Both
organizers and the Dutch federation hope that accessible streams will help to
increase the awareness of the tournament as one of the best in the world and help
with the popularity of baseball.
Tournament has started on 8 July and will finish on Friday, 15 July. You can watch all games, daily recaps, interviews and much more after a registration (free of charge) on honkbalsoftbal.tv.
Before the
tournament we had a chance to speak with president of the organizing committee
Guus van Dee.
Japan,
Chinese Taipei, USA, Cuba, Italy and Netherlands – these six countries should
have originally participated in Haarlem Baseball Week. How difficult it was
before they said final yes?
Very
difficult, covid was still a big threat, countries could not finish their international
programs.
In the end, Chinese Taipei has withdrawn and was replaced by Curacao. What was the reason?
The
Taiwanese government issued a travel ban, no sports teams are allowed to leave
the country.
Do you
see any differences between preparations of the tournament before pandemic and
now?
Well, we
had to cancel the 2020 edition, because of covid, but we were quite sure that
the measures would be over by spring 2022, so we had no difference in
preparation. We went full speed.
Can you
tell us more about the budget of this event? What sum of money do you work with
and what is the share of sponsorship money and ticket sale?
We work
with a budget of €500.000. About 50 % is from ticket
sales and the other 50 % is from sponsoring and catering.
It is
the 30th anniversary this year. Do you plan anything special?
Yes, we
shortened the games to 7 innings plus tiebreak. Therefore we can play 20 games
in 8 days. And we have room for many side-events, such as a celebrity game, Old
Star game or fastpitch softball demonstration game. It will be a baseball festival.
What is
the key in a selection of teams? Does any other European team have a chance to
get an invitation in future?
We aim to
have 6 countries out of 3 continents. And the best teams of those continents.
Italy and Holland are rivals since the beginning. And mostly the #1 and #2 in
Europe. If some national team becomes the #2 in Europe, the chances of getting
an invitation will be much bigger. If they become European Champions, they can
count on it!
I hope that
many European fans will visit our tournament. We will have spectacular games
and the complex is close to the beaches! We created a camping for our fans at
the venue so be welcome in Haarlem!
More details about the tournament, tickets and schedule can be found on Haarlem Baseball Week websites.
Photo by Honkbalweek Haarlem.
Lucie Zawada
