We cannot think of a better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than to unveil out first-ever women’s baseball calendar. The number of women’s baseball events has been growing in the last few years, with Europe joining Asia, the Americas, and Australia on the international scene last year. Egypt will make baseball history this spring and, in September, México will host the ninth Women’s Baseball World Cup, which will feature 12 teams for the third time in-a-row.
Despite coronavirus, which has already caused one international tournament to be cancelled, Egypt is set to enter the record books this April. Its national team is booked to play a series in Pakistan, which would be the first time in baseball history that the first international game for a country was played by its women’s national team and not its men’s. The historic debut is one we will be covering closely.
It is quite likely that friendlies will be announced prior to the world championship, but in the meanwhile, nine countries will host women’s baseball events. Pakistan is also set to host the senior women’s national team of Malaysia as it pushes to become one of the Asian leaders in the sport despite no national funding for men’s or women’s baseball.
The UK will host events celebrating women in baseball in April and during Women in Baseball Week in July. Both are open to participants and spectators. Britain has, in recent years, been especially welcoming to mixed clubs, with the university scene leading in that regard. Women’s Baseball UK (WBUK) has also created a “Seal of Approval” for clubs that are welcoming to female players [link].
France, Canada, and the USA will hold national team training camps and the latter two will be joined by Australia in hosting national championships. MLB continues its Baseball Breakthrough Series for girls in June, an important step for an organisation that has only recently incorporated female-only events. Last summer, the MLB Cup in London featured girls’ softball for the first time in the event’s history and it is likely repeat the demonstration this year.
It is also worth noting that every baseball5 national team event is mixed gender, offering several dozen more opportunities this year for women in WBSC sports to step outside softball. More information on the sport can be found here [link].
We welcome submissions to the calendar and look forward to adding more national team events as they emerge.
February
7-10 Phoenix Cup (Hong Kong, China) [Cancelled due to coronavirus]
8-11 France National Team Camp with Three Japanese Guest Coaches (Montigny, France)
16-22 Canada Girls’ National Camp (Cuba) [link]
March
8 Women’s Baseball Clinic with Kindai University (Callao, Perú) [link]
8 International Women’s Day Meetup and Game (Aberdeen, Scotland) [link]
April
2 Baseball for All Q&A with Rachel Balkovec
10-17 Australian Women’s Championship (Narrabundah, Australia) [link] [Cancelled due to coronavirus]
14-21 Egypt at Pakistan friendly series [link] [Cancelled due to coronavirus]
25 90th Anniversary of the UK All-Star Female Game (Sheffield, UK) [link]
TBD Malaysia at Pakistan friendly series [Cancelled due to coronavirus]
May
30 GB Women’s Baseball Team announced [link] [British Baseball Podcast coverage]
31 Sheffield Bruins (UK) Founded [link]
June
3 Bristol Bobcats (UK) Founded [link]
6 Kent Black Widows (UK) Founded [link]
15-18 MLB Girls Baseball Breakthrough Series (Vero Beach, Fla.) [link]
15 Cambridge Valkyries (UK) Founded [link]
July
3-5 USA Women’s National Open (Orlando, Fla.) [Link] [Cancelled due to coronavirus]
6 BBF Webinar with Rachel Folden
19-25 Women in Baseball Week
19 BBF Announces Donations for Women’s Baseball [link]
25-26 Women’s Baseball UK Championship (Finsbury Park, UK) [link] [Cancelled due to coronavirus] [link]
August
6-9 Canada Under-21 Women’s Invitational Tournament (Sherbrooke, Québec) [link] [Cancelled due to coronavirus]
10 Aberdeen Thistles (UK) formed [link]
20-23 Canada Women’s Invitational Tournament (Stonewall, Manitoba) [link] [Cancelled due to coronavirus]
TBD World Children’s Baseball Fair [Female only in 2020] (Japan) [Cancelled due to coronavirus]
September
11-20 Women’s Baseball World Cup (Monterrey, Mexico) [Japan, and Canada, USA, Chinese Taipei, Australia, Venezuela, Cuba, Netherlands, Mexico, China, France, Philippines] (postponed to Nov. 12-21)
12-13 Holly Ireland, first female umpire of a British Baseball Federation tournament [link]
October
10-11 Southern Belles compete in the Bucs’ Baseball Bash (UK) [link]
12 Driveline begins free six-week girls’ baseball clinic (USA) [link]
November
TBD I Women’s Baseball South American Championship (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
12-21 Women’s Baseball World Cup (Monterrey, Mexico) [Japan, and Canada, USA, Chinese Taipei, Australia, Venezuela, Cuba, Netherlands, Mexico, China, France, Philippines]