GB Fastpitch Softball now has more female players under 13 than in any other age group.
With this in mind, the GB programme has committed to developing 
Massimo Romeo Youth Trophythis talent by planning to take two teams to this year’s in Parma, Italy in August. This competition has replaced the European Minime (Under-13) Championships, where GB came third in 2010.
The two teams to go to Parma will be the GB Under-13 Team and the London Cubs, with both teams consisting of players chosen from the GB development pool. This will allow twice as many players to develop at international level.
The London Cubs will enter as a club team but will have just as much chance of taking the title as the GB Team.
To ensure that there are enough quality players for both teams, the programme is looking to select a squad of 40 young players between nine and 13 years of age from schools participating in the Fastpitch Development Programme that BSUK is currently running on behalf of the BSF. All players – from experienced to beginners – will be welcome to attend trials.
To help players to prepare for trials, three Introductory Sessions will be run (one each in Oxford, Billingshurst and Twickenham), where players (and parents) can meet the coaches and get a feel for the game if they are trying it for the first time.
The 40-player squad will then be split into four teams that will play in a new Under-14 Fastpitch League that will start this year and play on six Saturdays during the summer at Richings Park Sports Club, Wellesley Avenue, Richings Park, Iver, Bucks, SL0 9BN as part of the Great Britain Fastpitch League structure.
Open Taster Sessions
Before all this, two Open Taster Sessions will be held in March for girls aged 9-13 who would like to play but have not yet had the opportunity. The sessions will be on Saturday, March 10 at St Mary's University College in Twickenham, London and on Saturday, March 17 in Oxford at a venue to be confirmed.
In addition, there will be an open National Academy Softball session for all girls who want to attend on Saturday, March 3 in Milton Keynes and a Regional Academy Softball session on Saturday, March 24 in Billingshurst, Sussex.For more information, including timings and directions for all these sessions, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Trials
Trials for the 40-player squad will be held at the National Academy Softball session from 1.00-4.00 pm on Saturday, April 21 at the MK Dons Academy Dome in Milton Keynes and at the same facility on Saturday, May 5.
All players who were part of the Under-13 team that travelled to 
Alkmaar in Holland last summer will be required to re-trial. Players that just missed out last year and who have worked hard to improve have every chance of earning a spot this year.
After the trials, the initial group of around 40 players selected will be split into the teams that will play in the Under-14 Fastpitch League. Players will be assessed during the initial league games and training sessions to select the two squads that will travel to Italy in August.
For more information on the trials, including timings and directions, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
League play and training
The Great Britain Fastpitch League, including the new Under-14 League, will begin play on Saturday, May 19 at Richings Park Sports Club, and training sessions for the players selected to go to the Massimo Romeo Cup will precede and follow the league games.
The four teams in the Under-14 League will be coached by the staff that will travel to Italy with the GB Under-13 and London Cubs teams in August.
Other Under-14 League and training dates, all at Richings Park and all on Saturdays, are May 26, June 16, June 23, July 7 and August 4.
Additional training sessions for GB Squad players will be held at the Diamond Softball Series slowpitch tournaments at Farnham Park near Slough on Saturday, June 9 and Saturday, July 28, where the Under-13 players will get to see the other side of softball and also have a chance to fund-raise.
There will also be a training session at Richings Park on the weekend of June 2-3, when the London Fastpitch League will host the London Cup, an international women's fastpitch tournament featuring teams from Denmark, Switzerland and the UK. The Under-13s will be invited to watch tournament games when not training.
For more information on all these training and the Fastpitch League events, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy
The Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy should be an exciting event. The ESF seems to have achieved its major aim in changing the format, which was to attract more teams.
The 2010 European Under-13 Championships in Turkey had just four entries, but 10 teams have signed up for this year's Cup tournament, including three each from Russia and Italy, the two teams from Britain and one team each from Bulgaria and Slovakia.