International Baseball Centre
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The International Baseball Centre (IBC) is the home field of the Ashbourne Baseball Club and the Irish National Baseball Team. It opened in 2015.[1] It is Ireland's only international standard baseball diamond.[citation needed]
The IBC is the host field for the International Baseball Festival, an annual international baseball tournament held in Ashbourne.[2]
The IBC has been the host field for two European Baseball Championship Qualifier tournaments.
The first tournament was the 2019 European Baseball Championship - Qualification held in Ireland in 2018.[3] In 2023, it hosted a U18 European Baseball Championship Qualifier.
In 2024, the field will host another European Baseball Championship Qualifier.
International Baseball Festival
[edit]The International Baseball Festival is an annual baseball tournament held at the International Baseball Centre. The first tournament was held in 2015. The Irish National Baseball Team has competed in every tournament since inception in preparation for International Play. Past competing teams have come from Belgium, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, Venezuela and the USA.[citation needed]
| Year | Dates | Competitors in International Baseball Festival[citation needed] | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | August 19th-23rd | Irish National Baseball Team and teams from Belgium, Mexico, the USA and Venezuela | Mexico | |
| 2016 | July 7th-10th | Irish National Baseball Team, teams from USA and Venezuela, and an "All Star" team (the President's 9) from the Irish Baseball League | Team USA | |
| 2017 | July 4th-9th | Irish National Baseball Team, teams from Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and USA, and an "All Star" team (President's 9) from Irish Baseball League | President's 9 | |
| 2018 | July 12th-15th | Irish National Baseball Team, an AAU team from the USAA, and an "All Star" team (President's 9) from Irish Baseball League | Irish National Team | |
| 2019 | July 18th-21st | Irish National Baseball Team, Ulster Red Sox and an "All Star" team (President's 9) from Irish Baseball League | President's 9 | |
| 2020 | Not held (COVID 19 pandemic) | |||
| 2021 | Not held (COVID 19 pandemic) | |||
| 2022 | July 7th-10th | Irish National Baseball Team hosted teams from USA and Europe | Sevilla Texas Lions | |
2019 European Baseball Championship Qualifications
[edit]The International Baseball Centre was the host field for a C-Pool qualification tournament for the 2019 European Baseball Championships.[3] Tournament dates were July 23rd - 29th, 2018. National teams competing included Greece, Slovenia, Finland and Norway. The Irish National Team won the gold medal and advanced to the next round of Olympic qualifying.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "New International Baseball Center opens in Ashbourne, Ireland | CEB". baseballeurope.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
- ^ "Meath Chronicle - Mexico emerge as baseball tournament champions in Ashbourne". Meath Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
- ^ a b "Meath Chronicle - Four nations join Ireland in European Baseball Qualifiers in Ashbourne". Meath Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-12-25.
- ^ "Irish baseball stars now target Olympic qualification". www.irishexaminer.com. 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-12-30.