2nd World University Softball Championship
Tainan City, Chinese Taipei - July 15th to 23th, 2006
Team USA - Gold Medallists
After the Storm
The second edition had to cope with fickle weather that was hard on the organizers’ nerves, but they rallied, took control and gave priority to quality and comfort for the players.
Softball is a very popular sport in the United States that organized the World University Championship in the discipline for the first time. The town of Plant City, headquarters of the International Softball Federation (ISF) was an ideal place for this premiere. The American team brilliantly carried the final over Chinese Taipei. A lot of the women playing at Plant City had been at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 (softball unfortunately will no longer be included in the Olympics after 2008), which goes to show the excellent level reached by this university event which, everyone agreed, was a magnificent success.
So this year, would we see the tables turned? The fact is that the second edition of the World University Softball Championship was held in Chinese Taipei, more specifically Tainan. Things started out poorly for the organizers who had to postpone the beginning of the competition. A tropical storm overran the area on the opening day, driving rain by bucket all over town and drenching the baseball fields. To make up for this, the organizers spared no pains to prevent the bad weather from spoiling the meet for the delegations. They wanted at all costs to avoid having to reduce the number of games. So after waiting unsuccessfully for one day to let the fields dry out, they decided to move the competition 100 km to the north to Kaohsiung – a candidate for the organization of Universiade in 2011. It lent its magnificent stadium to the contestants who could start the game on dry land, in the bright sun. The opening match set the tone of the event as the local team started off with a bang against the solid Australians, beginning the tournament handsomely, and clearly announcing its ambition. Chinese Taipei quickly got the better of its opponent that day, winning the match by a score of 3 to 0.
Safe!
The other sensation came when the defending champions, the USA, faced South Africa. The Americans outdid themselves, forgetting the fatigue from the trip, and stung their opponents with a mean 15 to 0. And they did it again the same day in their second game against Thailand where the score was a one-sided 7 to 0. After that day in Kaohsiung, all the teams went back to Tainan where the weather had cleared up. The championship continued as planned, in a stadium that had been magnificently renovated for the occasion.
The two favourites lived up to expectations from the outset, and they continued to clock in victories as the tournament went forward. Note that the USA played against Chinese Taipei three times in this competition: once in the preliminary phase, a second time for the qualifications and finally, in the finals. And it wasn't easy for the defending champion, far from it. At the first game, Chinese Taipei took the day – based on a solid defence, the local team surprised everyone as it sent its opponent back to the locker rooms on a score of 4 to 2.
AUS scores againts USA
This was no accident. Chinese Taipei would do it again at the playoffs, qualifying directly for the finals, and forcing the American team to best Japan in order to compete. This time, the Chinese were totally in control of the game showing a formidable "fighting spirit". And of course, the audience loved it. So the Americans had to beat Japan to qualify for the finals, and they didn't have an easy time of it as the Japanese worked very hard. Japan came in third in 2004 and wanted to do better than simply taking the bronze medal. It took a tiebreak to decide which team would qualify. And again, the Americans made the grade. So Japan, for a second time, went home in third place...
On the wave of its successful games Chinese Taipei was sure to win the final on home ground, particularly since the Americans had only had a two-hour rest after their tough fight with the Japanese. And it almost came true. The local team took the advantage, but the Americans closed the gap every time. So again, a tiebreak was played to decide who the winner was and the Americans were not going to let the chance go by... The final result of this edition looked like a remake of the last championship: United States, Chinese Taipei and Japan. Then Australia, Thailand and South Africa respectively in fourth, fifth and sixth.
We want to congratulate the Organizing Committee for its hard work to give priority to the game and the athletes’ comfort.
Organizing Committee
7F, Yung-Hwa Rd, Sec. 2 Tainan Chinese Taipei Phone: ++(886.6) 3901228 Fax: ++(886.6)2983181 e-mail: edu04@mail.tn.edu.tw URL: www.2006wusc.org.tw NUSF Chinese Taipei 12F, 20, Zhulun St Taipei 104 , Taiwan R.O.C Chinese Taipei Phone: ++(886.2)27710300 Fax: ++(886.2)27406649 e-mail: ctusf61@ctusf.org.tw URL: www.ctusf.org.tw
FISU Technical Chairperson
News
Final Ranking
1. USA - GOLD 2. Chinese Taipei - SILVER 3. Japan - BRONZE 4. Australia 5. Thailand 6. South Africa
