FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 2011

Women's National Softball Team ready to compete at XVI Pan American Games

(Guadalajara, Mexico) The Canadian Senior Women's National Team will be looking to challenge for top spot at the XVI Pan American Games, which will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico from October 17th to 23rd.

The United States have won the last six gold medals at the event, while Canada has won three consecutive silver medals. At the last Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007, Canada and Venezuela shared the silver medal after the medal round was washed out by rain. The gold medal was awarded to the United States. Canada last won the women's softball Pan American Games gold medal in 1983.

The athletes who will represent Canada at the XVI Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico are:

Athletes
#29 Jenna Caira (Toronto, ON)
#11 Jocelyn Cater (Delta, BC)
#18 Erin Cumpstone (Saskatoon, SK)
#6 Heather Ebert (Rosthern, SK)
#30 Kelsey Haberl (Burnaby, BC)
#8 Victoria Hayward (Toronto, ON)
#44 Brittany Hicks (Dundas, ON)*
#24 Ashley Lanz (Winnipeg, MB)
#9 Danielle Lopez (Barrie, ON)
#5 Joey Lye (Toronto, ON)
#12 Melanie Matthews (Surrey, BC)
#17 Sarah Phillips (Mississauga, ON)
#55 Kaleigh Rafter (Guelph, ON)
#15 Jill Russell (London, ON)
#7 Jennifer Salling (Port Coquitlam, BC)
#14 Megan Timpf (Port Dover, ON)
#22 Jennifer Yee (North Delta, BC)

*Brittany Hicks (Dundas, ON) will replace Hannah Schwarz (Scarborough, ON), who is unable to compete at the Pan American Games due to injury.

Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Mark Smith (Falmouth, NS)
Assistant Coach: Dave Paetkau (Abbotsford, BC)
Assistant Coach: Glenn Boles (St. Catharines, ON)
Physiotherapist: Laurie Freebairn (Maple Ridge, BC)
Team Leader: Kristy Odamura (Richmond, BC)

Umpire
Tim Lederman (BC)

Eight (8) teams will participate at the event, which will be a single round-robin with the top four teams advancing to the page playoff round.

Team Canada Schedule
October 17: Canada vs. Puerto Rico (5:00pm EDT)
October 18: Canada vs. Venezuela (5:00pm EDT)
October 18: Canada vs. Cuba (7:30pm EDT)
October 19: Canada vs. Argentina (9:00am EDT)
October 19: Canada vs. Mexico (10:00pm EDT)
October 20: Canada vs. United States (3:00pm EDT)
October 21: Canada vs. Dominican Republic (12:30pm EDT)
October 22: Playoff Round
October 23: Medal Round

Quick Links
XVI Pan American Games - Softball Results: http://info.guadalajara2011.org.mx/ENG/ZZ/ZZS103A_SO@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ENG.htm
Softball Canada Website (Team Canada Game Reports): http://www.softball.ca
Softball Canada Twitter Page: http://twitter.com/softballcanada
Softball Canada Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Softball-Canada/203017655217?ref=ts

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For more information, please contact:

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