The members of the 2009 Big League World Series Host team will be introduced during a press conference at the J.B. “Red” Owens Recreation Complex next Wednesday at 2 p.m.

The host team will consist of players from Little League District One, which consists of Pickens, Anderson and Oconee counties.

S.C. District Seven, which consists of Greenville and Spartanburg counties, won the Big League World Series last year. Distict Seven will have to win the South Carolina title again to earn a spot in the U.S. South regional, set for July 17- July 21 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. District Seven would then need to win the tournament to earn a spot in the Big League World Series and an opportunity to defend its title.

The Big League World Series will be held at the Owens Complex July 29-Aug. 5. This is the first year the tournament will have a Wednesday-through-Wednesday schedule, as in previous years the tournament started and ended on Saturdays. The move was made to allow ESPN to televise the championship game on one of its main networks.

ESPN technicians were in Easley Thursday night to check the lighting for Field One at the Owens Complex.

“We know there’s not enough lighting for and ESPN broadcast,” said Jon Humphrey, BLWS tournament director. “They are testing to see how powerful the lights they bring in with them need to be. They’ll also test for any dark corners on the field.

“The lights they bring in are massive, and they make a pretty impressive sight on their own.”

In addition to the U.S. South Regional, eight other regional tournaments have been set to determine who will play in the 2009 BLWS.

The Latin American tournament will be held June 19-28 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Latin America has two entries into the BLWS each year, with Mexico and Puerto Rico taking turns on receiving an automatic bid. This year Mexico will receive the bid, and Puerto Rico will paricipate in the tournament in Venezuela for the second Latin American spot.

The Dominican Republic won last year’s Latin American tournament.

The tournament for Europe-Mediterranean-Eastern Africa — called EMEA during the tounament — will be held July 6-June 11 in Utena, Lithuania. Last year Germany represented EMEA.

The U.S. West Regional will be held July 18-July 24 in Bremerton, Wash. California represented the U.S. West last year.

The U.S. Southwest tournament will be also be held July 17-July 26, in Rushton, La. The host team of that tournament from Rushton represented the Southwest in last year’s BLWS.

The U.S. Central regional will be held. July 19-25 in Wyoming Michigan. The host team of that tournament represented the U.S. Central in last year’s BLWS.

The U.S. East regional will be held in Dover, Del., July 19-25. New Jersey represented the U.S. East last year in the BLWS.

No dates have yet been confirmed for the Asia/Pacific regional, set for Jakarta, Indonesia. Last year Siapan represented Asia/Pacific.

For updated information on the Big League World Series, be sure to check www.theeasleyprogress.com.