National Softball League
The National Softball League or NSL is a co-ed Slowpitch Softball league created for the 2009 British Softball season (April - September). The league has run every season since then and grew to a 2 division league in 2017.[1] The inaugural season had 14 teams compete in 3 qualifying events, as well as the Premier Nationals (the top sports championship in the UK).
Current season, competition or edition: 2018 NSL 2 season | |
| Sport | Softball |
|---|---|
| Founder | Roger Grooms & Matthew Slorach |
| Inaugural season | 2009 |
| Divisions | NSL1, NSL2 |
| Venue(s) | Farnham Park |
| Most recent champion(s) | Pioneers (3rd title) |
| Most titles | H2O (4) |
| Official website | http://www.eurosoftball.org |
12 teams compete in NSL1 and 12 teams compete in NSL 2 with promotion and relegation taking place between the divisions. For 2019, the Manchester Thunder were relegated from NSL1 to NSL2 while the Manchester Mavericks were promoted from NSL2 to NSL1.
The 2018 season will see the addition of an NSL3 tournament in which 8 teams will compete in a 2-day tournament. The top 2 finishing teams will replace the 2 relegated teams from NSL2 (Pyromaniacs & Outlaws) for the 2019 season.
The concept of the NSL is to improve the top level of Co-Ed Slowpitch Softball in the UK by exposing more players and teams to top-level competition.
The league's founders, Roger Grooms and Matthew Slorach, came up with the idea to link the already existing tournaments into a series, where points were awarded based on the finishing positions of teams at each event. This concept has been expanded upon where the NSL now provides a pre-defined fixture list for the season which makes sure each team plays all of the others in its division in a home & away format.
Results
The winners and runners-up from each season of NSL play:
| Year | NSL 1 | NSL 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Runner-up | Winner | Runner-up | |||
| 2018 | Pioneers | Chromies | Mavericks | Warriors | ||
| 2017 | Chromies | Pioneers | KKs | Naturals | ||
| 2016 | Pioneers | H2O | Manchester Dodgers | Blitz | ||
| 2015 | Chromies | Slammers | N/A | |||
| 2014 | Pioneers | Blue Steel | ||||
| 2013 | H2O | Pioneers | ||||
| 2012 | H2O | Pioneers | ||||
| 2011 | H2O | Chromies | ||||
| 2010 | H2O | Chromies | ||||
| 2009 | Chromies | Baker Tomkins | ||||
Current Format
The two divisions for the 2019 season contain the following teams:[1][2]
| # | NSL 1 | NSL 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol Tigers | Bristol Bees |
| 2 | Blue Steel | Blitz Bombers |
| 3 | Chromies | Blitz Havoc |
| 4 | H2O | Honey Badgers |
| 5 | KKs | Leeds Terriers |
| 6 | Legends | Misfits |
| 7 | LNZ | The Mob |
| 8 | Manchester Dodgers | Naturals |
| 9 | Manchester Greensox | Nino Privados |
| 10 | Manchester Mavericks | SPAM |
| 11 | Pioneers | Tempest |
| 12 | Windsor Knights | Warriors |
Inaugural 2009 Season Standings
The original 2009 teams and standings were:
| Team | points | RunsA |
|---|---|---|
| Chromies | 43 | 141 |
| Baker Tomkins | 41 | 153 |
| H20 | 38 | 113 |
| Pioneers | 38 | 159 |
| Slammers | 35 | 138 |
| Dragons | 34 | 138 |
| Munster | 29 | 151 |
| Los Amos de la Noche | 29 | 214 |
| Niners | 25 | 173 |
| Windsor Knights | 22 | 201 |
| Manchester Marvels | 22 | 214 |
| Coyotes | 15 | 261 |
| Nottingham Arrows | 14 | 250 |
| Solent Mariners | 14 | 299 |
The benefits of the NSL were seen during the 2009 season with 14 teams competing at the 2009 Premier Nationals (up from 7 teams at the 2008 A Nationals, which they replaced), increased interest from sponsors in the sport, and television coverage of the final at the Bristol tournament.
References
- "British Softball Federation Leagues - NSL 1". bsf.spawtz.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
- "British Softball Federation Leagues - NSL 2". http://bsf.spawtz.com/Competition/Details/116. Retrieved 2019-06-07. External link in
|website=(help) - "National Softball League". Retrieved 2009-10-09.
External links
- "National Softball League". Retrieved 2009-10-09.