| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| No. of teams | 8 (in 2004) |
| Continent | International |
| Most recent champion(s) | Orlando Heat |
| Most titles |  Japan (2 titles) |
The Women's Baseball World Series was an international tournament in which originally national women's baseball teams from around the world competed, before being overtaken by the Women's Baseball World Cup in 2004. It was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation.
Competitive international women’s baseball began when Japan sent a nationally selected squad, sponsored by a sports drink company named Team Energen, to Florida to participate in the North American Women's Baseball League’s 1999 South Florida Diamond Classic.
At the 1999 South Florida Diamond Classic, Team Energen showed that they could play at the top level of women’s baseball. After a meeting between Japanese and American officials following the tournament, plans were initiated for a contest between a national women’s baseball team from the United States and Team Energen in Tokyo. In May 2000, a United States national women's baseball team flew to Tokyo and played the first competitive international women's baseball game on May 1 in the Seibu Dome against a nationally selected Team Energen squad. The Japanese team defeated the US team in front of 3,000 enthusiastic fans. Organisers were impressed at the success of the game and decided to organise an annual competition called the Women's World Series to be held in the United States or Canada in the summer of 2001. After discussions over the summer with women’s baseball program organisers within the AWBF, Baseball Ontario, the Baseball Victoria (Australia) and the Baseball Federation of Japan plans were developed for the 2001 Women's World Series in Toronto.
The Toronto Blue Jays agreed that several games including the championship game of the 2001 Women’s World Series would be played in the Toronto SkyDome. This proved to be an irresistible venue for attracting Japanese and Australian teams to North America. Australia selected their national women's team from a tryout process woven into their women's first Australian women's national baseball championship. The Australian Baseball Federation selected and trained the team which entered the 2001 Women's World Series. Baseball Canada also selected and trained a women's national team in 2001. Canada dropped out of international competitions after a disappointing fourth-place finish and did not resume play until the 2004 Women's World Series in Uozu City, Japan.
The American Women’s Baseball Federation (AWBF) with the help of the Roy Hobbs Baseball organization selected and organized the 2001 United States team through tryouts held in several areas of the country. A team ranging in ages from 15-41 represented the United States well eventually winning the inaugural 2001 Women’s World Series.
The 2002 Women's World Series was played in St. Petersburg, Florida with Japan, Australia and the United States entering teams. In the gold medal game played at Tropicana Field following a Major League Baseball game Australia defeated Japan 7-4.
The 2003 Women’s World Series was hosted by Australia and was played August 25–30 on the Gold Coast in Queensland at the Australian Baseball Federation national training site, Palm Meadows Baseball Complex. Japan was to host the 2003 event originally, but the SARS virus closed that venue in June 2003. Teams from the United States, Australia and Japan accepted. Japan won the 2003 Women’s World Series defeating Australia 4-2.
Following the 2003 Women’s World Series representatives from the three countries met to discuss whether the 2004 Women’s World Series would be rescheduled because of the newly sanctioned IBAF 2004 Women's Baseball World Cup. The three country representatives and the IBAF agreed to reschedule the event for July 16–23, 2004 as to honour commitments to the World Cup.
Eight teams played in the 2004 Women's World Series. This enormously successful event witnessed new teams from Korea, India, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan). In the final, Japan defeated the USA 14-4 in front of almost 10,000 spectators. [1]
In 2005 and 2006, the World Series was a North American competition held in the Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex open to any women's teams, as it was overshadowed by the now more successful and internationally recognised World Cup. [2]
Today, baseball is a popular sport around the world with numerous countries practicing it at amateur and professional levels.
USA Baseball is the national governing body for baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization is responsible for the selection of the United States national team for various international competition, including the senior professional team, the collegiate national team, the various youth national teams, and the women's national team.
The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is the former worldwide governing body of baseball. It has since been superseded by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), and continues to exist as the WBSC's baseball division. Between 1944 and 1975, it was known by its Spanish-language name, as the Federación Internacional de Béisbol Amateur, or FIBA.
The Baseball World Cup (BWC) was an international baseball tournament for national teams around the world, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). First held in 1938 as the Amateur World Series (AWS), it was, for most of its history, the highest level of international baseball competition in the world. Even after it was supplanted in this regard in 2006 by the modern World Baseball Classic (WBC), the Baseball World Cup was still considered by the IBAF to be a major world championship, along with the WBC and the Summer Olympic Games.
Baseball at the Summer Olympics unofficially debuted at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, and was first contested as a demonstration sport at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. It became an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, then was played at each Olympiad through the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The sport was then dropped from the Summer Olympic program, until being revived for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for a single appearance. It is next expected to be part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand withdrew from the Oceania Baseball Championship. After achieving a last (16th) place in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, its rank dropped to 13, which is the lowest rank Australia ever received. The highest rank it has achieved is 6th, and its current rank is 10th.
The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 2nd in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United States has won many international tournaments, many of which are now discontinued. Most notably the team won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017.
Women's baseball is played in several countries. The strongest and most organized women's baseball leagues are in the United States, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Canada. Those countries have national governing bodies that support girls' and women's baseball programs. Other countries/regions that currently have organized women's baseball are Germany, France, Netherlands, Croatia, India, South Korea, Venezuela, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Pakistan. There also is a handful of women playing baseball in Vietnam currently on the Fishanu team at Hanoi University and on the Hanoi Baseball Club.
The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked 16th in the world as of 2022. Like the country's association football team and other national teams, the national baseball team is known as the Azzurri, and wears traditional Savoy blue on its uniforms.
The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the 1986 AWS. The tournament was held, for the second time, in Taiwan, from November 6 to 18. The United States defeated Cuba in the final, winning its third title.
The Brazil national baseball team is the national baseball team of Brazil. The team represents Brazil in international competitions. The team is currently ranked 18th in the world.
The Women's Baseball World Cup is an international tournament in which national women's baseball teams from around the world compete. Through its 2012 edition, it was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation; following the 2013 merger of the IBAF with the International Softball Federation, subsequent tournaments are sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). In the nine times it has been held, the tournament has been won twice by the United States and seven consecutive times by Japan in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2024.
The Australian women's national baseball team, nicknamed the Emeralds, represents Australia in international women's baseball tournaments and competitions. The team is controlled by the Australian Baseball Federation, which is represented in the Baseball Confederation of Oceania (BCO). They are the only team in Oceania to be formally ranked by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), and are the 3rd ranked women's baseball team in the world. The Emeralds have been in existence since 2001, when the first ever squad was selected from the 2001 National Women’s Championships, held in Sydney. They compete in the biennial IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup.
American Women's Baseball Federation (AWBF) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit amateur sports organization formed to organize and promote baseball as a mainstream and lifetime opportunity for women.
The Australia national baseball team was the third nation, after the United States and Sweden, to participate in baseball at the Summer Olympics, making their first appearance at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, and again as part of its demonstration at the 1988 Games in Seoul.
The 2010 Women's Baseball World Cup was an international baseball competition that was held in Venezuela from August 12 to August 22, 2010. Japan successfully defended their title from 2008, defeating Australia 13–3 in the final.
The Australia national baseball team has participated in nine of the International Baseball Federation World Cup tournaments. Australia has made it to the quarter-finals of a tournament three times—1998, 2007 and 2009— and its best result was in the most recent tournament held in 2009, in which Australia placed 5th.
Samantha Hamilton was a first basewoman and outfielder for the Australia women's national baseball team.
Amy McCann was a centre-fielder for the Australia women's national baseball team for over a decade.
The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the 1986 AWS. Panama were first-time hosts, with games held in four cities, from October 1 to 15.
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