The Ghajnsielem Redcoats will be celebrating ten wonderful years in a month’s time. 11 September 2012 was the day the Club was established with the primary objective to give an opportunity to girls to play a team sport. For ten years our girls had to play softball and baseball either against boys’ teams or against women’s teams.

Since our U15 fastpitch team was not able to play youth softball in Malta, the players along with their coaches worked particularly hard this past season to prepare themselves to face five Italian teams, including the U13 Italian Fastpitch National Team. One needs to point out that the Italian domestic softball league is considered as one of the best in Europe along with that of the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

It was not just the lack of local competition that put our girls at a great disadvantage, the lack of experience playing on a proper softball field with a clay infield represented another handicap for the Redcoats. Still our U15s were a match for the Italian teams and should they play against the same teams in the near future, now equipped with the experience gained competing in the SummerDays XV, the Redcoats would certainly win their fair share of games.

Everyone associated with the Redcoats, has great reason to believe that the future is bright for fastpitch softball on the island of Gozo. With so many talented players at every age category eager to play the sport and with the management of the Club willing to go out of its way to help these players achieve their full potential, only great things can happen.

This trip was the sixth time that the Redcoats travelled away from Malta, making it possible for seven youth teams to experience playing the sport abroad. The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Italy were the destinations. As was the case in each of the previous five trips, the U15s were outstanding ambassadors for sport in Malta. As did the U12s, they also did their best to promote Gozo with their opponents, handing gifts and souvenirs that were made available to the Club by VISIT GOZO.

The participation of the Ghajnsielem Redcoats in the SummerDays XV international tournament was made possible by the financial assistance that the Club received from SportMalta through the International Participation funding scheme. Such funding opportunities make it possible for the Club to provide its youth teams with playing experience that would otherwise not be possible.