A new East Midlands Women's Fastpitch League is looking for players to come out and try an exciting and challenging softball format.
The new league will consist of three teams, two based in Nottingham and one in Leicester. The teams will be part of the Nottingham Rebels Baseball Club, the Leicester Blue Sox Baseball Club and the Nottingham Fastpitch Club.
The Nottingham teams will begin training for the season with a session on Saturday morning, March 16 from 10.00 am to noon at The Playing Field, Fire Service Headquarters, Bestwood Lodge, Arnold, Nottingham NG5 8PD.
The first league games will be on Saturday, April 27, and all league games and practices will be at the Fire Service Headquarters.
Players from the new East Midlands Fastpitch League will also have the opportunity to compete for an East Midlands team in the Great Britain Fastpitch League, with games to be played on six weekend days over the summer at Richings Park, west of London.
Everyone invited
Players of all abilities from the age of 14 upwards are invited to come to the training sessions for the new league, regardless of previous fastpitch experience.
Slowpitch players are particularly welcome, and the Fastpitch League has been set up to avoid date clashes with any slowpitch events in the region during the season.
Fastpitch is an exciting and challenging form of softball, with the ball pitched underhand with pace to the batter. The diamond is smaller than in baseball or slowpitch softball, which makes fielding quicker and action-packed. Bunting and base-stealing are part of fastpitch rules, adding a variety of options for batter and baserunners – and challenges for fielders.
Fastpitch is also a very good team-building sport, where teamwork is vital for success.
Contact details
Anyone interested in playing in the new East Midlands Fastpitch League, or finding out more about it, should contact Paul Cooper (paul.cooper@bsuk.com) if from the Nottingham area, or Giovanni Ciotti (japecoyote@gmail.com) if from the Leicester Area.
Costs have still be worked out but the aim is to keep the charges reasonable given the total number of games to be played.
The league is also looking for volunteer umpires to help make the League a success. Anyone interested in helping out in this way should contact Paul Cooper.