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This summer, the women’s Basque Country Softball Team will travel to Vancouver to compete in an international tournament July 2-13.  The group participated in the same tournament last year, and received a lot of support from the Zazpiak Bat Basque Club in Vancouver that filled the stands with Ikurriñas.  This year, the team wants to return the gesture, by inviting North American players to join them in sharing this experience. 

Donostia-San Sebastian.   The Softball Selection of Euskadi is looking forward to the international competition that will take place in Vancouver in July, encouraged to relive the good experience of their debut last year.  The group, of 13 players and their coaches, will be in Canada from July 2-13.

This isn’t the first international appearance by the group coached by Rafael Llames.  In 2013 they traveled to Cuba, and last year they debuted in Vancouver.  On both occasions the Basque players received support from the Diaspora.  “Two years ago in Cuba we were with the Basque community, and last year in Vancouver the support of the Zazpiak Bat Basque club was tremendous.  They came to our games and cheered us on wit Ikurriñas, as well as invited us to a BBQ with members of the club.  We talked to them, sang…it was very emotional,” Llames said.

These contacts has given rise to an idea of collaboration between the Basques of the Diaspora, and Llames invites softball players from North American clubs (Canada, US and Mexico) clubs to come to Vancouver and share the experience of practice and competing with them.  Softball is similar to baseball and is not very well known in the Basque Country but is more so in the US, and so this is why the Basque selection wants to share its passion with fans from Basque clubs and at the same time, become better known internationally.

-To contact the Euskadi Softball team, email
-The Federation of Euskadi Baseball and Softball on Facebook