Adamstown, County Wexford, Ireland (May 23, 2022) – The Adamstown Rounders club has announced a new partnership with the Baseball United Foundation.
According to the agreement, Baseball United will provide financial and coaching support for a newly created youth rounders program in Adamstown, County Wexford, Ireland. The initiative will use baseball training methods to help volunteer coaches teach the skills of hitting, throwing, and catching.
“We want to give the children and coaches the tools to succeed on the pitch because it makes the game more fun for everyone,” explained Lisa O’Sullivan from Adamstown Rounders. “This partnership will bolster our efforts to get more children playing rounders in Adamstown.”
Many historians believe that baseball — often referred to as America’s “national pastime” — is derived from rounders. Historically, rounders enjoyed its greatest popularity in Ireland and England, where it was sometimes referred to as “base-ball” in the 18th and 19th centuries. Modern-day baseball began to take shape around the time that rounders was included as one of the four Gaelic games — along with Gaelic Football, Hurling and Handball — in the GAA charter of 1884.
“Baseball and rounders still share many similarities, especially when it comes to skills of hitting, throwing, and catching,” said Baseball United Founder Executive Director John Fitzgerald. “By teaching these skills, we hope to encourage more children to play rounders.”
Beginning this summer, Adamstown Rounders will establish clubs for boys and girls in the Under-14 and Under-15 age divisions with additional age groups to follow. Parents of children wishing to play rounders in Adamstown can visit Facebook.com/adamstownrounders.
About Adamstown Rounders: Adamstown Rounders was founded in 2018 and is part of the Adamstown GAA club in County Wexford, Ireland. There are approximately 35 adult members playing rounders in Adamstown.
About Emerald Diamond International: This partnership is the latest in a series of initiatives in Ireland for Emerald Diamond International (EDI). EDI has started or supported youth baseball programs throughout Ireland since its founding in 2006. In 2017-2018, EDI started and managed operations for the Irish Junior National Baseball Team program. During that time, the Irish Under-18 National Baseball Team won the first gold medal in the history of Ireland’s National Baseball program.
EDI supports ten youth baseball and rounders clubs in Ireland and Northern Ireland including a school-based baseball program in County Armagh that introduces the game to over 2,000 primary school students each year.