For the first time in over 20 years, Softball Tasmania will be fielding an open women’s softball team in the National Championships to be held between 9-16 January 2024 in Canberra. Unlike many other competing States (and Territories), Softball Tasmania receives limited funding and they also do not have a high-performance program. As a result, the standard of softball in Tasmania has not be exposed to the elite National level competition and the skill sets that are required to be competitive at that level, despite exceptional female athletes residing in Tasmania.

The team will be coached by Lachlan Thorburn the former Queensland Academy of Sport head softball coach, who led Queensland to 3 National Championships between 2005 to 2009. Lachlan was also an assistant coach of the Aussie Spirit women’s National Team prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic games.

Lachlan has committed to coaching the Tasmanian Team for the next 3 years and will be developing a high-performance program for both players and coaches in Tasmania. As part of the implementation of the program, the team will initially consist of several Queensland based players (including 2 current Aussie Spirit players), and the remainder of the players being Tasmanian based players. The goal over the next 3 to 5 years is to create a lasting high-performance program that will enable Softball Tasmania to field high-performance softball teams at the national level for all age groups without the need for as many interstate based players. As one can appreciate, it takes time to develop elite level players and coaches and the contributions of the Queensland based players is vital in developing those calibre players in Tasmania.

For the privilege of representing the Tasmanian team, the Queensland based players will be travelling to Tasmania to provide coaching clinics and to train with the Tasmanian high-performance squad (which it is hoped will grow to 15 to 30 players from all age groups over the next 12 months). Lachlan will also travel to Tasmania regularly and will also provide coaching drills and trainings virtually to both players and coaches. As it currently stands, the current program is being funded by Lachlan and his wife Melanie and the Queensland based players. Those costs relate to training facility hire, equipment, strength and conditioning and travel. Significant expenses will be incurred relating to field and training facility hire (in both Queensland and Tasmania), travel for players and officials to competitions and training camps, further equipment (in both Queensland and Tasmania), uniforms, accommodation, car hire, physiotherapy, and entry fees into the National Championships. It is also the goal of the program to subsidise the accommodation and flights for as many of the Tasmanian female high performance squad members to attend the National Championships so that they can be part of the experience and to see firsthand what is required to play at the elite level.