Countries for the 2014 Women’s Baseball World Cup announced

Participating countries in the eight-nation 2014 Women’s Baseball World Cup have been revealed

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Participating countries in the eight-nation 2014 Women’s Baseball World Cup have been revealed by WBSC’s International Baseball Executives.
Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, United States and Venezuela have been confirmed as the National Team participants in the 6th Women’s Baseball World Cup, which will be held in Miyazaki Japan from the 1st – 7th of September.
The host, Japan, leads the Women’s World Baseball Rankings, is the three-time defending Women’s Baseball World Cup champion and has never earned less than a silver medal in IBAF World Cup play.
Second-ranked USA has also medalled in each of the first five Women's Baseball World Cups, winning gold medals at the first two editions in 2004 and 2006, bronze in 2008 and 2010, and silver in 2012.
Tie-3rd-ranked Australia will represent Oceania and earned its best-ever finish in a Women’s Baseball World Cup in 2010 in Maracay, Venezuela, when Australia earned the silver.
Tie-3rd-ranked Canada won the bronze medal at the last Women’s Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada. Team Canada has medalled at each of the Women’s World Cups, except the 2010 edition, earning one silver and three bronzes.
Venezuela is the third representative from the Americas and will enter its third Women’s Baseball World Cup. Team Venezuela finished in fourth- and fifth-place in the previous two editions, respectively.
Chinese Taipei has participated in each of the first five editions of the Women’s Baseball World Cup and has finished 5th three times and sixth most recently in Edmonton.
Europe will be represented by the Netherlands, who will head to Miyazaki to participate in its third consecutive Women’s Baseball World Cup. The Netherlands earned its highest-ever finish in 2012, defeating Cuba in the 7th-8th place final.
Asia’s third representative is Hong Kong, which will participate in its third Women’s Baseball World Cup, making its highest ever finish, 7th place, in Chinese Taipei in 2006.
The 2014 Women’s World Cup will be the second time that Japan will host the event. Japan first-hosted the event in 2008 and will join Canada (2004 and 2012) as two-time hosts.
The Women’s Baseball World Cup is contested every two years.