It鈥檚 more than a year away, but already Island athletes on Canadian national teams are about to discover if they are going to be headed to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games or not.
The Langford-based Canadian men鈥檚 rugby sevens team will know by July at its North American and Caribbean qualifier, and the national women鈥檚 sevens squad as early as next weekend at Westhills Stadium in the sa国际传媒 Sevens.
The heavily Island-tinged Canadian surf scene begins its Olympic qualifying for Tokyo this month on home waves at Wickaninnish Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
The Victoria-based Canadian women鈥檚 field-hockey team is also preparing for its first-stage Olympic qualifier next month in Spain.
The Canadian women鈥檚 softball team will be a lot closer to home for its moment of truth for Tokyo when it hosts the Americas鈥� regional Olympic qualifier at Softball City in Surrey from Aug. 25 to Sept. 1.
sa国际传媒 was slotted into Group A with Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Cuba, Guatemala and Argentina in the draw made last week. The Canadians will open against Cuba on Aug. 25.
鈥淭his is an exciting time for those of us who are going to be part of the team representing sa国际传媒,鈥� said third-baseman Emma Entzminger of Victoria.
鈥淭his is what we all dream about and the fact that we are going to be able to pursue an Olympic berth on home turf, in front of fans from sa国际传媒 and sa国际传媒, makes it even more special,鈥� added the Lambrick Park Secondary softball/baseball academy graduate, who played in the NCAA for San Jose State.
The other pool consists of Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, British Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic.
It is helpful to all the Americas regional teams that the U.S. does not need to take part in the tournament because it is pre-qualified for Tokyo as the reigning women鈥檚 world softball champion.
That makes Entzminger, and the rest of her 2018 world championship bronze-medallist Canadian teammates, top-ranked for the Americas qualifier and the outright favourites, especially on their home diamond, to nab one of the two Tokyo Olympic berths on offer in the tournament.
