YAO Bermuda Little League
to participate in
Caribbean REGION Championships
Hamilton, Bermuda – 1 May 2008, The Youth Athletic Organization (YAO) today announced that a team of youth baseball players aged 11-12 years will participate in the Little League Baseball Caribbean Championship to be held in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, from 19 - 27 July, 2008.
The team’s Manager, 2 adult Coaches and the 14 young baseball players will be selected in mid June, nearing the end of the spring baseball season. Stefan Stecko, President of the YAO, David Bedard, District Administrator for Bermuda, and Charles Trott, Chief Umpire will accompany the team to the championships.
David Bedard said, “The decision to enter a team from Bermuda into a regional championship is a sign that the YAO is confident enough in the quality of its support structure and the ability of its players to compete on an international level. Along with being able to play against world-class teams, this will be a great life experience for the players. Seeing how we fare in this environment will also provide us with clear indication where Bermuda needs to improve to be successful at this level. Finally, with the Little League Regional Championships and World Series getting such media attention it is a wonderful way for us to expose our program to a wider audience in Bermuda.”
The winning team from the Bonaire championship will earn the right to represent the Caribbean in the Little League World Series to be held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, August 15 – 24. The Caribbean Region is one of the toughest regions in the world to compete in with last year’s champion Curacao going all the way to the International Division Finals.
This is the first year that representatives from Bermuda will participate in this tournament. Last year’s competition, held in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, saw teams arrive from Curacao, Bonaire, Aruba, Saint Maarten, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Curacao beat Puerto Rico in the final to advance to the Little League World Series.
This year’s tournament is expected to see all of last year’s participants return plus teams from Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.
