2025/26 Summer Season – Important Rule and Competition Updates
MEDIA RELEASE – 18/07/2025
With sign-on days fast approaching, Baseball Queensland would like to remind all players, coaches, clubs, and regions of important rule changes and competition updates that will take effect for the 2025/26 Summer season.
Below are some key updates to ensure everyone is prepared and well-informed.
The following rule will apply for player eligibility at the Women’s Division 1 Queensland State Titles:
Should a player be registered with, and/or have played with, two (2) or more affiliated teams during the season prior to the dates of the State Championship, the Region in which the player registers and pays their Baseball Australia and Baseball Queensland Capitation fees will have priority for selection.
It is a fundamental requirement of this policy that each team must exhaust all possible avenues to select players from within their own Regional boundaries first. If a team is unable to field a complete roster from within its Region, it may request approval from the BQ Game Development Manager to access players from other Regions.
Important notes:
Regions must not directly approach “Friendship Players.” Breaches of this rule will result in the player being deemed ineligible for the tournament.
All Friendship Players must register into the designated “Pool.” While a Friendship Player can nominate a preferred Region, there is no guarantee they will be assigned to that Region’s roster.
Players participating in a Queensland local competition, or who have played for a Queensland Club, Region, or represented Queensland within the past 12 months, will have priority for team appointments over interstate or international players who have not participated in local Queensland competitions.
For further details or questions, please contact Baseball Queensland at [email protected]
Updates from the Greater Brisbane League (GBL) Competitions Committee
Please be aware these competition changes are relevant for 12-16 year-olds at any participating Greater Brisbane League clubs. The competition format may vary for the other 25/26 Summer competitions, Gold Coast Baseball Association and Sunshine Coast Baseball.
GBL – New Look Senior League Competitions
GBL have updated the Senior League competition formats that aligns with Baseball Australia guidelines. These changes aim to better support League Age players by offering flexibility in field measurements and age brackets, while allowing clubs to better match players based on experience and development needs.
Clubs will have the ability to:
Place players in the most appropriate division during pre-season assessments.
Move players during the season if they demonstrate significantly higher or lower skill levels, without needing to complete a formal “playing out of natural age group” process.
These changes are designed to support player development, improve game experiences, and ensure safe, fair, and competitive opportunities for all players. For further details or questions, please contact the GBL Competitions Committee at [email protected]
Baseball Queensland encourages all clubs, coaches, and players to familiarise themselves with these updates ahead of the 2025 season. For further details or questions, please contact [email protected]
The Board of Management of Baseball Queensland is pleased to announce the appointment of Nick Bachono to the interim role of Performance Program Manager, effective immediately through to 4 January 2026.
Nick has served as Baseball Queensland’s Player Development Coordinator since 2022, where he has played a pivotal role in delivering the Emerging Athlete Program. His work in this space has been instrumental in supporting the development and progression of young Queensland athletes within the Baseball Queensland performance pathway.
In this interim capacity, Nick will take on the broader responsibilities of the Performance Program Manager role, overseeing key aspects of high-performance program planning and delivery across the organisation. His strong understanding of the athlete development landscape and his established relationships with players, coaches, and support staff make him ideally suited to lead the program during this transitional period.
The Board thanks Nick for stepping into this position and looks forward to his continued contributions to Queensland’s high-performance baseball programs.
Baseball Queensland invites you to attend our SEQ Schools Recruitment Information Night, held virtually at 6:30pm on Wednesday, 21st May.
This session is designed to support your club’s preparation for the upcoming 2025 South East Queensland season. We’ll be covering key strategies and resources to assist with pre-season recruitment, school visits, and community engagement.
We’re aware and highly commend that some clubs already run their own pre-season school programs — and we encourage you to continue doing so. However, there may still be opportunities through this session to further support and enhance your efforts, so we’d love for you to attend.
As part of our grassroots development support, Baseball Queensland offers every club access to a Development Officer for up to 5 days of school visits. This session will outline how your club can take advantage of this opportunity and will also provide:
Best practices for successful Come & Try Days
Tips for connecting with local schools
Access to event templates and promotional tools
Guidance on how to make the most of BQ’s support services
We strongly encourage at least one representative from each club or region to attend.
