
Queensland Competitions Changes Explainer
As part of Baseball Queensland’s on-going commitment to effective governance and compliance, we are consulting with Baseball Australia to ensure that ourselves and our affiliated competitions are effectively aligned with Little League International rules. The following changes are to be completed to ensure our competitions align with their formats, intention and participation goals.
This has required changes to the naming conventions surrounding Greater Brisbane League competitions and the reversal of proposed changes within the Gold Coast Baseball Association competitions prior to the 2024/2025 season.
Stage Two of these changes will take effect before the 2025/2026 season for the Greater Brisbane League competition. Our Sunshine Coast and North Queensland associations are encouraged to reflect the naming changes outlined below in their upcoming seasons, acknowledging that differences in membership numbers may warrant different league structures.

What is 'Little League?'
Little League International governs the agreed ruleset for junior baseball run by Baseball Australia and its member states, including Baseball Queensland. Compliance with these rules is key to ensuring that Australia’s junior teams continue to be admitted to the World Series.
These rules encompass the following age groups: Minor League (Coach Pitch, Machine Pitch and Player Pitch), Little League (aka. Majors), Intermediate 50-70 League, Junior League and Senior League.
The ‘Little League International Tournament Pathway (ITP)’ constitutes the following age groups, who have a national and/or international playing opportunity:
- Little League
- Intermediate League 50-70
- Junior League
- Senior League
The Changes to the Season
The main change is the removal of divisions. Under Little League rules, there is not to be any divisions in which players are divided or separated by skill level.
Therefore, competitions will be geographically based rather than divisional where there are excessive team numbers. To achieve this, we recommend segmenting competitions by charter region (e.g. Brisbane North, Brisbane Metro, etc.).
Clubs are advised to adopt a neutral selection system that ensures that all of their team entries are fair and of the same level of competitiveness. This improves development of all players rather than a select few. Little League also provides guidelines within its rulebook on potential neutral selection methods and considerations.
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Comparison to Previous Competition Structures
Competition (Original) | Competition (2024/25) | Recommended (25 onwards) |
---|---|---|
T-Ball (4-8-years-old) | T-Ball (4-8-years-old) | Buddy League (3-6-years-old) Little League T-Ball (7-8-years-old) |
Rookie Ball (8-10-years-old) Little League Divisions 1-3 (9-12-years-old) | Little League Minor Coach Pitch Little League Minor Machine Pitch Little League Minor Player Pitch 40 Little League Minor Player Pitch 46 | Minor League: Coach Pitch (8-9) Minor League: Machine Pitch (9-10) Minor League: Player Pitch (10-11) |
Little League Majors | Little League (Majors) (11-12) | |
Junior League Division 1-2 | Intermediate 50-70 League (11-13) | Intermediate 50-70 League (12-13) |
Junior League Division 1-2 | Junior League (13-14) | |
Senior League Division 1-2 | Senior League (14-16) | |
Big League (15-20) | ||
Seniors and Womens (15+) | Womens Div 2 (14+) Seniors + Womens (Div 1) (15+) |
The Tournament Pathway
Baseball Queensland provides a number of tournaments to provide a wide variety of players an opportunity to compete at a regional/charter level.
Previously, these have been run as Little Leagues Division 1, 2 and 3, Junior Leagues Divisions 1 and 2, Senior League Divisions 1 and 2.
The new suitable naming options were voted on by the Tournament Advisory Panel and the results, including where the national and international tournament pathways are as follows:
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why was this change made?
To ensure that Australia meets its obligations with Little League International, and to continue to ensure entry into the World Series, state competitions are required to fall under specific naming guidelines which align with Little League’s participation goals.
What are the 'Little League Waiver Request Forms?
Any player who has completed either of the below Waiver forms will not be eligible to compete in the World Series for any age group.
12-Year-Old Participation in Minor Division – only allows the player to play within any Little League Minor division (Coach Pitch, Machine Pitch, Player Pitch, Pitch 40, Pitch 46) and not Little League Majors, Intermediate League or Junior League for the remainder of the season. Players signing this waiver will NOT be allowed to pitch for the remainder of the current season.
Players who have signed the above waiver are ineligible for tournament selection in the following Leagues:
- Queensland Little League Championship
- Queensland Little League Invitational
- Queensland Intermediate 50-70 Championship
- Queensland Junior League Championship
These players are eligible to play within the Queensland Championship: 8-to-10-year-old Division or 9-to-11-year-old Division, and can pitch and catch if they have completed the ‘Return to Throw’ program prior to the commencement of the tournament.
12-Year-Old Participation in Intermediate (50/70) Division – only allows the player to play within the Intermediate League competition and no other Little League Majors, Junior League or Little League Minor competitions for the remainder of the season.
Players who have signed the above waiver are ineligible for tournament selection in the following Leagues:
- Queensland Little League Championship
- Queensland Little League Invitational
- Queensland Intermediate 50-70 Championship
- Queensland Junior League Championship
- Queensland Senior League Championship
These players are eligible to play within the Queensland Intermediate, Junior or Senior Invitationals, and can pitch and catch if they have completed the ‘Return to Throw’ program prior to the commencement of the tournament.
My child plays in a Little League (Majors) competition during the season, can they play in the 8-to-10 or 9-to-11-year-old Divisions?
Players playing in the Little League (Majors) Local Leagues are only eligible to play in either the Queensland Little League Championship or Queensland Little League Invitational and are not eligible for either the 8-to-10 or 9-to-11 Divisions.
If a player has signed a waiver, please refer to the specific waiver-related question.
Why do 8-to-10-year, 9-to-11-year and Little League only play one double header in a Tournament when other ages can play more?
The Little League rulebook is strict on it’s game scheduling and only allow 8-to-10, 9-to-11 and Little League players to play 2 games in one day once during a tournament.
This is confirmed in the ‘Tournament Organization’ regulation.
How does my player become eligible for selection in my region's team? (Charter team)
To be eligible for your region’s team, your player must have played 8 games within the regular Local League season. This requirement applies to Little League, Intermediate League and Junior League.
Senior League players have no minimum game requirement to be eligible for regional selection.
If you are unsure of your child’s League Age, please review the Age Matrix found on the below page:
You can review the Little League Rulebook via the following link: