Four-year agreement will see CBC Sports provide more coverage of the Canada Region Tournament than ever before from 2017–2020
The winner of the Canada Region Tournament will represent Canada at the Little League Baseball® World Series
Little League® International, Little League Canada and CBC Sports have partnered to give Canadian audiences access to full-game coverage of the Little League Baseball® Canada Region Tournament for the first time ever. The four-year agreement begins with the 2017 tournament in Medicine Hat, AB this August, and continues through 2020, providing fans unprecedented coverage of Canada’s road to Williamsport.
With annual coverage of round-robin games, both semifinal games and the championship final included in the agreement, CBC Sports will provide more coverage of the Little League Baseball Canada Region Tournament than has ever been made available before. The semifinal and final games are scheduled to be broadcast on CBC television with round-robin games available via live streaming at cbcsports.ca.
“Little League International is pleased to partner with CBC Sports and share the excitement of the Little League Baseball Canada Region Tournament and Little League Baseball World Series with all of its fans across Canada for the next four years,” said Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO. “We are grateful for CBC Sports and Little League Canada’s commitment to the advancement of our program at the grassroots level and are looking forward to the many benefits this partnership will bring to Canadian Little Leaguers, their families and communities.”
“Little League Baseball encourages and reinforces the importance of sport at its purest level, and the Canada Region Tournament in particular connects communities across the country. CBC Sports is proud to bring the Canadian Region Tournament to more viewers than ever before across our TV and digital platforms,” said Greg Stremlaw, executive director, CBC Sports, and general manager, Olympics. “Showcasing sport at the grassroots level in Canada is important to us as we aim to follow the athlete’s journey from the very beginning. With baseball returning to the Olympic Games in 2020, we cannot think of a better time to strike a partnership that will shine a spotlight on Canada’s budding baseball stars.”
Coverage of the 2017 Canada Region Tournament will begin Thursday, August 3 with the opening games of the round-robin competition and will continue until to the championship final on Saturday, August 12.
In 1952, Canada became the first international team represented in the Little League Baseball World Series and in 1958, the Canadian Region was officially created with a tournament established between representatives from Ontario and Quebec. In its current format, seven teams take part in the tournament with representatives from the British Columbia, Alberta, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions, plus the host team, competing in a round-robin format with the top four teams reaching the semifinal round. Notable members of past Canadian Regional Tournament championship teams include major leaguers Michael Saunders (Gordon Head Little League, Victoria, B.C.; 1999), Adam Loewen (Kennedy-Surrey Little League, Surrey, B.C.; 1996) and Jason Bay (Trail Little League, Trail, B.C.; 1990).