The 2022 National Championship cycle reaches its conclusion with the inaugural Over 35s National Championship at Ipswich Softball Association from June 26-29.

The Championship will take place on the lands of the Jagera, Yuggera, and Ugarapul people, and Softball Australia acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land and pays respect to Elders past, present, and emerging, and extends that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The introduction an Over 35’s National Championship allows players to continue their representative careers indefinitely, and provides a legitimate competition pathways for athletes that wish to pursue a competitive career.

Teams from the ACT, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria will compete for the title of National Champions, with a sprinkling of former Aussie Steelers and Aussie Spirit players suiting up for the chance to represent their respective states.

The ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, and a composite NSW Invitational team will compete for the Over 35 Men’s title.

Queensland have no fewer than three former Aussie Steelers players in their line-up, led by Steeler strongman and current U23 Men’s Coach, David Metekingi.

NSW also features a host of former Steelers, including Craig Malcom, Jamie Sheehan, and Richard Sullivan, while James Darby performed well for NSW in the Open Men’s Championship earlier this year. Demetrius Doney will also bring a wealth of experience to the NSW line up.

The ACT are something of an unknown quantity, but given the strong history of men’s softball in the nation’s capital, they will surely be a tough team to beat.

The Women’s Championship will be headlined by the participation of Olympian and International and Australian Hall of Famer Fiona Crawford, who will hit the diamond for New South Wales. Fellow Olympian Sue Fairhurst joins Crawford the NSW line-up, alongside players to watch Lisa Mikkelsen, Mel Thomas, and Rochelle Sangster.

The ACT will be led by Alexis Cooper, who put in a great performance for the Diamonds at the Gilley’s Shield in April this year.

Queensland also feature an especially talented roster. New Zealand White Sox legend and Sydney 2000 Olympian Fiona Timu will take the diamond in her first Australian National Championship, alongside Sandra Holden and Melanie Thorburn, who both pitched at the recent Gilley’s Shield.

Victoria rounds out the field for the Women’s Championship, and boast a solid line-up across the board. Shannon Downing, Ruth Caldwell, and Sharni Arthur should take the bulk of the pitching load throughout the tournament, but we’re predicting Stephanie Craig and Sarah Logan will also need to have good tournaments for the navy and white to go deep on Day 4.

Determining a champion is all but impossible in the inaugural year of the Over 35’s Championships, but given the talent on display, the quality of softball will make the tournament a must-watch.