The 2011 World Baseball Challenge held last July at Citizen Field brought some of the world's best amateur baseball teams to Prince George and left a lasting impression on baseball fans.
The nine-day event also hit home with the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance, which has selected the WBC tournament as a finalist in three categories for its PRESTIGE awards.
The WBC is one of three finalists for the CSTA's international event of the year, along with the Ford men's world curling championship in Regina, and the International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating finals, held in Quebec City.
Former Citizen sports editor and WBC co-chair Jim Swanson is a finalist for the CSTA community service award, along with Amanda Jacinthe Hamel of Charlottetown, P.E.I., and Judith Tutty of Welland, Ont.
The Toronto Blue Jays stepped to the plate in 2011 as a major sponsor of the WBC and that organization has been named a finalist for the sponsor of the year award. The Jays are up against Dakota Dunes Casino of Winnipeg, which sponsored the Dakota Dunes Casino Open Canadian PGA Tour event, and Petro-Canada, which backed the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Sportif Conference in Toronto.
The awards will be handed out on Thursday, April 19 in Richmond.
See Friday's Citizen for more
