Over his years accompanying youth baseball teams to regionals on the mainland, a recurring question popped into Glenn Ah Sam’s conversations.

"We’d meet up with the coaches and they always ask me, ‘When are you guys going to do a tournament in Hawaii?’ " said Ah Sam, commissioner of Hawaii’s Cal Ripken Division.

Well, that time has finally come.

The Cal Ripken Division’s Pacific Southwest Regional was awarded to Hawaii for the first time this year, offering two local teams a rare opportunity to compete for a World Series berth without crossing the Pacific.

The 10 teams entered in the 12-and-under tournament will be welcomed with an opening ceremony and skills competition today at Les Murakami Stadium. Games start Tuesday at Central Oahu Regional Park and run through the championship on Saturday.

The winner earns a cross-country trip to Aberdeen, Md., for the Cal Ripken World Series, set for Aug. 13-21.

As the host state, Hawaii was given two spots in the regional. Eastside, which practices in Kaneohe, secured a berth as the state champion and will be joined by tournament host Manoa.

The regional will also feature league champions from Guam, Arizona (Surprise), Utah (Taylorsville), Nevada (Spanish Springs), Northern California (Elk Grove) and Southern California (Naval Base Ventura County) and two teams from Central California (Northwest Bakersfield and Central Coast).

"We’re just taking it day by day," Eastside coach Charles McNicoll said. "We’re hoping we make it, but you can’t look past the next day. If you look past the next day you’re going to get beat."

Manoa coach Ed Yamane has experienced regional pressure from a parent’s perspective. His son, Ryan, played for the Oahu Stars in 2005, and he followed the team to a regional in Scottsdale, Ariz., then on to Aberdeen, where the Stars won the state’s first Cal Ripken World Series title.

"You get to Aberdeen, it’s the ultimate," said Gerald Oda, who coached the Stars in 2005. "Little League has all the exposure and it’s a great tournament, but Aberdeen is unreal. It’s a great facility in itself."

The regional is usually a double-elimination format. But because of the travel involved, this week’s schedule will feature three days of pool play, assuring each team at least four games. The top three teams from each pool advance to a single-elimination bracket starting Friday.

Ah Sam, the tournament chairman, and Hawaii Babe Ruth commissioner Carl Watanabe have headed preparations since last October, working to provide a positive payoff for the teams making the trip.

"A lot of (the mainland teams) are used to just jumping in the car and driving to the tournament," Ah Sam said.

Hawaii teams generally don’t have that option, making postseason play a pricey endeavor for local families. Oda said expenses ran well into the thousands for each family during his team’s title run.

"It’s a great opportunity to participate in a regional and not have that financial portion," said Oda, one of the volunteers helping run this week’s tournament.

Hawaii PONY baseball hosted such a regional once, a Bronco division zone tournament on Maui in 2004.

For many youth baseball players, the chance to play on the mainland might be part of the allure of a state title. Even so, "this is better," McNicoll said. "You’re sleeping in your own beds."

Hawaii teams that advanced out of the region have enjoyed considerable success in the Cal Ripken World Series. In 2005, the Oahu Stars defeated Mexico for the world championship. Teams from Hilo won the U.S. championship in 2003 and captured the world title in 2006.