Hi Al,

 

This coming week will be a big week for European Fastpitch.  7 countries meet in Amstelveen, Netherlands (just outside Amsterdam) to compete for the European Championship for the 11th time.  To add to the excitement, the Europeans are also the qualifier for the 2013 World Chamionships in New Zealand.  The top 3 European teams qualify for the Worlds.  The teams play a full round robin, followed by a page payoff with the top 4 teams.

Top teams in the event would be Czech Republic, with a strong batting lineup backed by a solid pitching staff led by Ales Jetmar.  The team will also be traveling to Midland later this summer fo the ISC tournament. Also Denmark, led by 2 time ISC winner Freddy Terkelsen and his brother Valdemar, Great Britain, with pitching ace James Darby and of course the Netherlands with the home field advantage will be hoping for one of the top 3 spots in the tournament.  The rest of the pack:  Belgium, Croatia and Israel will most likely round off the field.

Live updates of all the games + lots of stats can be found here:  http://competition.europeansoftball.org/2012/amstelveen/schedule.php (Maybe a good idea for the ISC tournament??)

 

Take care.....

 

Jens Terkelsen

Denmark