This week, a Vancouver Island softball team is not only competing at the Canada Cup, but has made it possible for the national Ukrainian softball team to compete through its fundraising efforts in their community. 

Over the next two weeks, the City of Surrey will see more than 1,700 elite female athletes descend onto the South Surrey Athletic Park, home of Softball City, and host to the 2025 Canada Cup, an international softball tournament.

Among the teams is Vancouver Island’s View Royal Vipers 09, a U-17 B softball team.

Head coach Aaron Mercer says he couldn’t be more proud of his team.

“They’re a remarkable group of athletes,” he told CHEK. But it goes far beyond their athletic skills.

“Our team motto is to spread love, so we really want to impact this group of young athletes, and make a difference for a nation that is experiencing a lot of adversity back home,” Mercer said.

The decision to fundraise for Team Ukraine came about this spring when Mercer and his team had an idea to contact a few international teams and plan a meet-up during the cup.

“We originally reached out to them via Google translate to see about the potential of us joining them on field for a practice, after hearing that the international division was something to behold,” he said.

Mercer contacted Team Ukraine’s head coach and learned they may not be able to afford to come this year due to logistics and costs.

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Pictured here: The Ukrainian national softball team following the Softball European Championship in 2024. (Provided by Aaron Mercer).

“For example, the entire team had to train in Poland in order to fly out of Europe,” he said.

Mercer and his View Royal team then agreed to put the rest of the season’s fundraising efforts to bringing the Ukrainian team over for the cup.

“With the support of local businesses like Lumberworld, Victoria Kids Childcare, and Bottle Depot Return-It centre, and a very successful barbeque and bottle drive, we raised enough to bring this team to Canada,” he said.

On May 17, the team held a BBQ and collected bottles to raise funds at Lumberworld. It also posted a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $6,000. Through the collective efforts, the team has raised more than $5,100 for Team Ukraine.

Over the years, the View Royal Vipers have donated to a range of causes and organizations, including the local SPCA, Wild Arc and BC Children’s Hospital, raising funds for sick kids in the community. They’ve also supported the Surfrider Foundation with beach clean-up days.  

“The team’s fundraising efforts raised over $5,000, which went directly to the Team Ukraine’s transportation costs, and was the difference they needed in order to come,” said Mercer.

This is not the first time Canadians have pitched in to bring the national team over the event. Back in 2023, Canada Cup organizers helped bring the Ukrainian team over to the competition.

RELATED: Ukrainian softball team competing at Canada Cup

The 2025 Canada Cup takes place from July 4 to 13. With a range of divisions for females ages 16 and under – and 19 and under – the event provides opportunities for high-level female athletes to play elite-level ball, showcase their skills, receive mentorship and gain exposure to post-secondary scholarship opportunities.

In 2024, Team Canada won the cup after beating TC Colorado 7-0.

While the View Royal team will be playing in a different division, Team Canada is scheduled to play Team Ukraine on Tuesday, July 8 at 8:30 p.m.

The View Royal Vipers 09 are a U-17 B team (under 17 years of age B team) and will be playing in the Showcase Select division. Mercer and the team arrived on the Mainland Thursday and will be prepping for the tournament ahead.

Team Ukraine is playing in the International Division against teams from all over the world, including Canada’s National Team, and Team BC. 

You can find more information about the 2025 Canada Cup here.

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