By Damien Perez, Editor
WAILUKU – The euphoria cannot be overstated as the Maui Little League team copes with the tremendous emotional loss of 102 members of their close-knit community when the beloved town of Lahaina was devastated just over a year ago.
The Central East Maui Little League team, which has the chance to win the West Regional title, will face the New England Regional champions in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday at 9 a.m. HST. The game can be viewed on ESPN.
The team has arrived in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to represent the West Division in the Little League World Series tournament, which will determine a world champion over the course of 12 days of competition. They will play their first game in the United States Bracket this Wednesday against the champions of the New England Division.
The 2024 Little League World Series begins on Wednesday, August 14, at Lamade Stadium between two teams on the international side of the bracket. The Caribbean Region will face off against members of the Mexico Region. The United States bracket follows, with the New England Region facing the West Region team in the opening game.
Hawaii made its debut in the LLWS in 1958 and last competed in 2022 with a 13-3 championship win over Curacao.
In 2018, Honolulu won the championship again, beating South Korea 3-0. The previous champion was in 2008, when the team Waipi’o represented Hawaii in the championship, then in 2005 Ewa’ Beach won it all.
Ten regions represent the U.S. division of the Little League World Series (LLWS), which began in 1947. The 10 regions and teams that make up the U.S. division are:
Great Lakes: Hinsdale Little League (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Subway: South Shore Little League (Staten Island, NY)
Mid-Atlantic: Council Rock Newtown Little League (Newtown, Pennsylvania)
Midwest: Sioux Falls Little League (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Mountain: Paseo Verde Little League (Henderson, Nevada)
New England: Salem Little League (Salem, NH)
Northwest: South Hill Little League (Puyallup, Washington)
Southeast: Lake Mary Little League (Lake Mary, Florida)
Southwest: Boerne Little League (Boerne, Texas)
West: Central East Maui Little League (Wailuku, Hawaii)
The opposite group consists of teams representing the world. Canada has the most appearances in the LLWS with 66, followed by Mexico with 37, Japan with 33 and then Taiwan/Chinese Taipei with 32. Each of these teams will play in the 2024 LLWS. The last LLWS champion to come from the international group was Japan in 2017. The ten regions and teams representing the world are as follows:
Asia-Pacific: Kuei-Shan Little League (Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei)
Australia: Hills Little League (Sydney, Australia)
Canada: Whalley Little League (Surrey, British Columbia)
Caribbean: Aruba Center Little League (Santa Cruz, Aruba)
Cuba: Santa Clara Little League (Villa Clara, Cuba)
Europe-Africa: South Czech Republic Little League (Brno, Czech Republic)
Japan: Johoku Little League (Tokyo, Japan)
Latin America: Cardenales Little League (Barquisimeto, Venezuela)
Mexico: Matamoros Little League (Tamaulipas, Mexico)
Puerto Rico: Radames Lopez Little League (Guayama, Puerto Rico
