Summer Koshien Canceled Scheduled for a unique tournament in 8 prefectures May 22 18:54

In response to the cancellation of national high school baseball in the summer, NHK interviewed whether high school baseball federations of each prefecture would hold their own tournament, and 8 Takano Rens by the evening of 22nd, I understand that we are planning to hold the tournament. In addition, Takanoren is currently considering it, and he is raising concerns about the possibility of injury due to lack of practice and the lack of admission fee when holding it with no audience.

In response to the decision to cancel national high school baseball in the summer, NHK interviewed Takanoren in 47 prefectures about whether to hold their own competition this summer and how to organize it.

As a result, it was found that by 5 pm on the 22nd, eight Takanoren in Tokyo, Chiba, Aichi, Gifu, Wakayama, Okayama, Kagawa and Miyazaki are planning to hold the tournament.

The remaining 39 Koyaren answered "Under consideration", but more than 10 Takanoren such as Osaka, Saitama, and Fukuoka are positively considering, and the competition is expected to be held in many areas.

Specific methods of competition that are being considered include:
▼ holding with no spectators,
▼ tournament system centered on Saturday and Sunday,
▼ to reduce the risk of infection due to long-distance travel and overnight accommodation There are plans to manage the tournament.

On the other hand, regarding the issues to be held
▼ There is concern that injury may occur due to lack of practice,
▼ If it is held with no audience, admission income will be lost and financial burden will increase,
▼ Takanoren in
each region considers securing medical staff stationed at the stadium and infection prevention measures such as disinfecting the stadium.

Consider operation that matches the actual conditions of the region

During the NHK interview, it was found that the Takanoren in each region are considering ways to manage the competitions that are specific to each prefecture, depending on the local situation such as the number of participating schools.

Specifically, in order to avoid moving or staying for a long time, the tournament is divided into several areas, and prefectural tournaments are held after block qualifying. There is a plan to do it.

It is also being considered that there will only be one match in the morning and afternoon at one stadium.

In addition, because the practice is not sufficient and the players' physical strength may be inadequate, it is recommended to set one game with 7 innings, to hold on Saturday and Sunday to secure class time, and to join the audience, It is increasing that the distance between them is 2 meters.

There is also an opinion that it is difficult to position the competition whether it is a competition to make memories of the third grader, a competition to decide the winning school, and what kind of response is necessary for Takanoren in each region to hold their own competition It will be considered further in the future.

Various issues to hold

A variety of issues are being raised by the Takanoren in each region toward the holding of their own conventions.

The most common one was financial anxiety about running the tournament.

This means that if you hold the event with no audience, you will lose the admission income that accounts for most of the operating funds, and it will be difficult to hold the tournament after autumn.

And because the school was closed for a long period of time, securing an event schedule is also an issue.

The high school baseball tournament may overlap with regular tests and school events, and when summer vacation is shortened, it is difficult to adjust the schedule because there are fewer holidays without classes.

Others have said that lack of practice increases the risk of injury and heat stroke to athletes.

Also, as an issue unique to the area, there may be some schools in Akita Prefecture that require more than three hours of bus travel, and schools on remote islands in Nagasaki and Kagawa prefectures are not able to move or stay overnight. It is necessary and there is concern that the risk of infection will increase.