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Thursday, 13 August 2009 2009 World Children’s Baseball Fair. Two Doncaster Juniors have just returned from the 2009 World Children's Baseball Fair (WCBF) held in Tokyo. Chase Hodkinson and Kate Lethborg, both 11 years old, travelled to Japan and played in the tournament from the 26th to 31st of July. Teams from Canada , Taiwan , Australia , Germany , Cameroon and Japan all participated. The WCBF, established in 1989 by baseball heroes Japan's Sadaharu Oh and the USA's Hank Aaron, aims to foster an environment of world understanding and cultural exchange through the celebration of baseball and create goodwill and fellowship among the children of the world. Chase and Kate had a fantastic time. The trip was a bit eventful with a few of the kids coming down with the flu – but they managed to get through it all and the kids did very well. What an opportunity for all the kids to play at an international level. Kate, 11, has been part of the Doncaster junior program for over five years progressing through the club's strong tee-ball and U12 domestic competition. She competed as part of the Diamond Valley U12 team this winter and is just one of three girls on the Australian team. Recently, she has been fine tuning her skills by attending Doncaster senior women's training alongside her idol - fellow Doncaster player Bronwyn Gell! Gell, who was selected to her first Australian womens baseball squad last month, is only 16 herself and just five years older than Kate! Chase, 11, will be looking to continue his good form which saw him represent the Ringwood District at both the U12s and U14s winter tournaments. Congratulations to both Chase and Kate, and a special thanks to the coaches and managers that took the kids over.
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