With the moving memory of Gino Galati, Serie A Baseball referee who passed away this week at the age of 49, begins the 13th Federal Council of the four-year period 2020-2024. After the communications of the President and the approval of the minutes of the session of 18 September, the results of the 2021 Championships are ratified.
The new Covid-19 health protocols were then issued for indoor and outdoor training activities, which provide for the obligation of a Green Pass for everyone during any activity carried out indoors. The documents, as always, will be published in the appropriate page of the FIBS site.
Analyzed the documents relating toSports Activity 2022: the procedures for affiliation, membership, registration to the championships, the Baseball and Softball Circulars, the Youth Circular and the amateur activity are brought together in a single document, integrated by the specific tables of the season, with dates and deadlines. The cards will also be placed in a special publication space on the home page of the fibs.it website.
Reiterated the obligation to complete all the documentation for the registration of athletes by the date set in the schedule.
Schedule, unilateral release, balls and clubs table and plant approval procedures have been approved. The first deadline for companies is the re-affiliation which must be carried out by 30 November 2021.
The 2022 competitive season kicks off on April 2 with the first day of Serie A Baseball and the Italian softball cup.
The structure of the championships does not change substantially, consolidated over several seasons, with the exception of Serie B Softball, which passes to 2 weekly matches and is a national event, and Serie A Baseball, whose format has matured through the synthesis of the comparison. carried out between the representatives of the Federal Council and those of the companies.
In detail, it will be one A league the new one launched by the Federal Council for 2022. At the start, which will take place on the first weekend of April, there will be 32 teams that in the first phase will be divided into 4 groups of 8: each of the groups will be composed of 2 seeded the 8 that played the second phase 2021), 1 newly promoted and 5 other teams among those who played the Salvation Pool, based on proximity. In the first phase, only one first leg will be played, with 2 games of 9 innings, at the end of which the first 2 classified will qualify for the Scudetto Pool: the 8 teams will be divided into 2 groups of 4 who will play home, return and an intergirone , on 3 weekly matches of 7 shots for a total of 10 weeks and 30 games; the rotation of the pitchers will see race 1 for the launchers with a visa, race 2 for the AFI launchers and race 3 for the NON AFI community pitchers. Once the second phase is closed, there will be the crossed semifinals between the first 2 classified of each group structured in a series of the best of 7 games (always on 7 rounds) to be played in 2 weeks, followed by the Italian Baseball Series, always at the best of 7 games out of 7 shoots in 2 weeks. Eventual game 7 of the IBS will be played on Sunday 18 September 2022. At the same time, the other 24 teams will be divided into 4 groups of 6, which will play roundtrips in 2 weekly matches of 9 rounds. At the end of this phase, the last 2 classifieds of each group will cross in the playout series with the best of 5 games and the losers will be relegated to Serie B. The 4 teams per group not involved in the playouts will be divided into 4 concentrations, with the formula of the Final Four, for the dispute of the Italian Cup. In the meantime, the losers of the Scudetto Semifinals will meet the 2 winners of the play-off between the third and fourth classified groups of the Scudetto Pool (best of 3 matches series). The 2 winning teams will join the 4 qualifiers of the Coppa Italia concentrations and will give life to another 2 concentrations, this time with 3 teams with a one-way Italian round, to be played in a single day. The 2 winners access the Final Four of the Italian Cup together with the teams that played in the Italian Baseball Series. The winner of the Final Four, scheduled for the weekend of 24-25 September, will win the Italian Cup and the second place available in the 2023 European Cup.
In Serie B Baseball the most important novelty will be the reintroduction of the playoffs to decide the 4 promoted in Serie A 2023 and the playouts for the 4 relegations foreseen in Serie C.
In Serie A1 Softball small news compared to 2021. There will be the return of Italian Cup which will be the prologue to the championship: the cup will be played in the first 3 weekends of April and then give way to the championship from the last weekend of the month. For the assignment of the Scudetto, after the regular season, it will go directly to the semifinals and then to the Italian Softball Series, all best of 5 games series. There will be 3 relegations: directly the last classified of each of the 2 groups, while the fifth classified will play the playout. The increase in relegations, remaining only one promotion from Serie A2 Softball, will bring the top flight of the beat and run to 10 teams for women in 2023. Also in Serie A2 Softball relegations increase to 3, 2 direct for the last of the groups and the third that will emerge from the playout between the seventh classified of the two groups.
On the subject of Youth Championships the most important change will concern the non-application of the maximum points per innning rule for all national stages.
The CF has therefore started the procedures for registration at continental competitions for next year: at club level, San Marino and Parma for the European Cup baseball, Forlì and Bollate for the Premiere Cup, Saronno for the ESF Cup Winners Cup; at a blue level, the U18 and U12 European Championships for baseball; Senior, U22 and U15 for softball; European Youth Baseball5.
The Palacongressi di Rimini, from 4 to 6 February 2022, will host the return of the CON6 in attendance, still articulated in the paths dedicated to technicians, referees, classifiers, athletes, managers and medical staff.
After accepting the resignation of Roberto De Franceschi, to which the thanks of the whole Federal Council go, the National Baseball U15 is entrusted to Stefano Burato, who will therefore give continuity to the younger blue categories, continuing his work also at the helm of Italia Baseball U12.
Italy is a candidate to host theEuropeo Under 12 of Baseball and the Under 15 European Championship of Baseball5 and the qualification and final phases of the new format of the Softball World Cup which will take place in 2023 and 2024 respectively. They will be published shortly.
For the administrative part, the change to the 2021 budget was approved. An additional sum of € 400,000 was allocated to the companies and will be distributed by mid-December.
The survey has been activated to evaluate the supply of second-timer watches of the Serie A Baseball and Serie A1 Softball playing fields to be paid by the Federation, in order to align the top national competitions with the international ones through a tool that has demonstrated its effectiveness in contain the duration of the matches.
The amounts of the 2022 tender fees have been approved with cost cuts for companies, compared to 2019, which reach up to 50%.
The work of the Federal Council closed. Next appointment, via videoconference, for Friday 26 November 2021.
from Florence, Marco Landi and Fabio Ferrini
