The GB Women’s Fastpitch National Teams Programme is recruiting athletes for all five female teams: Under-13s, Under-15s, Under-18s, Under-22s, and the Senior Women's Team.
Eligibility
Regardless of whether you live in the UK or elsewhere in the world, any athlete with a UK passport, or who is eligible to get a UK passport, is welcome to trial for any of the teams mentioned above – and you do not necessarily need to be an experienced fastpitch player to do so.
GB Women’s Team programmes have been increasingly successful over the past decade. The Senior Women’s Team is currently ranked third in Europe and reached the final of the Europe-Africa Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the Tokyo Olympics. All of our age-group teams are ranked in the top six in Europe, and our Under-19 Team (now Under-18) won a European Gold Medal in 2016, while our Under-13 Team reached the final at its last European competition in 2019.
Application link
To express your interest in trialing for one or more GB female fastpitch teams for 2021, please complete the application form on this link:
https://forms.gle/zzkJSDNGy7nidobV7
Applications can be accepted up to 22 February 2021, but to allow time to complete trial requirements (see below), applications would ideally be submitted earlier.
Competition plans in 2021
- The GB Under-13s will compete in the 9th European Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy tournament in Collecchio, Italy from 11-14 August.
- The GB Under-15s do not have a European competition in 2021 but will hold a pre-tournament training camp before competing in the Canada Cup Showcase Select Tournament from 2-5 July in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. If Covid restrictions make the Canada Cup not possible, we aim to create a Fall Exhibition Series for the team to be held in Florida in the autumn of 2021.
- The GB Under-18s will hold a pre-tournament training camp before competing in the 16th European Under-18 Women's Championship in Prague, Czech Republic, from 19-24 July.
- The GB Under-22s do not have a European competition in 2021 but will aim to tour for approximately 10 days at some time between mid-June and late July, with details to be announced shortly.
- The GB Senior Women's Team will hold a pre-tournament training camp before competing in the 22nd European Women's Championship in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Northeast Italy from 27 June-3 July.
Trial information
GB Under-15, Under-U18, Under-22 and Senior Women's Teams: For 2021, due to current Covid restrictions, these teams will not be hosting in-person selection trials in the UK. Instead, trials will be completed via video/data submission only.
We are in the process of finalising a Selection Information Pack which will contain the exact requirements for all testing protocols and further information, to be sent out to all applicants by email on 7 January 2021.
We have streamlined the required submission data for 2021 to ensure all athletes will be able to trial safely and in line with any ongoing Covid restrictions. The deadline for trial submissions will be 22 February 2021, after which team selections will be made.
Team selections will be announced by the end of March 2021.
GB Under-13 trial information will be published early in 2021, due to the tournament being later on in the year. However, any interested athletes are encouraged to apply now using the Application Form link above.
Selection Testing Protocols
Athletes will be required to produce videos of themselves completing each required element and submit data (timings/measures) related to each protocol.
While full details of the trial requirements will be included in our Selection Information Pack to be sent out in the first week of January, we want to share with athletes that we will be asking to see the following testing protocols in case they are able to get a head start on them over the winter break (particularly useful for any returning athletes).
These will include (but will not be limited to):
Athletic/Fitness/Mobility Testing:
- Plank
- Broad jump
- 40-yard (120 ft) sprint
- Agility 'T' drill
- Pro Agility drill (5-10-5)
- Sit and Reach drill
Softball Skills Testing:
- Bat exit velocity (batting from a tee)
- Throwing velocity (target throws into a net)
- Fielding Balls (receiving ground balls and fly balls)
Position-specific testing protocols:
- Pitchers (show warm-up and demonstrate speed and accuracy of pitches).
- Catchers (demonstrate receiving ball, exchange/transfer to throw, and release of ball to a target).
Selection Questions?
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Selections Team by email.