Current season, competition or edition: Greater Brisbane League 2020–21 | |
Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
Founded | 1946 |
Founder | Baseball Queensland |
No. of teams | 20 (9 Div 1&2 teams) |
Country | Australia |
Most recent champion(s) | Pine Rivers Rapids |
Related competitions | Claxton Shield |
Official website | http://www.qld.baseball.com.au |
The Greater Brisbane League or formerly the Greater Brisbane Baseball Board league (GB3) is the largest baseball league in the Australian state of Queensland and covers all teams from Brisbane North, South, West, Metro as well as three Gold Coast teams. These are from age groups Little League (U12) through to seniors. It is run by the governing body of Baseball Queensland. [1]
To participate in the Greater Brisbane Major League, clubs must meet certain criteria set by Baseball Queensland. Generally the hardest criteria for clubs to meet is to field a team in the junior age levels U14's, U16's and U20's. When this criterion is not met, senior teams may only compete in the South Queensland Baseball League or Pacific League competition.
The GBL consists of six senior division teams from Major/Pacific League A and B through to South Queensland League A-C and a separate Masters competition. Juniors consist of an U20 competition, division one and two U16 and a division one and two U14 competitions. U8, U10 and U12 competitions are run by their respective regions and are non-divisional. [2]
The Greater Brisbane League was originally known as the Queensland Baseball Association fixtures, which began in 1946 when six teams entered the competition playing primarily at New Farm Park, Kalinga Park, Langlands Park, Perry Park and the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. Uniforms were made out of surplus army uniforms and teams made up of many American ex-pat soldiers from World War II and A-Grade cricketers to keep game fit during the off-season. [3]
The current format of the league consists of six divisions as well as a concurrently run 'masters' division for players aged over 35 and women's competition. The competition is scheduled to last 16–20 rounds played on Fridays and Sundays between the first week of October with the playoffs finishing prior to Easter.
Rounds played in Division 1 see teams match up twice in the round, usually on a Friday followed by Sunday. Rainouts are made up mid-week if possible. Division 2 is fixtured essentially as a reserve team for Division 1, playing the same club match ups prior to the Sunday game.
Clubs who do not field a Division 1 team may field individual teams in Division 3–6.
Playoffs are a top four McIntyre system, with Division 1 playing a best of three series to determine winners.
Clubs currently in the Greater Brisbane League are:
*Sunshine Coast only field junior (non GBL competitors) and women's teams (GBL competitors)
** The Mackerels Baseball Club currently fields players 11 years to 17 years of age in association with Narangba Demons as the club was established in July 2020 with support from Baseball Qld.
Below is a map indicating the locations of all eighteen teams competing in the Greater Brisbane League competition. The Brisbane CBD is represented by the black square. Also note Toowoomba is located off the map to the west:
The Commissioners Cup or Commissioners Shield is an annual, end of year event that usually coincides with the Christmas break of the season. It is a one off game in Major A, B and C grades between the current Greater Brisbane League leaders of the Northside and the Southside.
Major A standings are on win percentage, whereas Major B and C-Grade standings are on points.
The basics to qualifying for Major League criteria, clubs must have a minimum of:
The Greater Brisbane League is covered across many media sources from Quest Community Newspapers including the Redcliffe and Bayside Herald, [20] Caboolture Shire Herald, [21] Albert and Logan News, [22] Pine Rivers Press, [23] Northern Times, [24] and the Logan West Leader, [25] as well as many other regional newspapers such as the Hinterland Grapevine, [26] The Sunshine Coast Daily, [27] Gold Coast Bulletin, [28] Benowa Garden News, [29] and the Mudgee Guardian. [30]
Major League results are also covered by the television network 7 and more in depth results are covered by The Sunday Mail and The Courier Mail . [31]
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in Queensland, with one based in New South Wales and one in Central Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Queensland Rugby League South East Division is a rugby league division responsible for the running of rugby league in South-East Queensland. This makes the South East Division responsible for the FOGS Cup, FOGS Colts Challenge and Brisbane Second Division competitions. This Division also administers the City team in the annual QRL City-Country match. It is also responsible for administering the game of rugby league across the Gold Coast and Ipswich. These two cities alone comprise over 7000 junior and senior players.
