The European Slowpitch Cup will be played this year without Britain's National Champions taking part.
The Pioneers, who earned the right to represent GB by winning the 2011 Premier Nationals, have had to withdraw from the tournament, scheduled for July 31-August 4 in Pardubice in the Czech Republic, because the event clashes with the London Olympics and too many Pioneers players have Olympic tickets!
However, there will still be a British representative, with the Chromies, last year's European Cup winners, defending their title in Pardubice.
The tournament will be an eight-team affair, with the Chromies facing former winners Dodder Dynamoes from Ireland, DNAce and the host team Pasos Pardubice from the Czech Republic, Lisicke from Slovenia, Askoe Linz Bandits from Austria, the Sunville Tigers from Belgium and the UCE Travellers from Germany.
Overall, this will be one of the largest and most varied line-ups the European Slowpitch Cup has seen.
From next year, the competition is likely to be held every two years instead of annually, alternating with the European Slowpitch Championships.
More European withdrawals
Other European tournaments in which GB teams will be taking part this coming summer have also suffered withdrawals.
The European Junior (Under-19) Women's Championships have lost Serbia, but that still leaves a 16-team field, the largest in the competition's history.
However, the main withdrawal affecting this tournament has not been by teams, but by the organisers, with Belgium declining to host the event, as planned, in Antwerp. The European Softball Federation is attempting to relocate the tournament not too far from Belgium and on the same dates (July 23-28).
In the European Men's Championships, an eight-team field has been reduced to seven by the withdrawal of Slovakia. The GB Men's Team will now attempt to qualify for World Championships by coming in the top three against Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Israel, Belgium and Croatia from July 23-28 in Amstelveen, Holland.
The European Women's B Pool Cup, scheduled for August 20-25 in Ostrava in the Czech Republic, has lost teams from Serbia, Lithuania and Bulgaria. But the London Angels, who are seeded fifth, will still be part of a 13-team tournament, competing against club teams from Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Greece, Slovenia, Denmark, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Another British drop-out
The European Men's Super Cup, a new tournament this year that combines the former Men's Cup and Cup Winners' Cup and is open to multiple teams from the same country, has lost three teams, including Richings Park Red, who finished as the highest-ranking men's team in the London Fastpitch Softball League last year.
Teams from Denmark and Slovakia have also withdrawn, but the tournament will still have a healthy turnout of 18 teams from August 27-September 1 in Prague.
Two GB teams
By contrast, two British teams -- the GB Minime (Under-13) Girls' Fastpitch Team and a club team known as the London Cubs -- will both compete in the new Massimo Romeo Youth Trophy to be held in Collechio, near Parma in Italy from August 14-18. This tournament has replaced the former European Minime Championships and, like the Men's Super Cup, is open to more than one team per country.
This tournament has suffered no withdrawals, and will consist of 10 teams, including three each from Italy and Russia, the two GB teams and teams from Bulgaria and Slovakia.