Softball in Ireland is governed by Softball Ireland, itself a member of the

International Softball Federation Map of member states., 400px, right The International Softball Federation (ISF) is the international governing body for the sport of softball with its world headquarters and training centre at Plant City, Florida. The ISF is a non-profit corporat ...

. As of 2021, the Softball Ireland website noted that there were approximately 800

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

players and 40 teams in the country.

History

The year 1982 marked the first softball league in Ireland, the Dublin Softball League. The Irish Softball Association was formed in 1989. It has been in various guises since then, including the Irish Baseball and Softball Association, the Irish Baseball and Softball Federation, back to the Irish Softball Association, and in recent years has been renamed Softball Ireland. Softball Ireland (SI) is the governing body of softball in Ireland. SI is responsible for the running of tournaments, leagues, development and international competition in both co-ed slowpitch and ladies fastpitch softball.

Domestic competitions

National team

The national team has competed with varied success in recent years. The main competition being the

European Softball Federation The European Softball Federation (Fédération Européenne Softball, ESF), was the governing body of softball within Europe from 1976 until 2018, when it merged with the Confederation of European Baseball into WBSC Europe. The ESF was founded in 1 ...

CoEd Slowpitch Championship.European Softball Federation Website
accessed January 2007 The event has been dominated by the Great Britain team winning all seven instalments. The venue for 2011 was

Dupnitsa Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second la ...

, Bulgaria. The record number of participants is eight at the 2010 event.

European Club Championship

2007 saw the inaugural European Cup Co-Ed Slowpitch Championship. The event was held in

Limeil-Brévannes Limeil-Brévannes () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Geography Climate Limeil-Brévannes has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual temp ...

, France, from 19 September 2007 to 22 September 2007. There were five teams competing with Dodder Dynamoes representing Ireland. The London Chromies were crowned champions beating Dodder Dynamoes 10–3 in the Grand Final. The 2008 Championships, held in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

from 2 to 6 September, were won by Baker Tomkins of Britain beating Dodder Dynamoes 16–11 in the Grand Final. The 2009 Championship saw an increase in the participants to 7, with the event is again being held in

from 26 to 29 August. 2009 winners, Dodder Dynamoes, became the first Irish team, club or national, to win an ESF sanctioned championship. The London Chromies reclaimed the title at the 2010 event held in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, Slovenia.

References

External links