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After years of preparation, the big day is finally here.

The 10th ISF鈥圝unior Men鈥檚 World Softball Championship begins today in Whitehorse.

Ten teams from five continents will spend the next week battling for the world title.

Alongside host Canada and defending champion Argentina, eight other countries will be represented.

Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark,鈥圝apan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and the USA will all vie for softball glory.

The event will run July 11 to 20 with all games played at the Pepsi Softball Centre.

The tournament marks the introduction to the national program for the world鈥檚 top young players, said Ron Radigonda, executive director of the International Softball Federation.

鈥淭his is the starting point for the national program,鈥� he said during a sit-down interview this morning at the Westmark hotel. 鈥淭hese kids are in the pipeline now.鈥�

While softball鈥檚 heyday may be a few years removed from its glory years 鈥� which included Olympic involvement 鈥� it continues to be 鈥渞ight there鈥� in terms of team sports, said the 67-year-old from Oklahoma City.

The softball federation continues to hold steady with 130 member countries, and is gaining momentum from jurisdictions such as Africa and Latin America.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e always concerned about keeping your sport relevant,鈥� Radigonda admitted. 鈥淎ll sports, in some respects, have had drops in participation, particularly because of the baby boomers. Age-eligible people kind of disappeared.鈥�

Still, softball is maintaining itself well globally, according to Radigonda.

At last year鈥檚 world men鈥檚 championship in Auckland, N.Z., for instance, all of the world鈥檚 regions were represented.

鈥淓xcept Antarctica,鈥� Radigonda quipped. 鈥淧enguins haven鈥檛 learned how to play yet.鈥�

Team Canada arrived in Whitehorse yesterday afternoon following a five-day training camp in Vancouver, and immediately took to the field for a doubleheader against the USA and Japan.

Head coach Jim Jones said his team is beginning to gel after its initial selection camp in Brampton, Ont., just two months ago.

鈥淭he kids are all buying in,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had some good successes, and also some periods where we鈥檝e needed to play better.

鈥淏ut when they don鈥檛 play together, you鈥檙e just trying to get them all on the same page. Hopefully we鈥檝e got that done.鈥�

The team will be led by the sole returnee from the 2012 championship, Taylor Schubada.

The 19-year-old catcher from Irma, Alta., helped Canada to a fourth-place finish in Parana, Argentina, and will serve as one of the team captains this time around.

鈥淗e will be a guy who we will be relying on heavily from his experience in Argentina,鈥� said Jones.

The team, which is staying at the Yukon College dormitories, is made up of six Ontario players, four from Saskatchewan, three each from Alberta and Quebec, and one from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Canuck squad will open their tournament with a game versus the Czech Republic tonight at 7:30.

鈥淭he boys are excited,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淚鈥坵as here in 2008 as an assistant coach, and Whitehorse did such a fantastic job. The parks look fantastic.

鈥淚鈥檝e told all the boys: 鈥榊ou鈥檒l be rock stars up here. The people will want to talk to you.鈥� And I said 鈥楳ake sure you go out of your way to talk to them.鈥� It鈥檚 pretty exciting for them.鈥�

In 2008, two African countries also participated in the Whitehorse tournament, which included 12 teams in total.

Whitehorse Mayor Dan Curtis welcomed all visitors to the Yukon capital via a press release yesterday.

鈥淚 applaud the athletes from Canada and other countries on their participation in this championship,鈥濃�圕urtis stated.

鈥淭he city extends a warm welcome to al visitors. We are pleased to host such a world-class event in our community.鈥�

Despite a brief early-morning shower, the two diamonds are in pristine condition, George Arcand told the Star this morning.

Arcand is the chair of the tournament鈥檚 organizing committee.

鈥淓verything鈥檚 on track,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked hard to get here.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all glad it鈥檚 going to start. We鈥檙e all real anxious to have the ballplayers on the field.鈥�

Radigonda called the Yukon鈥檚 organizing group one of the best in the business.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e one of the premier organizing committees in the world,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have a great team here, and that鈥檚 why we keep coming back.

鈥淕eorge and his team really understand the importance of the quality of the event they鈥檙e putting on.鈥�

Radigonda also said the Pepsi Softball Centre stacks up with some of the best complexes in the world.

The round robin tournament will wrap up Friday, and will be followed by a championship round.

The top four teams will advance to the page playoff round while the bottom six will compete in a consolation playoffs.

Besides Canada, Jones has listed Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the U.S. as the six teams with the best chance of claiming this year鈥檚 crown.