Baseball
The local baseball team of Ciego de Avila, the current leader of Cuba's National Series, will face the squad from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, at the Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana today.

The game between the Avilanians' Los Tigres and American university students is part of a program of academic and sports exchanges by American students visiting Cuba.

Leonardo Rodriguez, Provincial Director of Sports in Ciego de Avila, said that locals will depend on the fast Avilanian Vladimir Garcia as a starter and closer Yennier Cano.

On Monday at Havana's Latinoamericano Stadium, the U.S. team lost 2-1 to multi champion Industriales, and will confront Mayabeque on Friday, the 27th to close on Saturday against Matanzas.

Wrestling
Julio Mendieta, head coach of the Cuban wrestling, concerning the participation of the Cuban team in two international tournaments later this year, said Cuba will attend with their national teams, first to France and then to Iran, the latter brings together the best 12 countries worldwide.

Then, the Cuban coach stressed that these stops come at a good time because they serve as the needed training and competitive base that breaks the framework of local training we observe throughout the year while acting as a qualifier top for next February.

Finally, asked about the main characteristic of the Iranian classic, the Cuban coach said it is very important because it not only covers all Iranian teams, but also the best exponents of the world powers of Russia, Germany, Georgia, USA, etc., facing one another at least 6 times.

Chess
The Open Chess Tournaments of San Salvador and Bogotá will be part of the end of the year for Cuban chess players, whose leader Leinier Dominguez, considered a medal at the World Team Olympiad 2016 possible.

According to the www.torneosajedrez.com website the Fair in the Salvadoran capital will be from December 5th-11th while the one of Bogotá, --known as the Millionaire Christmas-- will take place from the 18th to 22nd of December, where the island will be represented by its national champion Isam Ortiz, 2nd seeded for his 2580 Elo points and only preceded by the Dutch Sergei Tiviakov (2608), as well as Camilo Gómez, Yaniet Marrero, Carlos Hevia, Omar Almeida and Aramis Álvarez, while Russian Evgeny Romanov, the Icelandic Hannes Stefansson, and other no less famous, have also confirmed their presence.

Leinier Dominguez, number one in Latin America, predicts that Cubans could get a medal in the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, in September next year.

Finally, Leinier said that chess is experiencing a good time in Cuba, given the pool of young promising figures. He said it was possible to overcome the 7th place world ranking obtained in the 2014 edition of Tromso, Norway, where the Island equaled its best historical performance dating back from Calvia 2004.

International Course

An international course that seeks to raise awareness among those who love sports, especially in the area, sponsored by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC for its acronym in English), took place on Tuesday and Wednesday here in Havana.

"This meeting is an incentive to improve the overall work done," said Heriberto Suárez, national director of baseball, during the welcome ceremony to delegates from the U.S., the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Curacao and Cuba.

Opened in the Adolfo Luque Hall of the Latinoamericano Stadium, the event runs parallel to the 2nd International Symposium on Applied Sciences in Baseball, which is inserted into the IV Convention AFIDE 2015. The gathering includes lectures such as managing conflict solutions in baseball, by Dr. Francisco Ucha, and the preparation of the pitcher.

Sports Journalism Students at Work in Cuba

After eating their holiday meal nearly a week early, eight Penn State students are spending what should be their Thanksgiving break working in Cuba.

The students, members of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, are following the Penn State baseball team during its historic trip to Cuba to play four games against Cuban National Series teams.

Along with the baseball games, the Penn State student-athletes are attending cultural events and lectures by leading Cuban scholars and visiting important historical sites. On Thanksgiving Day, the team will learn about the history of sports in Cuba with special guest Yosvany Aragón, a former star on the Cuban national baseball team.

Penn State baseball is the fourth U.S. collegiate contingent to visit Cuba this year. The Princeton track and field team traveled to Cuba in June, and the Coastal Carolina men's basketball squad visited in August. A group of Vanderbilt student-athletes and staff visited in July.

Throughout the week, the College of Communications group —a mix of broadcast, multimedia and photojournalism students accompanied by three faculty members— are chronicling the trip and sharing their content with media outlets in Pennsylvania and beyond through a partnership with the Pennsylvania News Media Association.

Andy Madore, a senior journalism major at Penn State said: “It’s just an amazing opportunity. From a sports standpoint it’s great experience, but more importantly it’s a chance to learn more about Cuba, about its culture, and to share those stories. Not many people have been able to do something like this.”