By Jo Malisani
A preliminary roster has been announced for the GB Under-15 Women’s Fastpitch Team, who will be travelling to Enschede in The Netherlands to compete in the European Under-15 Women’s Championship from 18-24 July.
Selection process
For the 2022 season, as in 2021, the GB Under-15 Team conducted trials virtually, as part of an open trial for athletes wishing to be considered for selection for the GB Under-22, Under-18 and Under-15 Women’s National Teams.
Athletes were required to submit video evidence of testing protocols showing athletic, defensive and offensive skills plus game footage by 20 March 2022.
On receipt of all video submissions, the GB Under-15 Selection Panel convened in mid-April. The Selection Panel consisted of the Under-15 coaching staff and two external selectors, whose role was to ensure that selections were made fairly and transparently based on the criteria set out in GB Softball’s Selection Policy.
All athletes who trialed for the 2022 GB Under-15 Team were contacted regarding selection decisions, and athletes who were offered a spot on the prelimminary roster were required to confirm whether they would accept their selection.
Players and staff
The players selected to the preliminary roster for the 2022 GB Under-15 Women’s Fastpitch Team are:
Emma Biles
Hannah Bingaman
Amelie Caesar
Isla Dodson-Richi
Amber Frost
Camryn Hogg
Cerys Jones
Anna Kingston
Jiane Mahmood
Amy Morris
Reagan Neville
Megan Rollins*
Elizabeth Saracin
Hope Schultz
Sydney Teague*
Jenna Thompson*
* These athletes were named to the 2021 GB Under-15 Women’s Team, which did not compete due to the pandemic
Athletes may be added or removed from the GB Under-15 Women's Team roster at any time at the discretion of the Head Coach.
The staff that will take the team to the European Under-15 Women’s Championship will consist of:
Head Coach: Jo Malisani
Associate Head Coach: Alexis Markham-Hill
Apprentice Coach: Holly Ireland
Team Operations Manager: Mary Murray
Sports Therapist: Natasha Furnell
Assistant Coach Felicity West and Pitching Coach Amie Hutchison are unable to travel with the team due to other commitments.
Looking forward
Head Coach Jo Malisani said, “We are excited to be back on the field and participating in a European Championship after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. The GB Under-15 staff is excited to work with this group of talented athletes as we look forward to building on our fifth-place finish in 2017.”
Ten countries have entered this year's Under-15 Championship, and have been seeded in two initial round-robin groups:
POOL A
Netherlands
Ukraine
Germany
Poland
Great Britain
POOL B
Italy
Czech Republic
France
Croatia
Lithuania
The GB Under-16 Women's Team, as it then was, finished fifth in the last Championship in which we competed, in 2017, but our seeding for this tournament reflects the fact that we did not compete in the 2019 Under-16 Championship.
This year's European Under-15 Women's Championship will be a Qualifier for the WBSC Under-15 Women's Fastpitch World Cup to be held in 2023.