Courtesy of City of Scottsdale
Two Valley Little League teams will travel to Taiwan Sept. 27-Oct. 4 to compete in a baseball tournament and experience the culture of the Far East.
The journey will be more than fun and games. Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane will lead a business development group as part of the trip, exploring potential economic partnerships between his city and several Taiwanese businesses and governments.
The trip is the second part of a baseball-themed exchange that began last year when a team from Taiwan’s Tainan City traveled to Chandler and Scottsdale to take on local Little League teams and get a taste for the Arizona lifestyle.
This year, Scottsdale’s Arcadia Little League and the Chandler All Stars are the traveling squads. The teams feature some of the area’s top baseball players ages 11 and 12.
They will begin and end their trip in the capitol of Taipei City and in between, travel to the city of Tainan. There, they will play a competitive series against the storied Tainan Giants — winners of a record five Little League world championships.
The Arizona teams will take time off from baseball to explore museums, markets, beaches and a national forest. They’ll also spend time with their hosts to better understand the Taiwanese culture and lifestyle.
“It’s going to be really cool to travel across the world to play baseball and to learn about a new culture,” said Arcadia Little League player Crew Edwards. “It’s fun to know that one thing we will all have in common is that we all love to play baseball.”
The Arcadia Little League is paying its own travel expenses for players and families. The public can help defray costs of the team’s trip by making a donation at this website: www.youcaring.com/arcadialittleleague.
Mayor Lane will be traveling with members of the Scottsdale Business Development Forum, who represent local manufacturing, tourism, bioscience and education efforts. They were invited by the Mayor of Tainan.
“This visit builds on previous exchanges between our two regions,” said Mayor Lane. We live in a connected world and we share many common business, tourism and recreational interests. My hope is these visits will open up new opportunities to strengthen our relationships and economies.”
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