NAN-S-3
Baseball
Lagos, Nov. 15, 2017 (NAN) The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) on Wednesday announced the launch of it’s first-ever official Five-on-Five street baseball competition, the “WBSC Baseball5 Championships`’.
The maiden baseball5 championships will hold from Nov. 23 to Nov. 24 in Havana, Cuba.
The WBSC also revealed the new logo that will mark the identity of the new urban discipline along with the hashtag #PlayEverywhere.
It said the inaugural WBSC Baseball5 Championships will serve as the semi-finals and finals of INDER’s “Cuatro Esquinas’’ (Four corners) and crown national champions in the Men’s, Women’s, Mixed and Youth categories.
The championships in Havana will feature five-inning games played by five on-field players on each side, as opposed to the traditional baseball model of nine players per side and nine innings.
It added that the competitors would also be limited to using only their bare hands to hit and field the balls.
The competition on the streets of Havana would serve as a pilot event to further develop and evolve the new discipline, continuing on a successful introduction of Street Baseball in Burundi in August.
Riccardo Fraccari, the WBSC President said the body was committed in ensuring the success of the new baseball5 game.
“The WBSC is committed to the development of this new Baseball5 discipline, and we believe it has enormous potential to be another key attraction that will further our sport’s position among the youth.
“It will also help in bringing more sports opportunities to underserved communities.
“We are particularly excited that the Baseball5 Championships in Havana will crown champions across four categories.
“This is something completely new for our sport and follows the Olympic Movement’s forward-thinking and inclusive direction,’’ the WBSC said in a statement. (NAN)
KOA/ERO/PDE
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(Edited by Emmanuel Okara/Peter Ejiofor)