The Under 16 Boy’s and Girl’s National Championships get underway today at Waverley, Victoria, as the roadshow moves overnight from Mirrabooka in Western Australia.

Hosting this leg of the National Championships are the Waverley Softball Association, assisted by Softball Victoria. The location is in a picturesque part of the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, attached to Jells Park, and just opposite the Glen Waverley Public Golf Course.

Up for grabs are the Esther Deason Shield for the U16 Girls, and the Arthur Allsopp Shield for the U16 Boys.

Both the Boy’s and Girl’s competitions will feature six teams – the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

The teams will play out a 30-game round-robin across the first four days, before the now well-established top-four finals format with a double-chance for top-two.

New South Wales have been in red-hot form in some of the more senior competitions in recent weeks, and if history is anything to go by, the trend could well continue. NSW enter the tournament as the defending champions for both the U16 Boy’s and Girl’s with their wins over Queensland in both Grand Finals from 2022.

While historical results in youth competition is not always an indicator of current success, expect both NSW and QLD to feature throughout the competition.

We wish all those taking part in this leg of the National Championships the best of luck, and we hope for yet another fantastic display of softball!

Head to our National Championships hub for all the live scores, draws, teams, standings and more.