Programme

Welcome to the official website of the Great Britain Baseball programme.

The Great Britain baseball team competes at senior level in the major international tournaments organised by the European Baseball Federation (CEB) and International Baseball Federation (IBAF), including the European Championship and the Baseball World Cup. Until the 2008 Olympics (the last to include baseball), the European Championship also acted as a route to Olympic qualification.

The programme also caters for a range of young players from 10-18 years old, sending teams to international competition in a number of age groups. There is also a development team for the Under-25s. Invitation to play or try out for the Great Britain squad may go to those players who have progressed through the system (e.g. the British Baseball Academy and junior GB teams), to those playing in the British baseball leagues or to GB-eligible players from overseas.

To find out more details about the junior programmes or British Baseball Academy please visit the GB Baseball section on the British Baseball Federation’s website at britishbaseball.org.

The GB team is overseen by the British Baseball Federation, the national governing body which also organises the domestic baseball leagues.

British Baseball Academy

The British Baseball Academy is run by BaseballSoftballUK, the national development agency for baseball and softball, and is open to players aged 10-18. The Academy exists to ensure that all players with the appropriate levels of commitment have an opportunity to practice and improve their baseball skills. The Academy may also serve to spot potential members of the GB programme.

Events

By winning the silver medal in the 2007 European Championships in Barcelona, the Great Britain national baseball team achieved its highest-ever European ranking in the modern era and qualified for the IBAF Baseball World Cup (effectively a world championship event) for the first time. The competition was played in various European countries in September 2009. Great Britain progressed to the second group stage, the final 16, where it took on some of the best teams in the world. For more information see the World Cup review in the ‘Baseball World Cup’ news category.

The next major event on GB’s calendar is the European Championship in Germany in July 2010.

Great Britain’s youth programme was in action in 2009. The Cadets continued their development at the Under-16 European Championship Qualifier in Belgium in July and the Juniors have been preparing for the 2010 Under-18 European Championship Qualifier.