Official rankings issued by the
International Softball Federation following the 13th Women's World Championships played from July 13-22 in Whitehorse, Canada show that the GB Women's Team finished in 11th place.
This was the same ranking that the team achieved two years ago at the 2010 World Championships in Caracas, Venezuela, and came after the same tournament record of two wins and five losses.
This year, however, the GB 
Team was in an exceptionally tough group, where wins were always going to be hard to come by. The team's crowning achievement at the tournament was the 1-0 win over Chinese Taipei, who ultimately placed seventh -- a game in which GB pitcher Stacie Townsend threw a no-hitter.
The highest European placing at the World Championships, and the highest ever by a European team, was the sixth place achieved by the European Champion Netherlands, who will host the 2014 Women's World Championships in Haarlem, the first time the event will have been played on European soil.
The winner
The World Championships were won, to the delight of many including the GB Team, by Japan, who edged the United States 2-1 in a brilliant 10-inning Final featuring spectacular pitching and defense from both teams.
For a full account of the Final, click here.
In the view of the GB players and coaches, and many, many others, the Japanese play the most exciting softball in the world, and they play with a finesse, athleticism and artistry that the more powerful US team cannot match.
Individual honours
As far as individual honours 
were concerned, three of them went to GB player Stacie Townsend.
In the 2010 World Championships in Venezuela, Stacie had been the sixth best batter in the tournament. In Whitehorse, she was second with a batting average of .600, behind only Joey Lye of Canada who hit .611.
Stacie also led all tournament pitchers in innings pitched and in strikeouts with 38.
Final Placings
The final placings at the 2012 Women's World Championships were:
1. Japan
2. USA
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. China
6. The Netherlands
7. Chinese Taipei
8. Puerto Rico
9. Czech Republic
10. Italy
11. Great Britain
12. Venezuela
13. New Zealand
14. Argentina
15. South Africa
16. Mexico