The BATC (Battle at the Castle) tournament wants to bring a grand week of baseball to the players in the tournament and their parents. It wants not only to be a great tournament of baseball heroics, but also a place to meet new baseball friends. Nothing beats playing around on a baseball field with your friends and get to play games every day. It will be a huge event with a true homerun derby, team shirts with player names, individual awards, lunches, and dinners….everything to make a great and unforgettable summer experience for these young guys!
In 2013, 2014 and 2015 we hosted U12 tournaments and in 2015 we added a U14 wood bat tournament. Since that was a great success we did that again in 2016 and 2017. For 2018 we had a lot of positive questions on a follow-up tournament. While it took some deliberations, there could only be one result. In 2018 we added a U18 and decided to synchronize age categories with the WBSC regulations. So in 2018 we will see an U12, U15 and U18 tournament.
The goal is to play all Battle at the Castle baseball tournaments with 4 teams that each has a 13 (U12), 14 (U15) or 15 men (U18) roster. That means that the tournament needs 52, 56 and 60 athletes per tournament to be selected out of the list of registered players. The tournament lasts 6 days and is inspired by the summer leagues in the United States where young baseball players play to work on their skills, play a lot of games and make new friends when school is over.
The U12 tournament will be played by four teams:
- BATC Admirals
- BATC Bombers
- BATC Cavaliers
- BATC Falcons
Field dimensions:
- Pitching distance 14 meters (46 feet)
- Bases 18,30 meters (60 feet)
- Homerun fence 60 meters (200 feet)
The U15 tournament will be played by four teams:
- BATC Chargers
- BATC Dragons
- BATC Emperors
- BATC Vikings
Field dimensions:
- Pitching distance 16.45 meters (54 feet)
- Bases 23,00 meters (76 feet)
- Homerun fence: 70 meters (230 feet)
The U18 tournament will be played by four teams:
- BATC Dukes
- BATC Lumberjacks
- BATC Patriots
- BATC Titans
Field dimensions:
- Pitching distance 18.45 meters (60.5 feet)
- Bases 27,45 meters (90 feet)
- Homerun fence: 100-115 meters (330-380 feet)
Every team has a roster that is selected from the list of players that have registered. The rosters of the teams are chosen by a selection committee that consists of the tournament management and the team managers and coaches. The teams must be of even strength to be able to play exciting and tense games. This will push players and managers to get the best out of themselves.
The competition is a single round robin (4 games) and a double elimination playoff round.
The teams are managed by the best available youth coaches, to be named later.
Foundation “Stichting ontwikkeling jeugd honkbal in Zuidwest Nederland”
Through this tournament, we want to stimulate the popularity of baseball for children in the south of The Netherlands. It is an initiative of “Stichting Ontwikkeling Jeugdhonkbal Zuidwest Nederland” (Foundation for Development of Youth Baseball in Southwest Netherlands) based in Oosterhout, the Netherlands. Another initiative of this foundation is the wood bat Collegiate Baseball League Europe that had its inaugural tournament in 2012 in Oosterhout. That tournament for 18-23 year olds will be held simultaneously with the Battle at the Castle tournament.
CBLE – the Collegiate Baseball League Europe
The Battle at the Castle is played simultaneously with the Collegiate Baseball League Europe (CBLE), a summer league tournament for players in the ages 18-23. The inaugural tournament was held in 2012 and was a great success, and that is the reason that we wanted to add a tournament for youth players.
For more information on the collegiate summer league tournament (CBLE): www.cble.org