YOUTH BASEBALL
The Cuban-American Friendship Society presents a unique opportunity for youth and little league players from the United States to compete on the diamond against Cuban little league teams in this once in a lifetime opportunity to engage as youth ambassadors while playing baseball. In the midst of the highs and lows of the 20th century relationship between the United States and Cuba, one thing that has always remained a constant is the American and Cuban obsession over the game of baseball. Historically, Cuba has provided Major League Baseball with some of its greatest and most exciting stars. In turn, many great American players of the Golden Age of baseball also spent time playing ball and vacationing in pre-Revolutionary Cuba. In this course, you can follow the footsteps of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio in Havana. Learn about the effect of politics on the game. From Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez’ remarkable journey to the United States aboard a flimsy raft to President Jimmy Carter getting pitching advice from Fidel Castro at a game during a non-state visit to the island in 2002, the game of baseball has never ceased to capture the imagination of the masses in the United States and Cuba.
Under a people to people exchange, youth participants will have the opportunity to play against five different local youth teams in the vicinity of Havana. The program will allow participants to learn about the history of the game in Cuba and in the process create a bond with ordinary Cubans they meet over their shared love of the truly “American” pastime of “beisbol.”
Please learn more about this opportunity through the experience of a local Vermont team as chronicled here: https://cubabaseballtrip.wordpress.com/
Note: dates are approximate and will be coordinated by our organization with local US youth and little league groups’ availability.
This year's tentative program dates: June 11, 2017 to June 17, 2017
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to go on this trip!
FULL ITINERARY
Day 1
Depart from Montreal, Canada and arrive at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba. Check into your hotel and get your first taste of Havana by participating in a sunset tour of Old Havana with an experienced English-speaking guide from the Jose Marti Center. Enjoy dinner with your colleagues at a restaurant in Old Havana and evening of leisure.
(D) included
Day 2
Arrive by shuttle to the Jose Marti Center, a beautiful historic colonial mansion where we will receive a welcome reception, attend a lecture focusing on the life of Jose Marti, known as the father of Cuba and also get an introduction to sports history and culture in Cuba.
Thereafter, enjoy a guided tour of Old Havana. After lunch, attend an opening ceremony where the national anthems of both nations are played and engage in practice in preparation for an afternoon game against a local Havana team. Play a game of competitive baseball with a youth league team. Evening at leisure.
(B) (L) included
Day 3
Visit the Hemingway Estate in Cojimar on the outskirts of Havana where Ernest Hemingway wrote some of his classic prize winning works. After lunch, engage in practice in preparation for an afternoon game against a local Havana team. Play a game of competitive baseball with a youth league team. Evening at leisure.
(B) (L) included
Day 4
Attend a conference on the state of Sports and the Youth in Cuba at the Jose Marti Center in Havana. After lunch, engage in practice in preparation for an afternoon game against a local Havana team. Play a game of competitive baseball with a youth league team.
(B) (L) included
Day 5
Visit the Museum of the Revolution in Havana where some of the most historical moments in the history of Cuba took place. After lunch, engage in practice in preparation for an afternoon game against a local Havana team. Play a game of competitive baseball with a youth league team.
(B) (L) included
Day 6
Engage in practice in preparation for your final game against a local Havana team. Play a game of competitive baseball with a youth league team. After lunch, visit a Cuban beach and attend a Farewell Reception and Dinner thrown by your Cuban hosts.< br /> (B) (L) (D) included
Day 7
Bid farewell to Havana and leave for an early morning departure to Jose Marti International Airport and catch flight to Montreal.
(B) included
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