Applications are invited from any players, whether based in the UK or living abroad, who want to try out for selection for the .jpg)
following Great Britain Fastpitch Softball National Teams for the 2018 competition season:
- GB Senior Women
- GB Under-22 Women
- GB Under-19 Women
- GB Under-16 Girls
- GB Under-13 Girls
Four of these teams will be playing in official international competitions in 2018:
- The GB Women’s Team will compete at the WBSC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in Chiba, Japan from 2-12 August 2018, having qualified as one of three entries from Europe, and will then compete in a new ESF SUPER SIX TOURNAMENT, involving the top six teams in the European rankings, from 19-23 September 2018 in Hoofddorp near Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
- The GB Under-22 Women’s Team, a new team to be formed for the first time in 2018, will compete in the EUROPEAN UNDER-22 WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP in Trnava, Slovakia from 23-28 July 2018.
- The GB Under-19 Women’s Team will compete at the EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP in Staranzano, Italy from 16-21 July 2018. GB is the defending champion.
- The GB Under-16 (Cadette) Girls’ Team does not have an official ESF or WBSC competition in 2018, but will play in one or more tournaments next summer in Europe as preparation for the next European Cadette Championship in 2019.
- The GB Under-13 Girls’ Fastpitch Team will compete in the EUROPEAN MASSIMO ROMEO YOUTH TROPHY (EMRYT) in Collecchio, Italy from 15-18 August 2018.
If you wish to try out for selection for any of these teams for 2018, please click on the link below and complete the application form to ensure that you are on the GB player list for your age group:
https://goo.gl/forms/8ygTenD8tYclzhUK2
Please complete and return this form no later than Sunday 10 December 2017 if you want to be considered for selection to one or more of the teams listed above. You will then receive further information about selection procedures and expectations.
Information about trials that will be held in the UK is given below.
Eligibility
To play on a Great Britain National Team, you must either have a British passport or be eligible to apply for and receive a British passport.
In most cases, for players who were born and have grown up overseas to be eligible for a British passport, one of your parents must have been born in Great Britain as a British citizen.
Please note that, depending on your age, you can choose to make yourself eligible for selection for more than one team. For example, you can declare eligibility for selection to both the Under-16 and Under-19 teams, or both the Under-19s and the Under-22s, or the Under-22s and the Senior Women, or any other combination that your age and talent allows. Should you be selected for two teams but are only able to play in one tournament, we will normally ask you to give priority to the lower age-group team.
To be eligible for any age-group team, you need to be the same age as the group name (or younger) on the final day of 2018. For example, to be eligible for the GB Under-22 team, you need to still be 22 on 31 December 2018.
UK Trials
An Open Trial session will be held on Sunday 21 January 2018 from 12.00-4.00 pm for players based in the UK, or overseas-based players who can be in the UK on this date. The trial will be held at the following location:
Sports Hall
Uxbridge College
Uxbridge Campus
Park Road
Uxbridge UB8 1NQ
A second Selection Trial will be held from 12.00-4.00 pm on Saturday 3 February 2018, at the same location, for players asked by GB coaches to return after the Open Trial.
Exciting future
Here is a message from the GB Management Committee, the group that supports and oversees our national teams:
The great performance in 2017 by our Senior Women’s Team in winning a medal at the European Championship and qualifying for the 2018 World Championship in Japan, and by our Junior Team in 2016 in winning the European Junior Championship, has given a tremendous boost to GB Softball as we look towards Olympic qualification in 2019 and the Olympic Games in 2020.
We have spent most of the past year searching for government funding, sponsorship etc so that we can put an improved programme in place over the next three years and we have also resumed formal relations with the British Olympic Association, who can support our programmes in a number of ways, especially if we qualify for the Olympics.
There will be three big goals next summer that will keep us on track for our dream of Olympic qualification and help convince potential funders that we deserve support. The GB Women’s Team will want to reach the playoffs as one of the top eight teams at the 2018 World Championship in Japan, and the goal for both the GB Under-22 and Under-19 Teams will be a medal at their European Championship competitions.
Meanwhile, our GB Under-16 and Under-13 programmes will be working hard to provide young players in Britain with the skills and attitude that will allow them to compete successfully on the international stage.
Given the talent we have in our programmes, all of our goals are attainable if we all work together.
This is an exciting time for GB Softball as we look towards Tokyo 2020. We will keep all our players, staff, parents and other stakeholders in GB Softball up to date as things develop.