Monday 11 July – The 2022 European Co-ed Slowpitch Championship starts tomorrow in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, and the GB Co-ed Slowpitch Team will have two goals: the gold medal, and qualification for the 2023 WBSC Co-ed Slowpitch World Cup.
Great Britain has won 11 of the 12 European Co-ed Slowpitch Championships played to date, but the chance for the top three teams at this tournament to qualify for the first-ever Slowpitch World Cup for national teams will give this competition a special edge.
The GB Team selected this year by Head Coach Stephen Patterson and his staff is talented and confident but will face some strong opposition.
Germany, the only country to win a European Co-ed Slowpitch Championship other than GB, will be gunning for a medal and a World Cup place, as will Ireland and the always-dangerous Czech Republic. The Netherlands, a relative newcomer to European slowpitch competition, has already proved their strength. Slovenia has had two second-place finishes and a third-place finish in the past.
And there is always the chance for the other teams in the competition – Belgium, Austria and Serbia – to cause an upset.
So GB will have to be at their best, especially on the opening day of the tournament on Tuesday when they face the Netherlands at 9.00 am Slovenian time (8.00 am in the UK) and then take on Germany at 1.00 pm local time (noon in the UK).
Reports on all GB games at the European Co-ed Slowpitch Championship will be published on the BSF website, and play-by-play, live streaming, stats and standings can be accessed on the WBSC Europe website here: https://www.europeansoftball.org/competitions/detail/319.
Players and staff
The players who will try to ensure that GB leads the European contingent at next year’s WBSC World Cup (venue and dates for the World Cup have yet to be determined) are:
Jenny Ball
Megan Beard
Kat Golik
Tash Humphris
Rebekah Kay
Chiya Louie
Ruth Macintosh
Amy Rice
Chelsie Robison
Joe Grantham
Steve Hazard
Mike MacDowell
Josh Smith
Dan Spinks
Robbie Studholme
Matt Tomlin
Duncan Waugh
Chris Yoxall
As always, this GB Team will feature home run power, excellent defense and top-notch pitching, especially from the veteran Dan Spinks, who was hugely instrumental in helping GB win its 11th European title when this tournament was last played before the pandemic, in Budapest in 2019.
Head Coach Stephen Patterson is unable to attend the tournament, so the staff has been bolstered by the addition of Luis Arrevillagas as an Assistant Coach, who will join Coach David Lee and Team Operations Manager Kellie Whitaker. Kila O’Boyle is travelling with the team to do First Aid..