Baseball Queensland is excited to announce the events for Little League Pathways for 2023
An amazing opportunity for our younger players to be involved in their own tournament, especially after seeing our U18s win at the Australian Youth Championships
The Little League State Titles will be held over the 14-16th April weekend hosting Little League D1 & D2, Intermediate League, Junior League D1 & Senior League D1.
The Development Shieldwill be held over the 29-30th April & 1st May weekend hosting Little League D3, Junior League D2, Senior League D2 & Big League.
Congratulations to the players on being selected in the 2022/23 Open Women’s QLD Squad. The Maroon and Development Teams will be finalised middle of February as they prepare for Australian Youth Women Australian Championships 7th – 13th April 2023, Melbourne, Victoria.
Your first session is Tuesday 10th January at All Stars Baseball Club, 6:30pm – 8:30pm. Please wear either your Region or Club uniform to this session. If you are unavailable to make this session, please contact both Lisa Norrie [email protected] and Anne-Maree Adams [email protected]
Following the recent announcement entering BQ Women’s Development Team into the 2023 Australian Women Championships (AWC), Baseball Queensland is calling for expressions of interest for this coaching staff. The AWC’s will be held in Melbourne, Victoria 7th – 13th April.
It isn’t often that we receive a significant groundswell of public opinion from members. This week, we have been flooded by emails and posts about our decision to not send a Development Team to the Women’s National Championships next year.
I write to inform all that we have heard you: we have re-instated the Development Team, effective immediately.
The Board was moved by the outpouring of support for this team, and voted overwhelmingly to rescind our earlier decision.
Yes, while there are many who believe that we do not have the player depth to support a second team at the national level (just 4 Div 1 GBL women’s teams and only 3 Futures League teams), there is the general understanding that there exists a gap after Youth Womens (U16) and promotion to the Open team. We recognise that the decision to remove the Development Team before we have alternatives in place for this age group is premature.
The fact is, of course, that there are no certainties moving forward. With the advent of the WABL and the National Showcase, it may well be that the days of the Open Women’s Nationals are numbered; that before long we will have for the girls exactly what we have for the boys: U16, U18, (U23,) ABL.
For clarity, BQ is – and has always been – committed to the development of women’s baseball. We have – in just the past two years – created a state Showcase event, expanded and enhanced the GBL competition for women, instituted a Women’s Futures League, and invested in both the Barclay Cup and the Youth Women’s national events. We have done more in this past short while than any other state – some might even argue that we have created much more opportunity for women and girls than we do for boys/men.
But we still have a long way to go. We haven’t announced anything yet, but the board has been discussing – much of it for some time – a number of innovations that we are keen to pursue for our fastest-growing cohort.
These include:
• Lobbying Baseball Australia to include education and skills development experiences at the AWC/AYWC
• Working with School Sport Australia to develop an U18 National Championships
• Inaugurating an U21 Women’s Invitational (hosting other states)
• Investigating touring team/s to the US and/or Japan (and hosting)
As you can see, we continue to look for ways to evolve, engage, and enhance playing opportunities and experiences. We want our female players to have the best pathways and playing options possible.
And we’d like you to continue to express your opinion and provide your support. After all, it is your sport.
Thank you to those who took the time to write in – it is appreciated.
Congratulations to the players on being selected in the 2022/23 Youth Women’s QLD Squad. The team will be finalised early next year as they prepare for Australian Youth Women Australian Championships 8th – 11th April 2023, Melbourne, Victoria.
There will be a session this Sunday at All Stars Baseball Club, 10am – 12pm. Please wear either your Region or Club uniform to this session. If you are unavailable to make this session, please contact Maureen Lessmann [email protected]
The Open Women QLD Squad will be announced tomorrow.
Baseball Australia (BA) have confirmed they will work towards hosting a National Youth Women’s Championship in 2023 with dates and location to be released by BA in the near future.
The Youth Women’s team will provide an extension of the State program pathway to a younger cohort of emerging talent, providing them an opportunity for best on best play. This opportunity has led to the re-evaluation of the objectives of the Women’s Development team and the determination to discontinue the Women’s Development team.
While the Women’s Development team initiative has served its purpose in exposing more athletes to higher level playing experiences; the Showcase event, the off season development programs, Women’s Futures League, the Barclay Cup and now the Australian Youth Women’s Championship combine to provide a more wholistic pathway for women and girls in our sport in Queensland.
Baseball Queensland remains committed to growing the women’s game and will continue to review all our pathway programs to ensure our player development programs remain fit for purpose.
