The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on Monday that this year’s “KBO Visiting Tee Ball Class,” sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has concluded with the last class at Donam Elementary School in Seoul.The program was launched in 2016 with the aim of improving students’ physical fitness and expanding the baseball community through T-ball education that can be enjoyed safely and easily by anyone by visiting schools directly with retired players.Tee ball is played with similar rules to baseball, and instead of hitting the ball thrown by the pitcher, batters place the ball on a tee to attack.This year’s program kicked off in June at Geumdong Elementary School in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, with a total of 200 elementary schools nationwide, 66 more than last year. The KBO sent instructors to all participating schools and provided tee-ball equipment and gloves worth KRW 1.5 million.
Song Eul-sun, a teacher at Usuyoung Elementary School in Haenam-gu, Jeollanam-do, said, “Our school is located in a remote area of Haenam-gun, so we don’t have access to many benefits, but being selected to participate in the KBO program has been a great way to spend time with the children. I hope to watch a baseball game with my students when the time comes.”Kim Woo-joong, a 6th grader at Usuyoung Elementary School, said, “Today I put on a glove and played tee ball for the first time. The famous instructor kindly taught me how to throw and hit the ball, and it was fun. I want to play a lot of catch and games with my friends in the future.”This year’s ‘Traveling Tee Ball Class’ was taught by 10 KBO talent donors, including Jang Jong-hoon, Song Jin-woo, Jang Won-jin, and Kim Yong-dal.”It was very rewarding to see the students enjoying practicing and playing in class,” said Jang Won-jin.”We will continue the program next year to expand the baseball 토토 base and secure future baseball fans,” the KBO said.