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WSU postpones trip to Cuba
Scheduling conflicts
delay exhibition baseball visit until next
year.
By Paul Suellentrop, The
Wichita Eagle. Posted on Fri, Sep. 23, 2005.
Travel to Cuba is complicated, especially
when trying to work around college class
schedules and flights out of Wichita to
get a baseball team to Havana.
Wichita State's trip to Cuba to play three
exhibition games, scheduled for Oct. 14-18,
has been postponed due to those problems,
coach Gene Stephenson said in a news release
Thursday. Stephenson said the team plans
to make the trip in October 2006.
Bill Pintard, director of Global Partners
Group, helped organize the trip. He took
his summer team, the Santa Barbara (Calif.)
Foresters to Cuba this summer and helped
Southern Cal's team play games there in
2003. He said it was evident it was going
to be hard to get the Shockers to Cuba and
back without missing class over the university's
fall break.
"There are a lot of factors that go
into play," he said. "It just
became very, very difficult to get the flights."
With the trip less than a month away, Pintard
said they decided it was time to call it
off.
"Everything's got to work and it's
got to work well in advance," he said.
"Instead of not doing it right and
having unknowns, it's better to do it right.
We'll regroup and try it again next year."
WSU freshman pitcher Aaron Shafer said
he was most disappointed for the seniors
who won't have a chance to go next year.
"They've done a lot and that would
have really topped them off," he said.
"I was disappointed -- a trip to Cuba
is something that's unbelievable to me."
WSU received approval from the U.S. Treasury
Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control
for licenses to travel to Cuba in late August.
A travel party of 35, including coaches,
trainers and players had planned to make
the trip.
Travel restrictions to Cuba were tightened
in July 2004 and American citizens must
obtain a license to travel to Cuba. Licenses
are granted for a variety of reasons, including
research, business, journalism, sports,
religious and educational activities.
WSU also attempted to go to Cuba in 2004,
but NCAA rules didn't allow the Shockers
to make the trip and play in an exempt tournament
off the mainland in the same school year.
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