We’re building on 2025!
The World Masters Games in the Kansai region of Japan were originally scheduled for 2021 but were delayed by Covid to 2027. That’s why we now have the chance to attend another WMG only two years after Taipei / New Taipei City. It’s a great opportunity to build momentum as a club and, well, we aren’t getting any younger.
Competition Format
The tournament will have 30+ and 45+ age groups. 30+ means those born on or before 31st December 1997 and 45+ means those born on or before 31st December 1982. Each age group will have an A-grade competition for those who have played at a national representative or professional level and a B-grade competition for club players.
Teams in the 30+ age group will compete in pools of four teams at the round robin stage with only the first-placed team progressing to quarterfinals. First- and second-placed teams will both progress in the 45+ age group. So, teams will play a minimum of 3 tournament games and, if they make finals, a maximum of 6.
Games are planned to 7 innings but with no new innings after 80 minutes, except finals. Bats will be wood only.
Teams are required to have a manager with a maximum bench staff of 10. The managers’ meeting is at 1pm on May 14th.
Dates
Overall, the games will run in May 2027 from Friday 14th to Sunday 30th with baseball competitions running almost the entire time from Saturday 15th to Friday 28th with rain days on the 19th, 26th, and 29th.
The different grades will run sequentially, B grade in the first week and A grade in the second week. B qualifiers will be 15th – 18th May and finals 20th – 21st May. Then A qualifiers will be 22nd – 25th May and finals 27th – 28th May.
Venues
The Kansai region encompasses six prefectures in the south of the main island of Honshu. Different sports will have different host cities or regions with baseball being hosted in Kobe.
The baseball venues are:
- Hotto Motto Field Kobe (in Kobe Sports Park, secondary home of the NPB Orix Buffaloes, capacity 35000, clay and grass surfaces, 99m to corners and 122m in CF)
- G7 Stadium Kobe (also in Kobe Sports Park, capacity 1000, black dirt infield and artificial turf outfield, 99m to corners and 122m in CF)
- Ajisai Stadium Kita Kobe (in Kita?North Kobe Sports Park, amateur facility, capacity 3000, black dirt infield and artificial turf outfield, 99m to corners and 122m in CF)
- Samty Dream Stadium (also known as Miki Disaster Prevention Park Baseball Stadium, amateur facility, black dirt infield and grass outfield, 97.5m to corners and 122m in CF)
- Akashi Tōkaro Baseball Stadium (amateur facility, capacity 12000, black dirt infield and grass outfield, 100m to corners and 122m in CF)
Registration
Registration to play for the Ārahi in Kobe has two main components: (1) become a current member of the club via our membership form, and (2) register with the World Masters Games 2027 using an Ārahi team code.
We have entered five teams across 30A, 30B, and 45B:
- 30A Toa
- 30B Kotahi
- 30B Mana
- 45B Tiaki
- 45B Awhi
Each Ārahi squad is 12-15 players. The minimum requirement is 12 players and we set ourselves a maximum of 15 in support of reasonable playing time while maintaining sufficient injury cover.
At this time, we have limited space in 30B and our other squads are full.
Further additions in full squads may be made by invitation or via a waiting list (e.g. as injury replacements). If you are interested in joining our waiting list then please contact us.
The WMG registration fee for non-residents of Japan is ¥34,000 (currently approx. NZ$365) and this allows participation in up to 5 total sports and will include a transportation pass, some tourism benefits, and some merch. WMG fees are 90% refundable up to the end of February 2027 in case circumstances change.
Other Costs
The primary player-paid costs of participation will be flights, accommodation, and umpiring costs.
At this stage, teams are required to provide an umpire who will base umpire games other than their own at the same venues on the same days. We are working with NZBUA to provide umpires. Participants will be levied to fund these roles.
Visas, if needed, will also be a player responsibility.
As per our usual model, players will purchase their own uniforms and provide their own playing equipment. We are yet to determine if we will have team wood bats and warm-up baseballs.
We roughly estimate total costs across fees, flights, accommodation and food, umpiring, uniform, and equipment to be in the NZ$4500-5000 range. We will work with suppliers to achieve group discounts and with grants organisations and sponsors to alleviate costs where possible.
Training and Friendlies
In support of on-field performance, we will arrange some training sessions in the Kobe area in the days leading up to the competition.
We will seek to arrange training facilities from a local school in return for a cultural exchange. We have also identified indoor facilities that we can hire.
Also, since only three competition games are guaranteed at the round robin stage, we will arrange friendly games to be played against local Masters teams: one before the competition as a warm-up and a couple afterwards to take the place of playoffs for our team(s) that do not advance.
Accommodation
We will arrange accommodation discounts at a hotel or a cluster of adjacent hotels to reduce costs and make for easier logistics. Hotels will be individually booked and paid for by participants. Participants are not required to stay at the designated team hotels but it is recommended for both social reasons and for game day logistics.
Family and Supporters
We expect that Japan will be a popular destination for partners and other family members so will look to make arrangements for supporters as well.
We expect that supporters will be able to register with WMG (at a reduced fee) and also get travel passes. We are also open to family members registering as team officials if they are willing and able to fill base coaching, bat management, medical, and other in-uniform roles.
Other Matters
The English language webpage for baseball for WMG 2027 is here. Also, you can sign up to receive their newsletter. The first field is your email address, the second is your name.
A Google Maps list of game venues and other locations of interest (e.g. possible training sites) is here. It will be updated as planning progresses.
For reference: Video of the WMG 2025 A grade 35+ final. Unfortunately, none of our 35B round robin games were recorded.
The WMG 2027 opening ceremony will be on Friday May 14th in the Okazaki area of Kyoto and the closing ceremony will be on Sunday May 30th in Osaka.
