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SAVOY, Ill. (WCIA) — Savoy will play host this weekend to a baseball tournament featuring a variant of the sport adapted for the blind and visually impaired.
The National Beep Baseball Association, supported by the local Lions Club, will host the Annual Savoy Beep Baseball Tournament at Prairie Fields Park this Saturday. Athletes from across the Midwest will travel to Savoy to compete, including the Indy Thunder, Chicago Comets and Gateway Archers.
“We are honored to continue to host this incredible tournament,” Mark Brown, Director of Event Services and Film for Experience Champaign-Urbana, said in a news release. “Witnessing the athleticism and skill required to be a part of this adaptive sport is an exceptional opportunity for our community. We look forward to welcoming athletes and their fans to the area.”
The games these athletes play differ from how baseball is usually played in order to accommodate their needs. For instance, there are two bases instead of three, and those two bases are four-foot-high padded cylinders that give off a continuous buzzing sound when activated. Either base can be activated when the ball is hit; athletes have to listen to determine which one they have to run to.
Each team uses a sighted pitcher and catcher, with specific rules for communicating the pitching of the ball. The ball emits a beeping sound — hence the name of the sport — to help the team playing defense.
A complete overview of the rules of Beep Baseball can be found on the NBBA website.
“We are excited to bring our brand of baseball to Champaign County. Beep baseball is a real eye-opener for fans,” Tournament Director Darnell Booker said in the same news release. “In Beepball, we say silence is golden, but applause is necessary.”
The games will be free and open to the public between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.