Amanda Asay of Prince George has been a fixture on the national women's baseball team since 2005 but has never been involved in a large-scale multisport event.
She can strike that off her bucket list next month in Ajax, Ont., when she takes the field at the Pan Am Games. For the first time in the 64-year history of the Pan Am Games, women's baseball will be included and Canada is a legitimate medal threat in the inaugural five-team tournament, July 20-26.
"I've only heard exciting stories about playing in a multisport games in your home country, there's tons of support and everyone's really excited to watch us," said Asay.
"It's going to be unbelievable being our very first time in a multisport competition. It's the biggest multisport competition Canada has ever hosted, including the three Olympics. It's incredible to have such a big Team Canada show up for our home games."
The 17-day event, being held in the Greater Toronto area, will involve 700 Canadians among the 6,135 athletes from 41 countries taking part in 36 sports. The athlete total is double that of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
The Canadian women's baseball team is currently ranked fourth in the world, behind Japan, the U.S. and Australia. Japan and Australia are not eligible for the Games because they are outside of the Americas, which leaves it up to Canada, the U.S., Cuba, Puerto Rico and Venezuela to determine Pam Am bragging rights.
"We're just behind the U.S. for world rankings for this tournament and hopefully that translates into a strong finish," said Asay, while taking a break from batting practice Thursday morning at Citizen Field. "If all goes according to plan we should be in that final game."
The Canadian men's baseball team won the most recent Pan Am Games tournament in 2011, beating the U.S. 2-1 for gold. This year's men's roster includes former major league pitchers Jeff Francis and Adam Loewen and Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect Andrew Albers.
Asay, 27, now makes her home in Vancouver, where she's working on doctorate studies in forestry ecology. Asay earned her undergraduate degree at Brown University, which she attended on a hockey and softball scholarship.
Encouraged by her father George (a former outfielder in the Prince George Senior Baseball League who also coached her), older brother Brad, and her grandfather John (a former umpire-in-chief for Prince George baseball), Asay started in T-ball, then joined Little League when she was seven, excelling as a pitcher and first baseman.
She now plays in a men's league in Vancouver but when she's in Prince George visiting family she suits up in the local senior league with the Queensway Auto World Red Sox. Asay pitched seven innings for the Sox Tuesday night in a 7-2 loss to the DOB Contracting Gladiators.
Asay first made the national squad in 2005 when she was 17. She's played in the IABF Women's World Cup five times and her travels have taken her to Taiwan, Japan, Cuba, Venezuela and several U.S. and Canadian cities. This year's team started with a 40-player roster and from that 32 players were invited to the Team Canada tryout camp in Toronto, May 10-17, resulting in the 18-player national team.
"The selection camp was fantastic, it was great to see so many great athletes," Asay said. "Usually the team gets named after the national championship and you don't see the other players except as opponents on another team, so it was a much different feeling. The camp was very competitive and it seemed like any one of the 32 athletes could have made it. It's a real honour to make it."
Canada will play six exhibition games leading up to the Pan Am Games, starting with a triple-A midget boys tournament in Quebec City, July 9-12. The team will also face the Ottawa Expos senior men's team (July 13 in Ottawa), Cornwall River Rats senior men (July 14 in Cornwall, Ont.), then head to Toronto to play Puerto Rico (July 15) and the U.S. (July 17).
Canada opens the Pan Am Games tournament against Cuba on July 20, then will play Venezuela (July 21), Puerto Rico (July 22) and the U.S. (July 24). The top four teams advance to the semifinals (July 25) and the final is set for Sunday, July 26 (9 a.m. PDT).
