With qualifiers wrapped up, Thunder Bay International Baseball Association looks ahead to 2024 World Cup

Now that the 2023 Women's Baseball World Cup qualifiers have wrapped up, the Thunder Bay International Baseball Association (TBIBA) is looking ahead to an even bigger event next year: the world cup finals themselves.

Six international teams competed in the qualifiers, which were held at Baseball Central and Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay last week. And all indications are the event was a big success, said TBIBA president Nick Melchiorre.

"It was a blur, really, but it went well," Melchiorre said.

The players, he said, were happy with their accommodations at Lakehead University, as well as the fields themselves.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation, meanwhile, "was happy with the the fact they got all 15 games in, and they were competitive games," Melchiorre said. "I think Thunder Bay showed its true spirit, and we looked really good."

That's not to say the event didn't have its challenges. Weather led to delays, and heavy rain saw the postponement of all games scheduled for Friday; those games were played on Sunday instead.

But the biggest challenge came after Wednesday's games.

Tuesday's and Wednesday's qualifier games were played at Baseball Central, as the Thunder Bay Border Cats were playing their final games of the 2023 Northwoods League season at Port Arthur Stadium.

However, with the Cats finished, qualifier games moved to the stadium.

"Picking up and moving everything during the tournament within 24 hours was a big effort in the volunteers of TBIBA and the City of Thunder Bay," Melchiorre said. "We rolled up our sleeves and got it done."

The qualifiers had a big economic impact on the city, as well, said John Cameron, tourism development officer with Tourism Thunder Bay.

"We estimated that there was