Japanese High School Baseball Invitational Tournament
The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament of Japan, commonly known as "Spring Kōshien" or "Senbatsu", is an annual high school baseball tournament.
Background
The tournament, organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation and Mainichi Shimbun, takes place each year in March at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in the Koshien district of Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan.Teams are chosen for the tournament by a committee from the Japan High School Baseball Federation based on a set of criteria. While it is not a guaranteed path, teams winning a regional tournament held annually in the fall are usually invited. For instance, in the 2008 Fall Tournament in the Tōhoku region, Ichinoseki Gakuin was the runner-up. However, they were passed over for 3rd place Hanamaki Higashi for the 2009 invitation tournament.
Of the 32 bids, 29 are awarded on a regional basis:
- Hokkaido - 1
- Tōhoku - 3
- Kantō - 4 or 5
- Tokyo - 1 or 2
- Tōkai - 3
- Hoku-shin'etsu - 2
- Kinki - 6
- Chūgoku - 2
- Shikoku - 2
- Kyushu including Okinawa - 4
The final two slots are awarded to "21st Century Teams" which are a way to give teams a chance to compete who have not gotten close to qualifying but who have served as a model school by engaging in the community or having overcome adverse circumstances such as having few players, lacking a baseball field to train on, or having been impacted by a natural disaster.