Written by Bob on September 27th, 2012
Team Canada defeated Venezuela 4-1 to claim the VIII Pan American championship
But why wasn’t Team USA entered in the competition? My curiosity was triggered by a quote from Canadian pitcher and player, Andy Skelton.
Skelton said, “…We had two goals going into the tournament; first was to finished in the top five to qualify for the ISF world championship in New Zealand (in February 2013)…”
So if it’s true that a country had to actually compete in the Pan-Am tournament to QUALIFY for a spot in the ISF World Championship, then where was the USA National Team? Was the U.S. given a free pass into the ISF, the most prestigious men’s fastpitch softball tournament in the world? And if so, why?
Is Team USA skipping the ISF World Championship (I’m being facetious here)? Or has Team USA become so superior in the hierarchy of the sport that USA Softball can choose to bypass the Pan-Am’s? And furthermore, wouldn’t our U.S. competitive nature want us to compete for a Pan-Am title? And wouldn’t the Pan-Am tournament provide much-needed game experience for Team USA to meld and bond together as a team?
So the big question: Why did Team USA skip (or was allowed to skip) the Pan-Ams? Hopefully, we fastpitch fans will get an answer from the hierarchy in USA Softball.
To read the complete story, visit this link. Stouffville’s Skelton big on mound, at plate as Canada wins Pan-Am gold
