選抜大会、開催なら無観客で　可否は１１日に判断―日本高野連

　日本高校野球連盟は４日、新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大を受けて大阪市内で臨時理事会を開き、１９日開幕予定の第９２回選抜大会（甲子園球場）を無観客で開催する準備を進めることを決めた。ただ、事態が流動的なことから、中止も含めた開催の可否については、１１日に臨時運営委員会を開いて最終的に判断する。
　記者会見した高野連の八田英二会長は「１１日に決断しても、そのまま突き進むことはない。状況によっては新たな決定が必要になるかもしれない」と話した。
　無観客での開催は、甲子園大会では春夏通じて史上初めて。開催された場合でも、感染予防対策として１９日の開会式は取りやめる。開幕前に予定されていた各校の甲子園練習は行わない。１３日の組み合わせ抽選会は実施するが、全出場校が集まる例年のような方法は取らず、主催者による代理抽選とする。
　選抜大会には３２校が出場。会期は２日間の休養日を含み１３日間。（2020/03/04-20:14）

The Japan High School Baseball Federation decided Wednesday to move forward with preparations for holding the 92nd national spring invitational tournament behind closed doors amid the spread of the new coronavirus.
   The decision was made at its extraordinary board meeting, held in the western Japan city of Osaka.
   But as circumstances surrounding the viral outbreak could change quickly, the federation will make a final decision, including whether to hold the event as scheduled or call it off, at its extraordinary steering committee meeting March 11.
   This year's spring high school baseball tournament at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in the city of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, is slated to start on March 19. "The decision we'll make on March 11 may not be the absolute final one," Eiji Hatta, head of the federation, told a press conference, adding, "We may need to make a new decision depending on the situation."
   It would be the first time for the spring competition or the national high school baseball championship in summer, also held at Koshien, to take place with no spectators in the stadium. The high school baseball tournaments at Koshien are among the most popular sporting events in Japan, with all games broadcast by public broadcaster NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corp.