The Seguin All-Stars represented the Southwest Region at the 2015 Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Oregon.
(Williamsport, Pa.) – Little League International has canceled its seven World Series tournaments and their respective regional qualifying tournaments for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organization made the decision after assessing the impact of the pandemic on 6,500 community-based Little League programs in 84 contriues, and based on the direction of government and public health authories, and in consultation with medical professionals and Little League International’s Board of Directors.
Little League International President and CEO Stephen D. Keener gives a detailed explanation of the decision in a video statement from Williamsport, Pa.
The video, along with the announcement of the cancellation, is available online at https://www.littleleague.org/news/little-league-cancels-2020-world-series-and-region-tournaments/.
“After consultation with the Secretary of Health here in Pennsylvania, certainly our governer, and public health officials in about 10 or 12 states where we play regional qualifying tournaments and our six additional World Series, we’ve come to the conclusion based on the recommendations and guidance from them, that it would be virtually impossible for us to conduct regional and World Series tournaments in the summer of 2020,” Keener said.
This summer marks the first time the Little League World Series has been cancelled in the event’s history, dating back to 1947.
The organization had planned to celebrate the 75th Little League World Series next year, but those festivities have been pushed back to 2022.
In his video statement, Keener adds that considerations in this year’s cancellations extend beyond U.S. borders.
“What we’ve learned from the federal officials is that many of the travel restrictions that are in place will have signifiant impact on our ability to have teams from other countries participate in qualifying tournaments, and ultimately to come to the United States for a World Series tournament based on immigration complexities that will be in place certainly this summer,” Keener said.
Keener also notes the testing and mitigation protocols that would need to be in place at public events should an individual participating or attending an event be diagnosed with COVID-19 as a factor in Little League International’s decision.
The seven World Series tournaments cancelled are as follows:
Little League Baseball – South Williamsport, Pa.
Little League Softball® – Greenville, N.C.
Intermediate (50/70) Baseball – Livermore, Calif.
Junior League Baseball – Taylor, Mich.
Junior League Softball – Kirkland, Wash.
Senior League Baseball – Easley, S.C.
Senior League Softball –Sussex County, Del.
The decision will impact Seguin Little League this summer, even if no Seguin All-Star team had advanced to a regional tournament or World Series.
The Southwest Regional Tournament for Seniors Baseball, hosted by Seguin annually at ‘Smokey’ Joe Williams Field, is among the events that have been cancelled.
There is still hope to resume the regular season in Seguin, as well as All-Star tournaments at the zone, district, sectional, and state levels, but play remains suspended for the time being.
To assist the local Little League programs as they continue to assess their operations, Little League International is crediting all chartered programs with the affiliation fees paid for their chartered teams in 2020, which totals approximately $1.2 million in support to local leagues.
Those funds will be credited through Little League’s Data Center and be available for local leagues to use on current balances, future affiliation and insurance fees, tournament enrollment, and other Little League-related expenses.