Little League EMEA Region: Welcome

WELCOME

TO EUROPE AND AFRICA REGION 

Address: Al. Malej Ligi 1, 99-300 Kutno, Poland, Tel. +48(24) 254 4569, Fax +48(24) 254 4571, europe@littleleague.org

     Polska wersja - Polish version     

Little League mourns the passing of two greats of the game: Stan Musial and Earl Weaver.

Mr. Musial was one of Little League's greatest friends, and one of the greatest baseball players in history.

He was a driving force, along with his late friend Ed Piszek, behind Little League establishing a regional center in Kutno, Poland -- part of a lifelong passion for supporting Polish-American causes. The two stadiums at the Little League European Region Training Center in Kutno are named for Mr. Piszek, who founded Mrs. Paul's Kitchens, and Mr. Musial.

"More than just a great baseball player, Stan Musial was a great humanitarian," Steve Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League Baseball and Softball, said. "We are all fortunate that he was a friend of Little League for so many years."

Starting out as a pitcher, Stan Musial transitioned to the outfield, and the rest was history. He ended his career with a .331 batting average and as the National League's career best in RBI, games played, runs scored, hits and doubles. He played his last game nearly a half-century ago, yet currently ranks fourth in total hits, behind only Pete Rose, Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron.

Despite the fact that he was devastating to National League pitchers (1,815 hits at home, and exactly the same number of hits on the road), Mr. Musial was universally respected. He spent his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Mr. Musial might have reached the 500 home run plateau as well, had he not volunteered in the U.S. Navy during World War II at the height of his career. In 1969, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Mr. Musial was always willling to help the causes of Little League. He made appearances at the Little League Baseball World Series, at the Little League International Congress, and at events in Poland, to help raise awareness for the efforts to build the regional center in Kutno. During these events, he entertained and amused crowds with his trademark harmonica.

Mr. Weaver, also a Baseball Hall of Famer, managed the Baltimore Orioles for 17 years and had a record of 1,480 wins and 1,060 losses. The Orioles won four pennants under his leadership, and a World Series in 1970.

Mr. Weaver was in the broadcast booth for the Little League Baseball World Series at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in 1983-'84 as an announcer for ABC's Wide World of Sports.

By Communications Division
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.

Australia will have an entry in the Little League Baseball World Series, it was announced today by Stephen D. Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League Baseball and Softball.

Three of the existing 16 regions will be realigned, it was decided in last week’s meeting of the Little League International Board of Directors. The new alignment gives Australia’s national champion in the Little League Baseball Division an automatic berth in the World Series (along with Canada, Mexico, and Japan).

“The 16 regions that send teams to the Little League Baseball World Series are based on participation numbers at the local league level,” Mr. Keener said. “In the last few years, we have seen tremendous growth in Australia – so much so that Australia is now our fourth-largest country in terms of total participation. We expect and hope to see additional growth in Australia, particularly in softball and teenage baseball.”

The U.S. has the most local Little Leagues of any country, with more than 6,000. There are about 500 local Little League programs in Canada, followed by Mexico with about 450, and Japan with about 375. Australia had about 400 chartered leagues in 2012.

The realignment also means some countries will compete in a different region in the Little League Baseball (Majors) International Tournament. 

The countries of the Middle East (with the exception of Israel and Turkey, as in the International Baseball Federation alignment) will now compete as part of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region. 

The countries of Africa will now compete as part of the Europe and Africa Region.

The current list of countries in the regions of Latin America, Canada, Caribbean, Mexico, and Japan remain the same. There also are no changes for the eight U.S. regions in 2013.

The Little League Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Region has nominated one of its experienced volunteer leaders for election to the Little League International Board of Directors, it was announced by Stephen D. Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League Baseball and Softball.

Kristian Palvia, of Skovde, Sweden, is nominated to replace Giuseppe Guilizzoni, from Novara, Italy. Mr. Palvia is expected to assume his seat on the Little League International Board of Directors at its November 2012 annual meeting.

Each of the nine Field Directors on the board, one from each of the nine Little League Baseball and Softball regions, serves a three-year term.

“Kristian will provide an interesting perspective for our board representing one of our international regions,” Mr. Keener said. “He has been a committed Little League volunteer leader for many years, successfully building new, and overseeing existing programs in Sweden, as the District Administrator.  His experience with the national federation in Sweden also will provide a look at the baseball landscape as we continue to try to grow Little League in that country.”

Mr. Palvia, 41, has been involved with baseball and softball on the federation level since 1996 in different volunteer positions.  In 2004, Mr. Palvia accepted the position of Secretary General of the Swedish Baseball and Softball Federation, a position he still holds.

