Who are we?
The British Baseball Federation (BBF) is the national governing body of baseball within the United Kingdom, founded in 1987.
BBF is a federated member of both the Confederation of European Baseball and the International Baseball Federation. BBF is the joint owner (with the British Softball Federation) of BaseballSoftballUK (BSUK), the national development agency for both baseball and softball in Britain.
The voting members of BBF are the affiliated baseball clubs, life members and the umpires, scorers and coaches associations. The BBF holds an annual general meeting each spring at which the voting members elect an executive board of officials to oversee the body and the sport.
Adult Baseball
The BBF adult (or senior) leagues are split by ability and geographical location into several divisions. The leagues range from the highly competitive National Baseball League to the more recreational Single-A.
At the start of the 2011 season, there were 34 clubs, with 51 league teams, as members of the BBF. There are also a number of non-league clubs and teams affiliated to the Federation.
Youth Baseball
There are organised leagues for the 10-13 (Bronco) and 14-16 (Pony) age ranges, and some development Rookie Ball leagues for younger children. Additionally, the BBF supports the Play Ball programme run by BaseballSoftballUK, which introduce children aged 8-12 to bat and ball games, usually through their schools or a local league scheme.
The BBF youth leagues run from May to August in both the northern and southern parts of England.
National Teams
The BBF oversees the Great Britain Baseball programme, which includes our National Team for european and world competition. Team GB has recently competed at the European Championships (2007, 2010) and the IBAF Baseball World Cup (2009), and currently holds a ranking of 21st in the world.
Soon, Team GB hopes to receive an invitation to the World Baseball Classic hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB). Of course, should baseball be reinstated as an Olympic Sport, the BBF would send their National Team to represent Britain in the games.
There are also national teams at the youth level. The GB Juniors (U-19) and GB Cadets (U-16) also compete in European and world competition.
