC
Jenn	Salling	Port Coquitlam, BC
Carey-Leigh	Thomas	Ohsweken, ON
Logan	White	Brantford, ON
Natalie	Wideman	Mississauga, ON
Jen	Yee	North Delta, BC

 
Alternates

First Name	Last Name	Hometown
Emma	Entzminger*	Victoria, BC
Vicky	Rumph	Mount Forest, ON

 *Travelling Alternate
 

Coaching Staff

Position	Name	Hometown
Head Coach	Mark Smith	Falmouth, NS
Assistant Coach	Melissa Basilio	Pickering, ON
Assistant Coach	Glenn Boles	St. Catharines, ON
Assistant Coach	Rob Guenter	Victoria, BC
Assistant Coach	Dave Paetkau	Abbotsford, BC
Physiotherapist	Laurie Freebairn	Maple Ridge, BC
Mental Performance Coach	Lauren Tashman	Pennington, NJ
Team Leader	Alison Bradley	Pinkerton, ON
Coordinator – WNT	Kerri Bodin	Ottawa, ON

Jenna Caira (Toronto, ON) and Megan Timpf (Port Dover, ON) have decided to retire from the Women’s National Team program following a thrilling Gold medal performance at the 2015 Pan American Games. Softball Canada would like to thank them for their years of service and contributions to Team Canada, with both recently serving as team captains and helping to lead the team to new heights.
 
Caira was a steady and consistent presence in the pitcher’s circle since joining the team in 2009 and has mentored many young Canadian pitchers. She played in a total of three World Championships (Bronze in 2010 and fourth in 2012 and 2014) and won two medals at the Pan American Games (Gold in 2015 and Silver in 2011).
 
Timpf made everyone around her better by playing with grit and working hard on and off the field since joining the program with the Development Team in 2005. She was a 2008 Olympian (fourth place finish) and won three medals (Gold in 2015 and Silver in 2011 and 2007) at the Pan American Games, competing in two World Championships (fourth place in 2012 and 2014).
 
For more information about the 2016 WBSC Women’s World Softball Championship and to purchase tickets, please visit www.surrey2016.com.

 

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For more information, please contact:

Gilles LeBlanc
Manager – Marketing and Communications
Softball Canada
(613) 523-3386 ext. 3105
gleblanc@softball.ca