After hosting a test event in 2019, the Korean Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) has the opportunity to boost the development of the five-on-five game, Baseball5, in the country.
The chance came through the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) initiative, which invited 12 Korean national sports federations to a national sports festival. The goal of this festival is to have elite youth athletes compete together with the average student.
"Our priority is to inform and educate about Baseball5 to the people of our provincial branches," Woo Jisuk, KBSA development manager, told the WBSC via email. "There are not many who know about Baseball5 in Korea, even amongst those who work in baseball or softball," he added.
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KBSA will showcase a mixed youth Baseball5 event at the festival, with boys teaming up with female students. It will be a U-12 tournament that involves 34 teams, representing the 17 KBSA Provincial Associations and the 17 Little League Baseball Provincial Associations. The top eight teams will compete in the final round.
Woo Jisuk added on a final note: "Our development [department] is focusing on Baseball5 in particular. KBSA President Mr Chong-hoon Lee believes that developing the five-on-five version will ultimately help develop baseball and softball in Korea."
