(Story & Photos by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Umpire Mariana Atanasova appointed for World Championship Juniors
Nederlands
...Mariana Atanasova...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
 PLANT CITY, Florida (USA) -
Dutch/Bulgarian umpire Mariana Prins-Atanasova is one of 24 international umpires from 15 different countries who have been appointed to officiate in the 11th edition of WBSC World Junior Softball Championship.
The 24 umpires, who were appointed by WBSC Softball Director of Umpires Bob Stanton, were officially announced today (Thursday, March 12).
The Junior World Championship will be held August 9-15 in Oklahoma City (USA).
The 24 umpires assigned to the event are coming from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and host USA.
Mariana Atanasova will represent Bulgaria during the Championship, but she is umpiring for over ten years now in the Dutch softball-leagues, including the highest division.
She is one of five European umpires assigned to the global event.
Mariana Atanasova will be joined by Bridget Cameron (Great Britain), Sabrina Fabrizi (Italy), Beate Utzig (Austria) and Zdeněk Židek (Czech Republic).
Last year, Mariana Atanasova and Sabrina Fabrizi both officiated at the European Super Cup Men Softball in Amstelveen (Netherlands).
Beate Utzig and Zdeněk Židek both were assigned to the European Junior Championship in Rosmalen (Netherlands).
Utzig also was an umpire during the European Cup Winners Cup Women and Židek participated in the European Premiere Cup, both in Italy.
In 2013, Sabrina Fabrizi and Zdeněk Židek both were part of the umpiring crew during the European Championship in Prague (Czech Republic), where the Netherlands Softball Team captured its third consecutive unbeaten European title.
In that year, Beate Utzig was an umpire at the European Cadets Championship in Ostrava (Czech Republic).
...Zdeněk Židek & Sabrina Fabrizi...
...during the 2013 European Softball...
...Championship in Prague (Czech Republic)...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In the years before that, all have had several assignments to international events, including European Championships of European Cup-tournaments.
...Beate Utzig...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
The five European umpires assigned to the tournament in Oklahoma City is the biggest group representing Europe since six were appointed for the Championship in 2007, which then was held in the Dutch city of Enschede.
It will mark the first time in the event's history that umpires from Austria, Bulgaria and Great Britain will participate.
In 1981, the World Junior Championship was organized for the first time with Edmonton (Canada) being the host city.
Back then, there was only one umpire from Europe who was assigned to the event.
That umpire was André Prins from the Netherlands.
Prins, who nowadays is wellknown as an international softball-coach, is married to Mariana Atanasova, who now in her turn also will represent Europe in the event.
Including the five umpires who are assigned to this years Championship, Europe has now been represented by 28 different umpires from eleven different countries during the World Junior Championships since 1981.
Eight of them came from the Netherlands, Sabrina Fabrizi becomes the fifth Italian umpire.
Three of these umpires participated in two Junior Championships, being Giuseppe Laudani (Italy)(1995, 1999), Peter Vonk (Netherlands)(2003, 2007) and Michal Židek (Czech Republic)(2011, 2013).
Amongst the umpires who are assigned to the tournament in Oklahoma City is Munsook Jeon from Korea, who will be an umpire in her third consecutive Junior World Championship.
She will become only the third umpire in history to participate in at least three Junior World Championships.
The others are Ken Culpitt (Australia) and Jun-Kee Min (Korea).
The latter is the record-holder with four tournaments.
Canadian Bob Stanton will be the Umpire-in-Chief for the third consecutive time at a Junior World Championship.
In 2007, he was the Assistant Umpire-of-Chief during the Championship in Enschede.
Back then, the Umpire-in-Chief was American Merle Butler, who served in that position in six of the seven tournaments between 1985 and 2007.
Merle Butler, who was the ISF Director of Umpires, passed away on January 6, 2008.
Stanton was appointed ISF Deputy Director of Umpires in December 2006, then succeeded Butler in 2008.
Two years ago, in Brampton (Canada), Japan won the world title, beating the USA in the final.
In that game, which was halted due to rain after six innings, Japan won 4-0.
With that, Japan recaptured the title, which was won by the USA in 2007 and 2011.
Japan and USA are dominating the World Junior Championship through the years.
Both countries finished in the top-3 of each of the previous ten tournaments.
Japan won the title five times, the USA four times.
The remaining title was won by China in 1985.
| European Umpires on World Junior Championships Softball |
| 1981 - Edmonton (Canada) | . | 1999 - Taipei (Chinese Taipei) | . | 2011 - Cape Town (South Africa) |
| André Prins | Netherlands | . | Giuseppe Laudani | Italy | . | Rita Ceuppens | Belgium |
| 1985 - Fargo (USA) | . | Pavel Prachar | Czech Republic | . | Alexander Kaverin | Russia |
| Co van de Wateringen | Netherlands | . | Carolien Stadhouders | Netherlands | . | Raoul Machalet | Germany |
| 1987 - Oklahoma City (USA) | . | 2003 - Nanjing (China) | . | Michal Židek | Czech Republic |
| Bert Brebde | Netherlands | . | Miroslav Dolejs | Czech Republic | . | 2013 - Brampton (Canada) |
| Michele Dodde | Italy | . | Peter Vonk | Netherlands | . | Bob Milosavljevic | Croatia |
| 1991 - Adelaide (Australia) | . | 2007 - Enschede (Netherlands) | . | Galip Sonmez | Germany |
| Alfonso Olivieri | Italy | . | Bo-Frederick Haga | Switzerland | . | Michal Židek | Czech Republic |
| Pieter van der Ploeg | Netherlands | . | Andrea Marcon | Italy | . | 2015 - Oklahoma City (USA) |
| 1995 - Normal (USA) | . | Niema Mobascheri | Germany | . | Mariana Atanasova | Bulgaria |
| Giuseppe Laudani | Italy | . | Oleg Shelpov | Russia | . | Bridget Cameron | Great Britain |
| Marlies Struyvé | Netherlands | . | Rob Veldkamp | Netherlands | . | Sabrina Fabrizi | Italy |
| . | Peter Vonk | Netherlands | . | Beate Utzig | Austria |
| . | | . | Zdeněk Židek | Czech Republic |
(March 12)
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