YUKON GETS 2012 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

January 6, 2010

Unique locale will host top women's international softball event!

PLANT CITY, FLORIDA (USA) -- Whitehorse, Yukon, will host the International Softball Federation XIII Wornen's World Championship in 2012, it was announced today. ISF President Don Porter said that a solid bid from the host and a successful track record made it the right choice for the marquee fast pitch event.

"Whitehorse will do a terrific job hosting our women's world championship in 2012," the ISF president said. "They proved as much when they organized our junior men's world championship in 2008. Plus the community's support for softball and their proven ability as a site for large sporting and cultural events assures us that our teams, the fans, and the media will all have a good experience that summer."

The unique location brings with it over 20 hours of daylight, which allows for softball games - on unlit fields - well into the evening hours. The playing facilities in Whitehorse have multiple fields, which will allow the organizers to meet what is generally a ten-day, 60-plus games schedule.

"Softball Yukon and Softball Canada are pleased to again be able to host the world," said George Arcand, Executive Director of Softball Yukon and the Chair of the Organizing Committee for the 2012 World Championship. "After hosting a successful and exciting junior men's world championship in 2008, we are honored to host the 2012 women's world championship in Whitehorse. We look forward to working with the ISF to make this an unforgettable experience for our local community, fans from all over the world, and all participating teams."

The event in Whitehorse will come just two years after the XII Women's World Championship, which happens this June 23-July 2 in Venezuela. As such, it fulfills the implementation of a two-year rotation for ISF world championships instead of every four years. That change was adopted at the ISF Congress this past October. Next year will be the final year of only one world championship (junior women's, December 6-17, 2011, in Cape Town, South Africa). 2012 will also include the ISF IX Jr. Men's World Championship (19-and-under) in Parana, Argentina.

The women's world championship in Whitehorse in 2012 is expected to take place in July of that year, with exact dates currently being finalized.

The ISF is the world governing body of the sport as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Sport Accord (formerly the General Association of International Sports Federations). Softball (women's fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Games.in Atlanta. There are 128 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of participants in the sport worldwide.

MEDIA: For more information, please contact ISF Director of Communications Bruce Wawrzyniak at brucew@ISFsoftball.org, +1-813-864-0100, or +1-813-453-8762.

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