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Thursday 11 April -- GB Under-18 Women’s Fastpitch Team Head Coach Robbie Robison has announced a ‘long list’ selection for the squad that will compete this summer in the Futures Gold Division at one of the world’s top invitational tournaments, the Canada Cup.

Twenty-two players were chosen from among athletes who put themselves forward for selection by attending the GB Selection Camp in Florida in January or a recent UK trial, or by submitting video evidence.

Selections were made by a Panel that included team staff plus an External Selector and an External Observer nominated by the GB Management Committee, and 21 of the 22 players have now confirmed their selection.

Final selections for the team that will go to Canada will be made around the Easter weekend, but will depend to some extent on whether any players on the Under-18 ‘long list’ are also selected for other GB teams, especially the GB Women.  Because the Women’s Team will be playing this summer in the European Women’s Championship and hopefully the Euro/Africa Olympic Qualifier, they will have priority in selecting players.

Transition

The GB Under-18 Team is in the midst of a transition, mandated by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), from an Under-19 to an Under-18 programme.  Further complicating this is the fact that a planned European Under-18 Qualifying Tournament for next year’s WBSC Under-18 Women’s World Cup was cancelled for lack of a host, so there will be no “official” tournament for the GB Under-18 Women’s Team until the next European Championship in 2021.

Because of this, the programme needs to look towards developing younger players and finding meaningful competition – like the Canada Cup – over the next two years.

Robbie Robison said, "There are a lot of new faces in the team, and reports on those who attended the camp in Florida in January were very positive.  I'll be looking for us to compete in Canada, but it's about developing all the new players and getting this Under-18 programme up and running towards the next Europeans in two years' time."

The players

The players listed below were selected to the GB Under-18 Women’s ‘long list’ and have confirmed their selection.  Players who were not selected have been advised that they can seek feedback from coaches.

Rose Bhanji
Katie Burge
Elise Coulthard
Hannah Edwards
Caitlyn Frank
Imogen Gie
Alexandra Grein
Lana Holden
Kira Kenny
Megan Kyte
Alexis Larrow
Jasmine Lee-Tin
Carys Lynch
Ivy Merriweather Clark
Diana Nisbett
Esme Potter
Sidney Rose
Emily Rosindell
Morgan Salmon
Michelle Shaw
Claire Xavier

The staff

The staff for this year’s GB Under-18 Women’s Team will be:

Head Coach:  Robbie Robison
Assistant Coach:  Tara Henry
Pitching Coach:  Greg Seeley
Team Manager:  David Morris
Physiotherapist:  Sarah Cormack