2008 Tournament Schedule

 

Our tournament teams mirror our league teams as closely as possible--it all depends on how many people are available on the particular weekend.  If there aren't enough Gold players to field a complete team,  players from the Blue team will be asked to fill those spots. Red team players would move to Blue, etc. 

We have realised there aren't many opportunities to play games with people from different league teams during the season.  That's why we're planning to have one tournament (Diamond, 6-7 June) where we enter teams of mixed abilities.  You'll see the details below.

Our tournaments manager has given us a little more information about each tournament in order to help you decide if you want to play or not.

Details of the schedule can be found in our tournaments section or by clicking here.

Further information about the tournaments

We've included a little more information here to help new players guage which tournaments they may want to attend.

Sat 26th April:                London Firstball
This is a one-day tournament held in either Barnes Elms or Riverside Lands (Barnes Bridge).  It was loads of fun last year.  Less competitive--open for everyone. This is a good tournament for softball newbies to come watch. 
 
Sat 17th May:                GB Slowpitch Open
Another one-day tournament.  Location is still TBA: it was at Riverside Lands last year.  The atmosphere is relaxed--it's a good tournament for all players, including those who are still learning softball. Each team is supposed to get a GB National player as a mentor/coach. 
 
Sat-Sun 24-25 May:       May Ball 
This new tournament is taking the place of the old May Grand Slam tournament.  The location is TBA--though in the past, it's always been at Riverside Lands.  This is the first of the 2-day tournaments and it's a little more competitive than Firstball or GB Open.  We've been a big supporter of the organiser (Tina Franchi) for a long time--it would be great to get a good turnout here.  Keep in mind this is the Bank Holiday weekend. 
 
Sat-Sun 7-8 June:           Diamond
This 2-day event at Farnham Park in Slough is where we will have mixed ability teams. The idea is to put players from Black/Green/Red/Blue/Gold on teams together: it's an opportunity to play with different people than usual.  It should be loads of fun!  There will be camping on-site...so no need to drive back into town that Saturday night.
 
Sat-Sun 21-22 June:        Pioneers
This is a Comp A & B tournament. Raiders Gold will enter this 2-day tournament in Canterbury. 
 
Sat-Sun 28-29 June:        BA
BA is one of the main events on the Raiders calendar.  It's a 2-day tournament at the Concorde Centre in Cranford (off the M4 near Heathrow).  The level of competition is pretty high. 
 
Sat-Sun 12-13 July:         Euroball
This is a new tournament happening in Southampton--time for a road trip!  The tournament coincides with the European Slowpitch Championships--it's a chance to see some amazing world-class softball.  Keep in mind that Windsor is the very next week.
 
Sat-Sun 19-20 July:         Windsor
Windsor is always the highlight of our tournament season.  If there's one not to miss--it's this one!  We play hard at this tournament--but it's also about having a great weekend away with your Raiders mates.  Bring your camping gear!
 
Fri-Sat 25-26 July:         Barcelona Gay Eurogames
All Raiders are welcome on this long weekend in Barcelona.  Right now, it's just Raiders and BK Paris for softball...so it will be very relaxed, more about having a fun holiday than loads of softball.!
 
Sat 9th August:                GLMSL Superball
This one-day tournament at Riverside Lands (Barnes Bridge) involves GLMSL league teams playing each other.  Anyone on Gold/Blue/Red/Green can play.  This is a chance to show our Raiders pride as the biggest club in the GLMSL!
 
Sat-Sun 16-17 Aug:        Carniball
This new tournament replaces the old Grand Slam 2.  It will probably take place at good ol' Riverside Lands--and it's the last full tournament of the season.  I hope lots of Raiders will come out for this one.  Competition level will be high.
 
Sun 31st Aug:                  GLMSL Lastball or BA 2
There are two events happening the same day: both are designed as 'end of the season' tournaments.  The Blue, Red and Green league teams are eligible to play in Lastball.  Location is TBA.  The Gold team might play at BA2 at the Concorde Centre.
 
Sat 6th Sept:                    Publishing League Tournament
This will be the season-ending tournament for the Raiders Black team.  Location TBA. 
 
Sat-Sun 6-7 Sept:            Nationals
Raiders Gold played at Nationals at Keele University last year and had an absolute blast.  This year, we would like to take the Gold and Blue teams to Staffordshire.  It's another great chance for the Raiders to make our presence known--and take on teams from across the UK!
 
There are also some single sex tournaments on the schedule:
 
Sun 4th May:                Single Sex Firstball
Sun 18th May:              Single Sex GB Slowpitch Open
Sat-Sun 26-27 July:     Single Sex Nationals in Birmingham
 
The Raiders women will be organising their own participation in these tournaments.  Keep in mind the Barcelona Eurogames and Single Sex Nationals are on the same weekend.