U-12 Baseball World Cup
The U-12 Baseball World Cup is the under-12 baseball world championship sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and its predecessor the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), and is the most elite and highest level of competition in its age category. The U-12 Baseball World Championship is scheduled to be held every two years and launched in 2011 in Taipei, Taiwan as the "12U Baseball World Championship".
| Most recent season or competition: 2023 U-12 Baseball World Cup | |
| Formerly | 12U Baseball World Championship (2011) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Baseball |
| Founded | 2011 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Continent | International |
| Most recent champion(s) | United States (2023) |
| Most titles | United States (5 titles) |
| Official website | WBSC.org |
Unlike other youth international competitions like the Little League World Series, which involve local clubs, the U-12 Baseball World Cup is the only global event across baseball—and all of sport—to feature national teams in this age group (11 to 12 years-old).
The U-12 Baseball World Cup is played under the IBAF's International Rules. Dimensions of regulation U-12 Baseball World Cup ballparks (distance to the outfield fence, pitching mound, base paths, etc.) are significantly increased compared to local youth leagues, due to the superior nature and strength of the players involved.
Because the U-12 Baseball World Cup is considered a "world championship" event, the results of the tournaments affect the WBSC World Rankings.
The inaugural tournament took place in July 2011 and was won by its host Chinese Taipei. The tournament was slated to include 13 national teams and crowned the first ever world champion. Through this tournament, the WBSC looked to assume a leadership position for this age bracket in conjunction with major youth baseball organizations to further develop and promote baseball across the world. The tournament was hosted in Taipei City, one of the prominent tournament venues for international baseball competitions.
Results edit
| Year | Host | Medalists | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
| 2011 Details | Taipei | Chinese Taipei | Cuba | Venezuela | |
| 2013 Details | Taipei | United States | Chinese Taipei | Japan | |
| 2015 Details | Tainan | United States | Chinese Taipei | Nicaragua | |
| 2017 Details | Tainan | United States | Chinese Taipei | Mexico | |
| 2019 Details | Tainan | Chinese Taipei | Japan | Cuba | |
| 20222 Details | Tainan | United States | Venezuela | Chinese Taipei | |
| 20232 Details | Tainan | United States | Chinese Taipei | Venezuela | |
| 2025 | Tainan | ||||
| 2027 | Tainan | ||||
| 2029 | |||||
2 Originally scheduled to be held in 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, postponed to summer 2022.[1]
Medal table edit
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Chinese Taipei | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Venezuela | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Cuba | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Japan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 6 | Mexico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Nicaragua | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (7 entries) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | |
See also edit
- Baseball awards#World
- Little League World Series, an annual U12-baseball tournament held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania with some level of international participation (8 USA Divisions, 8 International Divisions).
- List of sporting events in Taiwan
- U-12 Softball World Cup
References edit
- ^ "VI WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup rescheduled for summer 2022 in Tainan, TPE". VI U-12 Baseball World Cup 2021. World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Retrieved 25 September 2021.