Senbatsu High School Baseball kicked off, and for the first time in four years, all the players from the participating schools marched around the stadium at the opening ceremony.
This year's Senbatsu will be held for the 95th anniversary tournament, and 4 schools will participate, four more than usual.
The opening ceremony started at 36:17 a.m., one and a half hours later than scheduled due to rain from the night of the 1th.
After the spread of the new coronavirus, the ceremony was held on a reduced scale, with only schools that had a game on the first day of the tournament participating, but this year, for the first time in four years, all the players from the participating schools marched around the stadium.
Live marching music was also revived, and the players marched powerfully to the powerful performance of "I Love You" by Back Number to the theme song of the NHK TV series "Dance Rise!" led by Osaka Toin High School, who was aiming to win the title for the second time in history.
Takamatsu Commercial captain Yokoi Ryota in Kagawa said, "Wars, conflicts, and disasters, we can't help but hope that the world will be a peaceful place where all young people can have hope and chase their dreams, just as we have devoted ourselves to baseball. I would like to repay all the people who supported me by playing with all my heart and soul and delivering courage and excitement."
The tournament will be held for 10 days, including two rest days, amid the relaxation of restrictions on the spread of the new coronavirus, such as the absence of a limit on the number of people of 1 people in the Alpine brass band and the fact that cheering is allowed to cheer aloud, and if all goes well, the final will be held on the 4st of this month.