Baseballers from around the country have descended on Penrith for the prestigious Barclay Cup.
Played for the first time in NSW, the premier junior female baseball tournament will kick-off this Sunday, September 29 and run until Saturday, October 5 at Chapman Gardens Baseball Oval in Kingswood.
The Barclay Cup, now in its third year after a successful debut in Queensland in 2022, has quickly become the pinnacle event for junior female baseballers in Australia.
The tournament is named in honour of Jacinda Barclay, who played a major role in women’s baseball and women’s sport overall in Australia.
Barclay was an Australian representative baseball player and played professionally in three different sports over her career, including with the GWS Giants AFLW team.
She passed away in 2020 after taking her own life.
The upcoming Barclay Cup, which will be hosted by MacKillop Baseball Club, will bring together the nation’s most talented young female players, aged 13-16, for a week-long showcase of exceptional skill, competitive spirit and sportsmanship.
Speaking with the Weekender, MacKillop Baseball Club President Josh Gately said he’s incredibly proud to have the opportunity to host the 2024 Barclay Cup.
“There hasn’t been many all-girl tournaments available in baseball for an extended period of time, but this one kicked it all off,” he said.
“The Penrith and St Marys area has the highest amount of women’s major league teams in NSW, and we also have an extensive number of young female baseballers in the area.
“Following discussions between Baseball NSW and Penrith City Council, it was decided that our brand-new facility at Chapman Gardens was deemed suitable to host a large tournament like the Barclay Cup.”
Seven teams will compete at next week’s Barclay Cup, with NSW fielding three sides while teams from Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia are also taking part.
Gately said he’s particular excited about having the tournament on his home turf because he gets to watch his daughter Georgia represent NSW.
“It’s very exciting,” he said.
“There’s five girls from local baseball clubs playing at this tournament.
“We’ve got a pretty good stack of talent hiding out here, I think they are the future of women’s baseball.”
Now all Gately and his army of volunteers need to do is prepare the Second Avenue facility for a week’s worth of baseball action.
“We host games at our fields about 46 weekends a year – they are always ready for games,” he declared.
“We rely on a strong army of volunteers to dress the diamonds every day and look after the canteen facilities.”
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.