Pine Rivers United is an Australian football (soccer) club from Strathpine, a suburb of Pine Rivers, just north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The club was formed in 1967, and last played in Brisbane's Capital League 2 in 2017 after being relegated the previous season. Following the 2017 season, the club was stripped of its playing license by Football Brisbane and the license was transferred to Pine Rivers Athletic Football Club - which is run as a wholly separate entity.
Logan Lightning FC is a semi-professional football (soccer) club based in Shailer Park, a suburb of Logan City, Queensland, Australia. The club's history commenced in 1979, the year of establishment for both the Beenleigh and Loganholme soccer clubs which merged in late 2011 to form the current club. The club currently competes in the Football Queensland Premier League 1 competition. In May 2017, Football Queensland announced Logan Lightning FC were among the 14 clubs accepted to form the Football Queensland Premier League for its initial season in 2018. In November 2020, Logan Lightning FC were crowned Champions and Grand Final winners of the Football Queensland Premier League, guaranteeing promotion for the club to play their 2021 season in the National Premier League Queensland for the first time in club history.
Peninsula Power is an Australian soccer club from Redcliffe, Queensland. It was formed in 2000 following a merger of the Redcliffe City and Margate clubs. It competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland.
The M1 in Queensland, Australia, is a major urban road corridor. It connects the Sunshine Coast hinterland to Tugun, near the New South Wales and Queensland border, via the following corridors:
Baseball Queensland is the governing body of baseball within Queensland. Baseball Queensland is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation. It is located in Milton, Queensland and run by chief executive officer Col Dick.
Ryan Nicholas Le Loux in Darlinghurst, Sydney. He is an Australian cricketer who played for the Queensland Bulls in the Pura Cup in 2005.
The Shire of Albert was a local government area in Queensland, located south of the capital, Brisbane, and taking in areas to the north and west of the Gold Coast. It was named after the Prince Consort of the United Kingdom, and husband of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert. When created in 1948, it was primarily a rural area, but its growth started in earnest in the late 1960s with the development of Logan on Brisbane's southern frontier. After the separate creation of Logan as a shire in 1978, Albert lost most of its population and became more centred upon the Gold Coast, which experienced a massive period of growth from then until the Shire's amalgamation with the City of Gold Coast in 1995.
The Redcliffe Leagues Padres Baseball Club, also known as Peninsula Padres Baseball Club is a baseball club located in Redcliffe, Queensland that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane North Region competition. As of November 2011, it was the largest club in Queensland and second largest in Australia behind the Waverley Baseball Club in Victoria.
Jay Nilsson is a former minor league baseball player for the Gulf Coast Indians. He is the son of Bob Nilsson, a top Australian league reliever of the 1990s. Jay's uncle David Nilsson was the first Australian All-Star in the major leagues. His other uncles Gary Nilsson and Ron Nilsson also played in Australia; Gary spent one year in the minor leagues.
The Surfers Paradise Baseball Club is a baseball club based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League, Gold Coast and Far North Coast competitions. The club was also host of the 2008 Pan Pacific Masters Games.
The Pine Hills Lightning Baseball Club is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane Metropolitan Region competition. It is the 4th largest baseball club in Australia and second largest after the Redcliffe Padres in Queensland.
Robina Roos Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The team currently competes in the SEQAFL Div 2.
South East Australian Football Club is a Brisbane based club competing in the Queensland Amateur Football Association 'A' competition fielding Seniors & Reserves teams. Previously they were known as the Logan City Australian Football Club.
The Brisbane and District Women's Rugby League is one of the main Women's rugby league competitions in Australia.
The Queensland Suburban Rugby Union, or QSRU, is affiliated to the Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) and runs the rugby competition colloquially known as "Subbies" in Brisbane and South East Queensland.
The Coomera Cubs Baseball Club is a baseball club located on the Gold Coast in Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League and the Gold Coast Baseball Association League. The club is also a host to the annual Summer Classic.
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