Baseball Victoria is pleased to announce the dates and venues to host both the 2015 Junior League and Little League State Championships.
Neale Price, CEO, said “Baseball Victoria is excited to be holding the State Championships at two fantastic facilities that enable us to showcase our sport through two great programs.”
“Both venues have held international events and will ensure that both players and spectators will have an enjoyable experience”, added Mr Price.
This year Baseball Victoria will be holding the inaugural Junior League Championships, with the winner going through to participate at the Junior League National Championships in April.
The Junior League program has replaced the Under 14 National Championships, with charters now participating in a State Championship.
The Little League Championships will again be held in April, and this year the event will become even bigger than last year.
“The Junior League and Little League Championships have become important events on our calendar, and are extremely important programs for player development within the Australian junior pathway. The winners of our State Championships have the potential to go on and represent Australia at the Little League World Series in the USA in August, which is played in front of 30,000 people, and is televised around the world on ESPN. This is an amazing opportunity for the players involved”, said Mr Price.
Holding the Little League Championships at the softball centre at Jells Park allows us to schedule up to 12 games at once. With the opportunity to do this, Baseball Victoria is planning on running other tournaments at the same time, such as a Minor League Championship and a Tee Ball Smash
tournament. This will provide Baseball Victoria the opportunity to create a festival of baseball,
which has the potential to attract around 350 participants at one venue at the same time. This will
provide more participants an opportunity to participate, whilst providing them with a view of the
next steps in the pathway to aim and strive for.
“Another advantage of playing the Little League tournament at a softball facility is that a softball
field is the exactly same dimensions of a Little League field”, added Mr Price.
“This is the first time we will be running other tournaments concurrently with the State Little
League Championships. This event really excites me as we have a fantastic opportunity to
showcase our sport at an entry point level, which will hopefully create a large amount of
excitement for our members and their families,” said Mr Price.
Baseball Victoria looks forward to working with all charters, clubs, players and families in the
coming months to deliver these exceptional events.
We encourage the baseball community to get involved. Whether it is as a player, coach, and
official, volunteer or as a spectator, this event is truly a reflection of the people involved in the
sport.
For further information on this event please contact: Ashley Blair – Programs Manager, Baseball Victoria - (03) 9645 8000