Koshien exchange match “first ever” What the tournament left behind

Koshien Exchange Match “First in history” What the tournament left behind was 22:03 on August 17th.

In the history of high school baseball for more than 100 years, the first exchange game at the Koshien Stadium was completed for 6 days without any major confusion. Yoshimasa Ogura, Executive Secretary of the Japan High School Baseball Federation, said that “while the Senbatsu and summer tournaments were cancelled, having a nationwide match would lead to the next”.

Thorough infection prevention measures No major confusion

While the new coronavirus infection was spreading again, the exchange match was thoroughly conducted under the infection prevention measures based on the guidelines set forth by Japan Takanoren.

We restricted the viewing of the stand to refraining members and parents, and sanitized the bench after each match.

For the teams we invited, we banned the circles during the match, asked them to grab their mouth when they met on the mound, and set rules for moving and staying.

Before the opening, there were some uncertainties, such as the fact that the people involved in the school that we invited were found to be infected, but there were no cases of suspected infection during the period and there was no major confusion.

"I am grateful that 32 schools have taken thorough measures to prevent infection and have come to Koshien safely, as the secretary general of the Japan Takanoren has done. While the Senbatsu tournament and the summer tournament were canceled, a nationwide game was held. Things will be connected next."

One match, but still thank-you words...

While various measures were taken, it was a completely different atmosphere than the usual year's tournament, but many of the players were positive about the event.

Rather than competing for the tournament title, only one match.

Many people were thankful for the opportunity to fight at Koshien, the dream stage, and Shunsuke Nakamori, ace of Akashi Commercial, the fourth Koshien this time, said, ``It's a pity that there will be no spring or summer. I had some feelings, but I was able to play this game with various people, so I played with gratitude."

From a young age, the players who dreamed of Koshien and devoted themselves to baseball made me feel the significance of establishing a culmination ground.

Lack of practice with the new Corona

However, it cannot be denied that the content of the game was affected by the lack of practice due to the spread of infection.

On the striking side, one home run was given out per game at the tournament last summer, but this time it was only three, including the running home run.

Mr. Shoji Maeda, a commentator of NHK High School Baseball, said, "I wouldn't be able to do that because I'm constantly improving my skills in the spring and summer, so I'm not sure if I'll be hitting or stealing in important situations. There was nothing that couldn't have happened. It may be because the players on the team aiming to be No. 1 in Japan were not upset."

Future challenges...

In the future, how to connect the experience of exchange games will be an issue.

In high school baseball, an autumn district tournament, which will lead to the next year's Senbatu tournament, will start early this month.

Furthermore, sports other than baseball, such as rugby and basketball, are scheduled to be held nationally in winter.

It seems that one of the points is to verify the effects and issues of the measures taken this time and share them beyond the framework of the competition group.

However, Takanoren spent about 95 million yen for the movement of players and the cost of accommodation for holding exchange games.

Since most of the revenue is covered by the admission revenue, it will be difficult to operate if we will hold the tournament without spectators from next year.

According to officials from the Japan Takano Federation, we are considering adding spectators in accordance with the national policy in the competition after autumn, but there are places where it is not possible to predict what will happen to the infection situation, so it will be a difficult decision in the future as well. It seems that the steep road that will force you to continue will continue.