AUSTRALIA
Australian
women’s baseball
began seriously when the Victorian Baseball Association decided to determine
if there was interest from women to play baseball. A tryout to gauge this
interest in 1994 resulted in the formation of almost 30 teams. These teams
were organized as sister clubs with then established men’s adult baseball
clubs. Approximately 60 women’s teams now play in Australia.
In 2000 the Australian Baseball
Federation sanctioned a National Women's Baseball Championship which is an
annual event now.
In 2001 the
Australian Baseball Federation sanctioned the development of a national
women's baseball team to represent them in international play. The Australian
team was selected from the States of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland
and Western Australia. The Australian Baseball Federation now has a permanent
selection process in place for a national women’s baseball team.
The Australian
national team competed in all Women’s World Series events. In 2002
the Aussie Stars won the Gold Medal beating Team Japan in the 2002 Women’s
World Series in St. Petersburg, Florida. As Women's World Series hosts
in 2003 the Australians won the Silver Medal. In 2004 in Japan the Australian
team took the Bronze Medal placed fourth in the 2004 Women's World Cup.
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