There are twenty speeches prepared by the Cna for the Con-X 2024 event, which will be staged at the Palacongressi in Rimini from 26 to 28 January. As with the coaches and scorers, the umpires will also have a rich and interesting programme, enhanced by the participation of two foreign umpires, one for baseball and one for softball. For baseball he will be present Zdenek Zidek, born in 1992, originally from the Czech Republic, graduated in law from Charles University in Prague. After a few years of experience as a softball umpire, during which he acquired the qualification of WBSC EUROPE international umpire, his career turned towards baseball. He attended the MLB school for professional umpires and since 2019 he has been part of the umpiring crews of the American minors leagues, starting from the Rookie League up to AA (double A) in 2023. He has been the responsible instructor in various European courses and in our country and He is currently a member of the WBSC Europe Baseball Umpire Steering Committee.
For softball the Canadian will be a welcome guest Frances Billingsley. After playing and coaching, “Frankie” Billingsley found his way into officiating in 2000. When he began this journey, he never thought that one day he would represent Canada in international competitions around the world.
He obtained the Fifth level of umpiring in the Canadian Federation in 2011 at the Canadian FastPitch senior softball championships, and then his WBSC certification in 2013. Since then he has participated, among other things, in the 2016 World Cup in Surrey (Canada) and the 2018 in Takasaki (Japan); the Pan Americans in Lima (Peru); the U18 Men’s World Championships in Palmerston (New Zealand); one of the Olympic qualifying tournaments, and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
In Canada, he has officiated ten national finals, including the men’s Canadian college finals.
Off the diamond he has a hobby: refereeing basketball. In both sports, he has a great passion for teaching, leading by example and developing all levels of refereeing.
The program of interventions related to referees will open with a presentation by the Cna commissioner Gianluca Magnani. In the Temple hall, on Saturday 27th and on the morning of Sunday 28th, baseball speakers will take turns in the classroom: Zdenek Zidek, Simon Menicucci, Yuri Machiavelli, the referee designator Alessandro Maestri, Sergio Radice. There will also be a joint meeting (from 3pm to 3.45pm) with the category judges Silvano Filippi e Stefano De Cecco. Followed by awards and recognition for the baseball and softball umpires
The softball lineup, in the Park Hall, will open at 10 a.m. with Frances Billingsley, which will tell the story of his career. He will then turn to Sabrina Fabrizi, the first of two unmissable moments from the Canadian umpire. On Sunday it will be the turn of Gian Paolo Pelosi (also with Billingsley and Fabio Capitoni), Salvatore Biondillo. At 2pm speech by the designator Fabio Capitoni.
Maurizio Caldarelli
2024-01-19 19:19:47
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