Softball Australia is pleased to announce the dates for the 2022/23 National Championship rotation, with most events returning to their traditional summer window.

As much as possible, Softball Australia has returned to the schedule of dates and venues that existed pre-COVID, to honour the host state agreements that were in place before the pandemic:

As successfully implemented this year, National Championships will be reduced to five days with some venues also simultaneously staging male and female Championships to maximise the utility of venues and the participation of athletes, without compromising the integrity of the event.

The decision to return to the summer window is the first outcome reached by a Nationals Working Group that is reviewing all National Championships, and Chairperson of the Working Group Ben Newton said, “We’re pleased these events can return to their traditional summer window, as many states and stakeholders have agreements in place based on Nationals being held at this time of year.

“Our States and Territories have also remained flexible throughout COVID, and now we can repay that flexibility by returning a degree of certainty well ahead of the 2023 Nationals calendar.”

After conducting an internal review of the Performance area and talent identification process, Softball Australia has also withdrawn the Under 14 National Championship from the schedule.

In its place, Softball Australia will work with States and Territories to identify talented Under 14 athletes from around the country and bring them into a National Camp environment, that will focus on skills development, game sense, and culture.

The Under 14 National Camps will cater to both male and female athletes, and be run in addition to the state-based Performance Camps that were announced earlier this year. The 2023 Under 14s Camp will be held in Queensland, with more details to be communicated as they become available.

Softball Australia CEO Rosie Williams OBE said, “The decision to change the Under 14s was not an easy one, as we understand what Nationals means to people. However, our research, insights, and experience all indicate that we need to provide a wider group of our talented athletes more opportunity to maximise their potential, and by exposing them to a performance environment – where they play more softball more often and get highly specialised coaching in an intensive environment – we believe they will be better prepared to be world-class athletes over the long run.”

The Nationals Working Group is reviewing all National Championship events throughout July and August, with more outcomes of the review to be announced later this year.

*As announced in April, the WBSC postponed the Junior Men’s World Cup earlier this year until 2023, and confirmed that players born in 2004 will be age eligible for that event. To ensure that our U18 Boys’ National Championship serves as a selection event for the 2023 Junior Steelers team, the 2023 National Championship will become the U19 Men’s National Championship, and players born in 2004 and later will be eligible to play in the event. In 2024, the event will return to an U18 Boys’ National Championship. The age of the U16 Boys’ National Championship in 2023 will not change.