20/08/2022 - 21/08/2022

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Blind Baseball International Cup 2022 - Official Payoff

First WBSC Blind Baseball International Cup to be held on 20-21 August in Beek, Netherlands

First WBSC Blind Baseball International Cup to be held on 20-21 August in Beek, Netherlands
29/07/2022
It will be the first-ever blind baseball event sanctioned by the WBSC.

The city of Beek, not far from Maastricht in the southeast of the Netherlands, will host the inaugural WBSC Blind Baseball International Cup from 20-21 August. It will be the first-ever blind baseball event sanctioned by the WBSC.

Six National Teams will participate in the event:
Group A Netherlands, Germany, USA
Group B France, Italy, Great Britain

The top two finishers in each group will advance to the semifinals, and the winners will play for the title.

Blind baseball is a mixed-gender discipline. The late Alfredo Meli, a former Italian Baseball National Team player, launched his version of the discipline in 1994. Each team comprises five blind players, one sighted player and 4/5 sighted assistants.

The Italian Blind Baseball Association (AIBxC, a WBSC Associate Member) founded an 11-team league in Italy, now run by LIBCI (Italian Blind Baseball League). AIBxC promotes the discipline worldwide.

AIBxC, with the support of WBSC and the Dutch Federation KNBSB, started a blind baseball programme in Beek in October 2021. The coaches trained by AIBxC held a clinic on 7 May. Out of 16 participants, 12 showed interest in the discipline and became members of the first Dutch blind baseball team under Cheetahs and Sittard-Condors Baseball club coaches.

The AIBxC head of the United States operations, Don Landolphi, held a three-day tryout at the Monsignor Scaland High School, New York, for players of the Rockers and the Lions, the two blind baseball teams based in New York City. Coaches Eva Trevisan and Priscilla Brandi helped Landolphi select the eight players representing the US in Beek.

International events represent a step towards the WBSC's goal of having the discipline recognized by the International Paralympic Committee.

The WBSC kindly invites all the National Federations interested in attending this event and/or introducing blind baseball to their country/territory to contact the WBSC Paralympic Commission through their WBSC Continental liaison.