The National Junior Camp planned for later this year has been scrapped due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Baseball Australia today confirmed the difficult decision to cancel the camp had been made with multiple states in lockdown and a range of border restrictions implemented around the country.
Instead, Baseball Australia will work with states and Australian Baseball League clubs to, subject to COVID restrictions, provide players the chance to participate in high-level gameplay.
Baseball Australia performance pathways and player development general manager Michael Crooks said it was a disappointing outcome.
“Unfortunately it’s the world we live in right now and while it’s not an ideal outcome we’ll work closely with key stakeholders to provide opportunities for the athletes,” he said.
“It’s quite clear that unrestricted movement across all the country is some way off with the current outbreaks and they have also impacted the ability of athletes to prepare for the camp in cases. We’ll endeavour to match localised content as close to possible as the planned camp and give these athletes every chance of being showcased to ABL teams and colleges as they look to take the next step in their journey.”
Team Australia withdrew from this year’s WBSC U-18 World Cup, which has since been postponed to 2022, in June but still planned to hold the camp.
Click HERE to view the full lists of players named to National Junior Camp squads, including Victorian representatives.