You have arrived at the website of the Brighton Beachcombers Softball Club, a Recreational softball team based in Brighton, UK.

Here you can find information about what we do, where we do it, when we do it and how good we are at it.

Latest news

2009-06-26

TAKE PART Festival This Weekend!

TAKE PART is a massive celebration of sport in Brighton, with dozens of events taking place at Preston Park.

We're trying to get as many Beachcombers as possible to come out tomorrow (Saturday 27th) to promote and show off softball; let Sarah know if you can come out and help.

New Tournament In The Calendar

We've added September's Solent Last Ball tournament to our calendar.

This is a great tournament to round off the season, so look forward to it!

2009-06-26

Diamond 2 Photos

We obviously didn't do very well on the photography front at Diamond 2, since these are the only photos I've received.

Let's do a better job next time!

2009-05-17

Beachcombers Test Their Resolve At GB Open Tournament

The team travelled to Twickenham on Saturday to take part in the GB Open, an 8-team tournament that raises funds for the Great Britain slowpitch softball squad.

It quickly became apparent that we were facing more experienced, B-grade teams, so our players had to pull out all their resolve and team spirit to stay in the game and use it as a learning experience.

The GB players commented on the determination of our plucky, orange-clad Brightonians, and the opposition couldn't quite figure out how we were still the ones laughing, drinking champagne (thanks Phil and Becky) and eating cakes (thanks Roger) through it all.

Our new recruit Rick too some great photos which you can see here. A little taster:

Again, a special mention to our newest players, Rick and Nic, who got stuck in and pulled off some great plays!

If you are looking for old news items that have been removed from here, they're all conveniently stored under Old News.

Softball is a bat sport derived from baseball. It is specifically meant to be faster-paced and easier to play for beginners.

There are different varieties of softball: fastpitch, slowpitch, single-sex and co-ed. In Brighton we play co-ed (men and women play together) slowpitch (the ball is pitched at the batter slowly so it's easier to hit) at the Recreational level.

If you want to find out how to play, check out our Idiot's Guide; if you want to find out what it looks like, you'll have to come out and Play Ball!

The Brighton Beachcombers started life as the Brightonians in 1999 with help from a couple of dedicated London and Redhill players and the support of the British Softball Federation. Since then we've changed our name and have increased our player numbers year by year, playing regularly through both summer and winter seasons. We are privileged to have two Great Britain national squad players as coaches.

In the summer season we play in Brighton at Preston Park. We also play in the Solent Softball League and enter many one-day and weekend tournaments in the South-East and as far as Bristol, Manchester and Ireland.

Most softball in the UK is of the co-ed slowpitch variety. There is also some fastpitch (especially women's), and some single-sex. There are three divisions:

• A: Also known as Comp-A, it is the top competitive level of the country. It is mostly based around a number of weekend tournaments throughout the UK.
• B: Also known as Comp-B, it is the intermediate level. Many weekend tournaments include both A and B competition at the same venue.
• C: Also known as Recreational or Rec, it is the entry-level division where most of the fun happens. It is key in making the sport accessible to new players. There are many Recreational leagues all over the country, and many one-day and weekend tournaments during the summer season, sometimes combined with A and B competition.

The Brighton Beachcombers are a Recreational team, although for one or two tournaments in the summer season we enter as a Comp-B team and field our very strongest side.