65th Hemingway International Bill Fish Tournament
In September 2014, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund coordinated a trip to Cuba with Ernest Hemingway's grandsons John and Patrick to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Hemingway's Nobel Prize in Literature, which he donated to the people of Cuba, with celebrations in the fishing town of Cojimar and Hemingway's estate, Finca Vigia.
Next week, John and Patrick Hemingway will be among a group of 50-60 American sports fishermen traveling on 8 U.S.-flagged sport fishing boats from Key West to Havana to participate in the 65th Hemingway International Billfish Tournament from May 25th-30th.
This U.S.-Cuba Hemingway Commemorative Project is under the auspices of the Latin America Working Group Education Fund (Washington, DC) and the Florida-Cuba Environmental Coalition (Miami), whose boats have secured the necessary licenses and permits from the U.S. Commerce and Treasury Departments, and the U.S. Coast Guard, will be the first U.S. boats in decades to travel legally to Cuba to participate in the Hemingway Tournament.
The boats carrying John and Patrick will leave Key West on Friday, May 22nd and will arrive at the Hemingway Marina in Havana early to mid-afternoon, to be welcomed by Commodore Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich of the Hemingway International Yacht Club. The trip across the Florida Straits will replicate Ernest Hemingway's first voyage to Cuba in his beloved fishing boat Pilar, on July 19th, 1934, prior to his taking up residence in Cuba full time in the late 1930s, said Hemingway's grandsons.
Some of the notable aspects of this historic trip include: the shared US-Cuba Hemingway legacy; a new era in US-Cuba relations; the little known story of Hemingway as a naturalist, hosting two scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia for marlin research in Cuba in the summer of 1934, a legacy passionately promoted by John and Patrick: US sport fishermen promoting the use of circle hooks in this 'catch and release' tournament to help preserve existing marlin and bill fish populations; as well as discussions on US-Cuba cooperation on satellite tagging efforts of marlin and other fish games, and ocean resource conservation measures in general.
Judo
The Cuban judoka Asley Gonzalez expressed optimism about his participation in the Master of Morocco, called for 23rd and 24th of May, with the presence of the top 15 in the world ranking judokas in each division.
Gonzalez, London 2012 Olympic silver medalist and world champion in Rio de Janeiro 2013 at 90 kilograms, will compete with Jose Armenteros (100 kilos), Chelyabinsk World runner-up 2014, all led by Prof. Justo Noda, head coach of the national male staff, who added that Asley has two large undertakings: the appointment of Toronto 2015 and the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Baseball
The National Baseball Pre-selection of Cuba will concentrate on trainings beginning on May 25th ahead of major international commitments of the season, including the Pan-American Games in July in the Canadian city of Toronto.
Heriberto Suarez, national director of discipline, said the selection of the island departs on June 29th to the United States to carry out the traditional bilateral caps against college teams and other preparatory meetings towards the continental competition.
The Cuban manager said his team will face the American college team from July 1st-5th to then rival the US and Canadian national staffs, in that order, to represent them in Toronto 2015, said CubaDebate digital publication.
Suarez said that from that pre-selection will come the two teams to represent Cuba against the United States and the Pan-American Games, while the second squad will attend the traditional Rotterdam Baseball Tournament in the Netherlands.
Baseball international calendar in 2015 includes the World Youth Tournament next August in the Japanese city of Osaka, in addition to the inaugural Premier 12, from November 8th-21st in Chinese Taipei and Japan, events in which Cuba aspires to win the title.
The Cuban executive Heriberto Suarez pointed out that the 55th National Baseball Series will start between late August and early September with a competition system similar to the previous one, while affirming irreversibly the structure of the 16 teams.
On the inclusion of athletes in foreign leagues, the manager reported that as of November, new hires could occur in Japan and expressed the interest of teams from Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia and the Dominican Republic to hire the services of Cuban players.