The Microsoft Teams meeting link can be found below and will also be available on BQ’s website and social media.
We look forward to working together to grow our game at the grassroots level.
Want to go BIG this season?
If your club wants more than 5 days of school clinics, BQ offers additional visits at a heavily subsidised rate: $150 per day, with a Development Officer promoting your club while running fun, engaging sessions.
We highly recommend creating flyers with key dates and links to your Come & Try days—so when kids go home excited, parents have clear next steps!
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST – 15U Baseball Queensland Tour to New Zealand – September/October 2025
Baseball Queensland invites expressions of interest for participation in the 2025 International Tour to Auckland, New Zealand. Who Can Apply: Eligible athletes must be born in 2010 or 2011 and available for the 8-week training and the full tour period. Coaches and support staff interested in contributing to the tour’s delivery and development outcomes are also encouraged to apply. Athletes in North Queensland are encouraged to apply.
Tour Dates Departure: Thursday, 25 September 2025 Return: Thursday, 2 October 2025
Purpose of the Tour This international tour forms part of Baseball Queensland’s Pathways calendar for 2025 and is designed to:
Prepare 2010 and 2011-born athletes (15U age group) for potential state selection.
Provide a structured, high-level baseball touring environment.
Build competitive resilience, match readiness, and cohesion through 6 games in 7 days.
Offer coaching development and assessment opportunities.
Tour Cost Approx $3800 inclusive of Flights, Accom, Transport, Meals
Baseball in Queensland isn’t limited to the Summer season, nor is it limited to Southeast Queensland.
Read about the opportunities available below!
North Queensland
North Queensland are entering their primary season, which means there’s opportunity to join your local club from as young as the age of 3 and up.
Cairns and Townsville are debuting Buddy League – a brand new format for ages 3-6 (Townsville) and 3-8 (Cairns) where a parent, sibling or guardian takes the field with their child!
Cairns Baseball League offers an annual competition between May and October.
The league hosts five clubs, with three of those catering to players of all ages. Explore your options below.
Cairns Winter competition officially starts on May 10, so reach out to the clubs to see where you can find your home for the season! Clubs will continue taking registrations beyond the start of the season, so don’t worry!
All female players, senior and junior, are eligible for free club fees. Only pay insurance! Cairns Cubs are offering this thanks to a grant from the Queensland Government.
Baseball Association of Townsville offers an annual competition between April and October.
The association hosts four clubs, with one of those being exclusively for women and girls. Explore the clubs below.
The Townsville season is a few weeks underway, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find your place! Those aged 3-6 can prepare to join the second Buddy League short-season!
Southeast Queensland enter their ‘off-season.’ The primary seasons within SQWBL and Gold Coast are targeted at ages 15 and up.
SQWBL
The Southern Queensland Winter Baseball League (SQWBL) operates a 12-week season between May and August each year. This competition is only offered to those aged 15 and above, with mixed-gender divisions and a female only Women’s competition.
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Womens – Saturdays 24/05/25
Seniors – Sunday 25/05/25
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SQWBL also host a social ‘Winter Wonderland’ event during the season each year!
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We have solved the registration issues. Please read carefully as if you select the wrong option, your fees will be incorrect, and we may be unable to refund.
a. Form should say 2024/25 Baseball Australia Short Season Membership Registration Form
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Notes around Costs:
1) Form 1, fees should be $125, if this isn’t the amount you are getting, please check you have selected the correct form. If you have checked the form, and still getting a different amount, please message the page and we can assist you.
2) Form 2, fees should be around around $178. Again, if your amount is vastly different, please check you are using the correct form, and if still different, take a photo and send a message to the page and we can assist.
Gold Coast
Gold Coast is the only association in Queensland that offers two seasons per year. Their winter season is only offered to those aged 15 and above, with mixed-gender divisions and a mixed Masters competition.
Gold Coast Winter competition starts on May 10, so reach out to the clubs to see where you can find your home for the season!
Winter State Programs
Stay tuned to Baseball Queensland website and social media for opportunities available to junior players to join our annual winter programs and competitions.
Keep an eye out for other new and exciting programs, including Baseball5 opportunities throughout the year!