INT’L. TOURNEY IN TAIWAN THIS WEEKEND
2008-09-17

The 9th Asia Cup will be played this Saturday and Sunday, September 20th and 21st, at the Taipei County Sanchung Chung Shin Softball Field. The men’s slowpitch event has been taking place every year since 2000. An American team won the tournament each of the first two years, but since then a Taiwanese team has taken the title in each of the other six.

Organized and sanctioned by the Taiwan Slowpitch Softball Association (TSSA), the event will be complemented by an Asian Slowpitch Softball Federation inauguration meeting with Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and the hosts. A team from USA is again part of the tournament, and the Philippines entry will be the RP-Cebuana Lhuillier slowpitch softball team, with Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines President Jean-Henri Lhuillier in the lineup. His team will be using this event as a tune-up for a tournament in November in Thailand.

A total of eight teams will compete in this weekend’s event, which organizers say is being staged to “promote sportsmanship and fitness awareness, recreation and improvement of living standards.” The Taiwan Government and Taipei County Government join the TSSA in organizing the tournament, which will have a round robin and double-elimination format. The games will be played according to Taiwan slowpitch softball and International Softball Federation rules.

Participants and trophies following the 7th Asia Cup in 2006.

Slowpitch is one of many disciplines being played around the world as softball continues its rapid growth worldwide. Some of the international slowpitch play in 2008 alone has included the 15th Pangaea Cup in March in the Philippines, the 7th Senior World Cup (for players ages 50-and-over) in June in the USA, the 6th European Coed Slowpitch Championship in July in England, and the 10th World Firefighters Games in August (also in England), plus the above two events still to come (in Taiwan and Thailand).

The International Softball Federation is continuing to develop the sport in slowpitch, fastpitch, modified pitch, and now indoor softball (arena softball), wheelchair softball, and beach softball, giving opportunities for boys, girls, men, and women to participate in some form of the sport, regardless of age, sex, shape/size, or ability.