LIVERMORE — Preparation for the Little League Intermediate 50/70 World Series, which has occurred in Livermore since its inception in 2013, is practically a year-round job.

“It’s a lot of work,” said Bill Aboumrad, the tournament director and site director. “After the event is over, we take about a month off and start planning for the next year.”

Fruit of the local organizing committee’s labor will be evident on Saturday, July 26, when opening ceremonies will be held at 4 p.m. at Max Baer Park, the host site. The tournament will start on Sunday, July 27 and proceed to the Aug. 3 championship game.

The Intermediate Division is for 11 to 13-year-old players. The numbers 50/70 designate that there is a 50-foot pitching distance and 70 feet between bases. These dimensions are a transition between the standard Little League field size (46-foot pitching distance and 60-foot basepaths) and the Junior/Senior field size (60 feet, 6 inches and 90 feet).

California District 57, the host of the tournament, automatically advances its champion to the World Series. This year, it’s Danville, which won the district tournament held from June 14-20.

Other United States teams include regional champions from the East, Southeast, Southwest, West (not including District 57) and Central regions. The International teams are regional championship squads from Asia-Pacific, Australia, Canada, Europe-Africa, Latin America and Mexico.

Teams that had qualified as of July 19 were Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin and Irmo, South Carolina in the United States bracket, as well as Sydney, Australia; Brno, Czechia; Valencia, Venezuela; Tamaulipas, Mexico and Seoul, South Korea. The South Korean team, West Seoul, is from the same league that produced last year’s International champion, which dropped an 8-7 decision to Kenner, Louisiana in the title game.

This year’s tournament opener will match the Latin America and Mexico champions at 9 a.m. on Sunday July 27. Danville will play Irmo, the Southeast champion, at 7 p.m. that evening in another first-round game.

The International bracket championship will be held at 1 p.m. Aug. 2, and the United States championship will be at 5 p.m. that same day. The tournament championship game between the International and United States champions will be at 6 p.m. Aug. 3.

The small (six- to eight-person) local organizing committee has an assessment meeting after each year’s World Series to evaluate what went well or didn’t, and what can be improved. This year, Cobalt Equipment, a local company in Livermore, will be handling an improved sound system.

There have been consistent improvements since District 57 hosted the first tournament at Max Baer Park in 2013. Before the first tournament, grass was added to an all-dirt softball field at Max Baer, and a permanent pitching mound was made. A few years later, grass was added to foul territory.

Also, new bleachers were installed and a two-story press box was built, with the second story for ESPN and the local game announcer.

Initially, only the championship game between the U.S. and International bracket winners was televised, Aboumrad said. It was well-viewed, and a few years later, ESPN started televising the final weekend, including the U.S. championship and the International championship. Now all games are streamed on ESPN+.

Last year was the first year that a large video screen was put in center field. Photos of players with statistics are shown on the screen, and in addition, there is video footage of some players provided by ESPN.

Little League International pays for the lodging of all teams and umpires, as well as air transportation to and from San Francisco International, Aboumrad said. In addition, Little League International handles the transportation to and from SFO and the hotel, he added.

But the local organizing committee makes reservations at the hotel for all teams and also oversees team transportation to and from Max Baer Park each day. The committee also allocates money for the teams’ meals and laundry needs throughout the tournament.

“The hardest thing for us, truly, is raising money,” said Aboumrad, who estimates the local organizing committee must raise between $160,000 and $180,000 per tournament. “It is critical to have that jumbotron to promote those businesses, and scoreboard and in-game announcements.”

In addition, the tournament has a local volunteer field crew that resets the field after every game -- including chalking batter’s boxes and foul lines, raking the mound, watering and dragging the infield. They also empty trash bins around the complex during games. A local Scout troop also raises funds by power-washing the stands after the last game each evening.

The District 57 team pays for lunch and dinner for the teams on the first day they arrive (this year’s it’s July 25), and a family member from the District 57 team is on each bus to greet teams as they arrive at San Francisco International, Aboumrad said.

Livermore will host the tournament at least through 2026, and it might be even longer.

“We would like to continue hosting it,” Aboumrad said.

To find tournament information, visit littleleague.org. Under 2025 LLWS Baseball Teenage Tournaments (found halfway down the home page) and click Intermediate 50/70 Baseball World Series for the website.