Mr. Palvia has been the Little League District Administrator (DA) in Sweden since 2005 and attended Little League International Congress in Houston (2007) and Lexington (2010).

Prior to serving in his present position, Mr. Palvia was the club administrator for IFK Skovde, an elite handball club, overseeing all aspects of the club, including the management of a large youth handball tournament that featured more than 300 teams and 3,000 participants.

Mr. Palvia has been involved with youth baseball since 1989, when the baseball program in Skovde was founded, and presently is the treasurer for the Skovde Saints baseball and softball program.  He also is the coach of a Tee Ball team in the Saints program.

“It is a great honor and joy to be nominated by my fellow District Administrators in the EMEA region,” Mr. Palvia said.  “I will do my best to continue the work done over the last three years by Giuseppe Guilizzoni.  I look forward to working together with the Board so we can extend the joy and passion of playing baseball and softball to children of all ages in the EMEA region.”

The Europe, Middle East and Asia region office is located in Kutno, Poland, serving 38 countries playing Little League Baseball and Softball.  There were more than 155,000 players and 10,000 teams participating in baseball and softball in the EMEA region in 2011.  In Sweden, there were more than 550 players and 37 teams in the Little League program last year.

The Little League International Board of Directors, a volunteer board, is responsible for the management of the property and affairs of Little League Baseball, Incorporated.

For the 9th year, Kutno will host the International Baseball/Softball Tournament – Edward Piszek Memorial, on April 28 - May 2, 2012.  It is expected that 17 teams from Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland will participate. The Tournament schedule will provide friendly games for divisions of T-Ball, Little League, Junior League and also entertainment for teams and fans. It is the first tournament at the Little League EMEA Center this season.   The Tournament is organized by Kutno Baseball and Softball Club, Copernicus Society of America, City of Kutno, County of Kutno, Lodz Region, and Little Legaue Baseball and Softball.

Hosting Little League EMEA regional tournaments involves work of many volunteers. They are the real individuals who make the difference behind the scenes. Little League umpires are one large group of volunteers that you can see daily on the fields during tournaments. They come from different parts of the world at their own expense and receive no compensation for their hard work. Another large group of volunteers is our team guides. Young people from the Kutno area dedicate their time and efforts to welcome teams from around the world. They assist Little League teams during EMEA regional tournaments in Kutno with translations and daily matters. In large part, they influence how the teams feel in Kutno and in Poland.  This year, in cooperation with two leading high schools in Kutno – Gen. J.H Dabrowski School and Jan Kasprowicz School, we created a new training program for this group of volunteers.  75 volunteers, who apply and qualify for the program, will participate in three workshops in May and June that will be offered by the two Schools and Little League regional office. The workshops will provide training on volunteer work, cultural differences among countries, safety procedures and tournament goals.  The Kutno Town Administration also supports the program.  If you would like to support the program or would like more information, please contact our Little League office in Kutno at europe@littleleague.org

Little League International, the world’s largest and most-respected youth sports organization, has made the significant changes to the 2011 Policies, Rules and Regulations available in a PowerPoint presentation.

The presentation – which contains a summary of each change, and the exact wording of the changes as they will appear in the 2011 Rule Books – is available at this URL:
http://www.littleleague.org/Assets/forms_pubs/2011-BBSB-RuleChanges-ppt.ppt

A PDF version of the changes can be found here:
http://www.littleleague.org/Assets/forms_pubs/2011-BBSB-RuleChanges.pdf

Districts and local leagues are encouraged to use the PowerPoint presentation at meetings and seminars in the coming weeks, so that volunteers are “up to speed” on the changes.

For Facebook and Twitter users, you can also click “Share” on the buttons to the right of the headline in this story to inform your friends that this information is now available.

The 2011 Rule Books themselves are expected to be available in mid-December.

Little League mourns the loss of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and many of Poland's leaders in a plane crash in Russia. 96 people died.

The Polish people, and their political leaders, have embraced Little League in the years since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Little League's Europe, Middle East and Africa headquarters (The Little League European Leadership Training Center) is located in Kutno, Poland.

President Kaczynski and his wife Maria died after their plane crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in western Russia on Saturday, April 10, 2010. They were on their way to Katyn, Russia to attend a World War II memorial service.

President Kaczynski was a key part of the anti-Communist movement in Poland, and was interned for a time in 1981 because of his activities. He became an advisor for the Solidarity movement headed by lech Walesa.

When Democracy came to Poland, it was the late Ed Piszek - a trustee of the Little League Foundation - and Baseball Hall of Famer Stan Musial, who led the efforts to establish a permanent Little League center in Poland. Both gentlemen were strong supporters of Solidarity and Polish-American causes.