Federation Focus: Baseball and Baseball5 enjoy renaissance in Hong Kong, China
The third episode of the 2023 Federation Focus series is about the Baseball Association of Hong Kong, China (BAHKC).
Baseball was first introduced to Hong Kong in the 1940s, likely from mainland China, where the game developed in the 1920s according to Laurence Lee, BAHKC's first chairman. After the Second World War, the game almost disappeared.
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Youth activity was instrumental in introducing baseball again in the 1970s, but it was not until 1993 that BAHKC was founded.
Today, the Association has 95 affiliated men's, women's, and Baseball5 teams. The active players are 1,264.
BAHKC president Andrew Fan was elected as a member at large in the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) Executive Board.
In 2020 and 2021, baseball activity was severely limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but 2022 saw its activity resume.
Baseball5 Popularity
The Association's chairman Dave Ho praised the national team participating in the first Baseball5 Asia Cup in his annual report. "[It was] one spot out of the Mexico World Cup Qualifying, nevertheless it is as impressive of a result as we can hope for, a heartfelt thank you to players, coaches and everyone who has contributed in assembling, managing and training of the team. This unforgettable tournament has vastly accelerated our learning curve and brought valuable experience for coaches and players. Looking ahead, we strive to build a solid foundation going forward."
Baseball5 is supported by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). "It can be played on smaller surfaces, indoors and outdoors," commented Chairman Ho.
Hong Kong, which will host the second edition of the Baseball5 World Cup in 2024, is No. 18 in the Baseball5 World Rankings, and fourth in Asia.
World Ranking
"During the pandemic, countries in Europe and the Americas continued their baseball events in 2020 and 2021, while most of the Asian competitions were either postponed or cancelled, adversely impacting the ranking of Asian teams in general," stated Ho.
In 2018, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), formerly the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB), initiated a five-year Development Programme for team sports. Men's Baseball is one of the eight sports receiving support. The 28 players considered for the 19th Asian Games receive monthly grants of HK$ 4,000 (US$ 510).
The programme is No. 11 in Women's Baseball World Rankings, fourth in Asia.
Hong Kong will host the III BFA Women's Baseball Asia Cup, a qualifier for the IX WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup, from 21 May to 1 June.
Hong Kong has participated in five editions, where they finished seventh in their first participation in 2006 in Taipei City and placed again seventh in 2014 in Miyazaki, Japan. It is their best result to date.
In the last edition of the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup in 2018, in Viera, USA, Hong Kong finished 11th, recording wins against Cuba in the Opening Round and the Netherlands in the Placement Round.
Baseball Celebration
The 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR) was celebrated at the Central Harbourfront Event Space during the SummerFest, where celebrations included an elite baseball showcase.
Earlier this month, an inclusive day for the inheritance of baseball was part of the 65th Festival of Sport, organised by the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China.
"We organised a showcase exhibition with the national baseball team of different age groups, live demonstration by Hong Kong team elites and trial activities for the public to play and enjoy baseball," stated Chairman Ho.
Growing the Game
During 2022, BAHKC held 48 development courses for 1,415 participants. School activity was limited by e-learning. "We sincerely hope that more students can participate in our programmes in the coming academic year," Ho mentioned.
In his report, Chairman Ho also stated that one of the Association's main goals is developing more baseball facilities in Hong Kong. The Lands Department finally granted the Association Tsuen Wan No. 2 Fresh Water Service Reservoir rooftop in May 2022. It will be developed as a youth baseball training ground and competition venue.
"The long wait is finally over. We have hit the first milestone as we look forward to acquiring more resources for the development of baseball in Hong Kong."
Play Ball
The 2023 season opened with the ninth Hong Kong International Baseball Open and the Phoenix Cup 2023, Hong Kong International Women's Baseball Tournament, two events sanctioned by the WBSC.
World No. 54 Hong Kong, China won the ninth Hong Kong International Baseball Open last month with an undefeated record, following victories over Unpad Bandung Indonesia 8-2, Singapore 16-1 and No. 79 Thailand 8-0.
No. 1 Japan completed an unbeaten run at the Phoenix Cup 2023, where Madonna Youth beat Yia-Chang 86A, Chinese Taipei 15-0, Guam 7-0, No. 11 Hong Kong, China 4-1 and Shenzhen RG, China 10-0.
