By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) has unfairly punished Chung Cheng Elementary School in Greater Kaohsiung over a scandal about “ineligible” transfer students playing, a lawmaker representing the city said yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) told a press conference that Chung Cheng’s use of a transfer student surnamed Wen (溫) in official competitions was a different case than other schools because Chung Cheng did not recruit Wen for his athletic ability.
Three of the top four schools in last month’s C.K. Hsieh Cup Baseball Tournament (謝國城盃) were penalized on May 13 by the association for using ineligible players in the tournament, in what is the biggest scandal to hit Little League baseball in recent years.
Taipei Municipal Ming Dao Elementary School, which won the championship, has been banned by the CTBA from participating in competitions for two years.
Second-place Chung Ping Elementary School from Taoyuan County and Chung Cheng, which finished fourth, were each banned for one year.
Wen transferred from a school in New Taipei City to Chung Cheng because he had to stay with his aunt in Greater Kaohsiung after his parents divorced, Wen’s aunt told a news conference called by Chao.
Chung Cheng team manager Yu Shen-ping (尤伸評) said the school never thought Wen was ineligible because his eligibility was not questioned in the CTBA’s registration system.
The Chinese Taipei Student Baseball Federation’s rules stipulate that transfer students can only compete in tournaments two years after they change schools.
The CTBA has said that Li Hsing Elementary School in Greater Taichung, which placed third in the tournament, would represent Taiwan at this year’s Asia-Pacific regional Little League Baseball tournament in place of Ming Dao.