The Okanagan will be hosting the nation’s top university softball teams this fall.
From Oct. 8-10, High Noon Park in Kelowna will be home to the 2021 Canadian Collegiate Softball Association championship.
UBC Okanagan will be the host team at the eight-team event. Kelowna was to host the 2020 tournament last year, but it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As hosts, the Heat, who are embarking on their third season, automatically qualify for the tournament.
“Being awarded the 2021 national championship says a lot about the level of respect our young program and their leadership group have earned in such a short period of time,” said Tom Huisman, UBCO’s director of athletics and recreation.
“This is a national level endorsement, not just for our team, but for the Kelowna and greater Okanagan softball communities.”
“I am thrilled for our players and confident our staff, athletics department and the organizing committee will do everything it takes to put on a top-notch event,” added UBCO Heat head coach Joni Frei.
“It’s an exciting time for collegiate softball in British Columbia and I’m honoured our program can be a part of that.”
This weekend, UBCO will hit the road for its first games of the 2021 season, with five games over two days in Calgary.
The Heat will play the Saskatchewan Huskies twice, the host Dinos, the Regina Cougars and the SAIT Trojans.
One unofficial link has UBCO ranked fifth in the country.
For more information about UBCO’s softball team and October’s national championship tournament, including ticket prices, visit their website.