SOFTBALL was given a boost in Penang when the first Penang Softball Cup championship was held at the Polo Ground on March 30-31.
It was the sport chosen for promotion for the month of March under the ‘Sports For All’ programme which began in January this year.
Penang Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee, who officiated the opening of the softball championship, said the competition was good for softball as it was a lesser known game compared to football and badminton.
“So, we need to promote softball at school levels and get the schools’ sports council to be involved,” Soon said in his speech.
“We need to expose more students to the game to discover talents. They can then be groomed to represent the state and country.”
Chess and basketball were the sports chosen for promotion in January and February respectively.
Soon also said the promotion of different sports each month under the ‘Sports For All’ programme initiated by the state government was also because sports transcend all barriers such as age, sex, race and social status.
Twenty-one teams took part in the tournament, with 10 for the Men’s Open, five for the Women’s Open and six for the Men’s Under-21.
Besides the local teams from Penang, the others came from Selangor, Kedah, Perak and Negri Sembilan.
“I hope every team will give their level best in the competition and that new talents will be unearthed,” Soon said.
Also present were Softball Association of Malaysia president See Kok Wooi, Penang Softball Association president Way See Wei, Batu Lancang assemblyman Ong Ah Teong and Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi Zi Sen.
Story by K.H. Ong