The 2015 Softball World Series Tournament, to be played at the former British Airways Concorde Club on 12-13 September, will gain added excitement this year from the presence of a Dutch National Slowpitch Team and the German team UCE Travellers, who won the 2014 European Slowpitch Cup.
A total of four new teams will be taking part in this year’s World Series, the 17th since the tournament began in 1999. In addition, a more familiar World Series team will have a different look.
Excitement
The four new teams are the Dutch National Team and UCE Travellers, plus Team Murica, made up of American players from RAF Lakenheath, and Orange Crush, another team from Germany. The familiar team with a different look is Latin America, now called Latinoamerica, which this year will be composed almost entirely of people from Latin America who are currently living in the UK, including players from Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
Latinoamerica have also been able to achieve sponsorship for their team, from a Venezuelan artisan and cheese products shop based in London, founded by Erika Urvina and called Liqui Liqui.
The presence of a Dutch National Slowpitch Team at the World Series is particularly exciting. The BSF and the GB Slowpitch Team have been working with the Dutch for several years to promote and grow slowpitch in the Netherlands, and these efforts are beginning to bear fruit. Following the first appearance of a Dutch team in the Softball World Series, the hope is that the Dutch will begin to enter teams in the European Slowpitch Championships and European Slowpitch Cup in the near future.
All of these additions and changes should make the 2015 Softball World Series one of the most exciting and competitive in years, while bringing it ever closer to the BSF’s aim of having most of the competing teams represent specific countries or areas of the world.
One notable absentee this year will be Scotland, who had to withdraw from the tournament due to other commitments on the part of many of their normal players.
International umpires
The international theme will be continued this year in the umpiring crew for the World Series, headed by BASU’s Chris Moon.
Three umpires will be coming from overseas -- James O’Farrell from Ireland, Francois Mays from France and Ralf Jergen Rex from Germany -- and the nine-person crew will include no less than five ISF-qualified slowpitch umpires.
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Groups
As usual, the Softball World Series will be contested by 18 teams, who will play initial round-robins on Saturday in three groups of six teams each.
Following the conclusion of these round-robins, the tournament will split into three separate competitions on Sunday based on the round-robin results – Trophy, Plate and Cup – with awards to be won in each competition.
The top two teams from each round-robin group on Saturday will go into the Trophy competition, the third and fourth-placed round-robin teams will go into the Plate competition and the bottom two teams from each round-robin group will go into the Cup competition.
The initial round-robin groups on Saturday will be:
GROUP A
England
Anzacs
Team Murica
Craicers (Ireland)
Wales
Latinoamerica
GROUP B
USA
GB Development Team
Africa
UCE Travellers (Germany)
Orcas (Switzerland)
Japan
GROUP C
GB Masters
Ireland
Netherlands
Canada
Orange Crush (Germany)
The Cage (Belgium)
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History
The 2014 Softball World Series was won by England, their first victory since 2009 and their third overall, and it came in a thrilling final against the USA that England won by a score of 9-8.
Africa and the Anzacs share the record for most wins, with four apiece, though Africa's four titles all came between 2000 and 2004, whereas the Anzacs have won four of the eight tournaments played since 2007.
Two other teams have two wins -- USA, which last won in 2005, and the Lakenheath Eagles, a team that entered the World Series twice, in 2010 and 2011, and won it both times.
Come and watch
The 2015 Softball World Series is definitely a tournament worth watching for anyone interested in high-level slowpitch softball.
Admission for spectators is free, and the tournament is being held at the Imperial College Heston Venue (formerly the British Airways Concorde Club), Crane Lodge Road, Cranford, Middx TW5 9PQ. There is free parking at the ground, and the bar will be open from 10.00 am on both Saturday and Sunday.
Play will begin at 9.00 on both days, and the main Trophy Final is scheduled to start at 4.15 pm on Sunday afternoon.