Batter up, Canada! CBC Sports will have live coverage of every game from the 2018 CANADIAN LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL® CHAMPIONSHIP as teams from across the country meet in Mirabel, Quebec from August 2–11 to compete for the national title and the right to represent Canada at the Little League Baseball® World Series. CBC Sports will offer live-streaming coverage of each game from the seven-team tournament at cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, with the semifinal and final games to also be broadcast on CBC. Radio-Canada Sports will offer live-streaming coverage of the semifinal and final games at Radio-Canada.ca/sports.
Live-streaming coverage of all games, as well as broadcast coverage of semifinal and final games, will feature play-by-play commentary from CBC Sports’ Matt Cullen and colour commentary from former Montreal Expos broadcaster and current head coach of Hong Kong’s national baseball team, Tom Valcke. CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux will join the broadcast team as reporter for the semifinal and final games.
Seven teams made up of players ranging in age from 10–12 years will take part in the tournament, representing the British Columbia, Alberta, Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions, plus the host team from Mirabel. CBC Sports’ live-streaming coverage will include three round-robin games daily from Aug. 2–8, followed by the two semifinal games on Aug. 10 and the final on Aug. 11 which will also be broadcast on CBC.
CBC Sports will also offer live-streaming coverage of a Challenger Baseball game on Aug. 10. Challenger Baseball is a program which provides an opportunity for children with cognitive or physical limitations to enjoy the full benefits of participation in baseball at a level structured to their abilities.
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. Notable members of past Canadian Championship teams include 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). The Little League Baseball® team from White Rock, B.C. won the 2017 Canadian Championship and went on to the World Series in Williamsport, PA, where they finished with a 2-2 record – the deepest run by a Canadian team in almost two decades.
CBC Sports’ coverage of the 2018 CANADIAN LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL® CHAMPIONSHIP is part of the four-year partnership between CBC Sports, Little League® International and Little League Canada, which gives Canadian audiences prime access to all tournament games through 2020.
