Following another European Championship this past summer, the Great Britain Coed Slowpitch Programme is looking for new talent to bolster its squad, and will be holding Open Trials on Sunday 29 September at Finsbury Park in North London.
The GB Team successfully won its ninth straight European Championship Gold Medal this summer in the Czech Republic, and this was followed by a strong second place finish by the GB Development Team at the recent Softball World Series.
But the GB Slowpitch programme is always looking for new players to join the pool, and GB Head Coach Stephen Patterson and his staff will be holding Open Trials on Sunday 29 September at Finsbury Park.
To register your attendance, please contact GB Team Manager Sara Vertigan on: dizzy_16@hotmail.com.
New players
The success of GB Slowpitch teams is reliant on new players entering the programme. Players coming new to the programme may be at different levels of ability, but GB coaching sessions will look to tap into these abilities and maximise players' potential. The opportunity to develop was certainly evident this summer, as five GB Development Team players made the travelling squad that competed in the European Championships.
The next competition for the GB Slowpitch Team, at least provisionally, could be the ISF Slowpitch World Cup in Florida in January 2014.
Other activities
The GB Slowpitch Team carries out a range of activities apart from official competitions, in which all squad players take part.
This year, the team re-launched the GB Challenge Tournament and its recreational fundraising tournament, The GB Open, with plans for a larger event next year.
GB Slowpitch Team coaches and players also carried out numerous coaching sessions last spring for B-grade and C-grade teams, sponsored by the British Softball Federation.
In preparation for all its events and competitions, the GB programme holds regular winter training sessions, both indoor and outdoor. Over the past 18 months, sessions have been conducted in various venues across the country.
A strong contingent also travelled to Holland in May 2012 for a series of exhibition matches to showcase slowpitch in the Netherlands, and one result was the creation of the first Slowpitch League in Holland.