BASEBALL FOR ALL TO HOST THE NATION’S LARGEST GIRLS’ BASEBALL TOURNAMENT AT THE RIPKEN EXPERIENCE® ELIZABETHTOWN JULY 12-16
(Elizabethtown, Ky.) – Baseball For All, a 501(c)3 national organization that builds gender equity in baseball, announced it will host the 2023 Baseball For All Nationals at The Ripken Experience® Elizabethtown in Kentucky from July 12-16, 2023. The 8th annual tournament is the largest girls’ baseball tournament in the United States, and promises to be the largest in U.S. history to date. Ripken Baseball added The Ripken Experience® Elizabethtown as its fourth complex starting in 2023 through a partnership with Elizabethtown Sports Park.
“Ripken Baseball has been an incredible supporter of Baseball For All, and we’re thrilled to bring our national tournament to their world-class complex in Elizabethtown,” said Justine Siegal, founder of Baseball For All. “Our goal is to bring girls together and provide them with the inspiration, community, and access to keep playing our national pastime. Having Baseball For All Nationals at a Ripken Baseball complex will allow teams to showcase their skills in a Big League environment while meeting girls who love baseball from around the world.
Since 2015, Baseball For All has welcomed girls from all over the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Mexico, and South Korea to compete in its national tournament. Ripken Baseball last hosted the Baseball For All Nationals in 2021 when the tournament occurred at The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen in Maryland.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the largest girls’ baseball tournament in the country to Kentucky during our first summer at The Ripken Experience® Elizabethtown,” said Amanda Shank, Vice President at Ripken Baseball. “At Ripken Baseball, we share the mission of Baseball For All to grow the game, regardless of gender. We can’t wait to give these young athletes a Big League Experience they’ll always remember.”
Baseball For All is welcoming girls’ baseball players and teams to compete in the following divisions in 2023:
10U (46/60)
12U (46/60)
12U (50/70)
14U (54/80)
16U (60/90)
18U (60/90)
Baseball For All began when founder Justine Siegal was told at 13 that she could not play because she was a girl. Instead of feeling discouraged, this sentiment fueled her passion for the game even more, pushing her to grow up and become the first woman to coach professional men’s baseball (Brockton Rox, 2009) and the first female to coach a Major League Baseball organization (Oakland A’s, 2015, Instructional League).
About Baseball for All
Baseball For All is a 501(c)3 national nonprofit building gender equity in baseball by providing girls across the United States with access to opportunities to play, coach, and lead. Featured in hundreds of media outlets, including Newsweek, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, MLB.com, and the New York Times, Baseball for All is the definitive resource for media looking for answers and thoughts on girls and women playing baseball. To learn more about BFA Nationals or to join/start a girls’ baseball team of your own, please reach out to Baseball For All today.
About Ripken Baseball
Ripken Baseball brings teammates, coaches, and families together through its Big League Experiences while teaching children how to play sports the right way – the Ripken Way. Ripken Baseball continues to innovate the game through tournaments, camps, clinics, and spring training at their state-of-the-art baseball and softball facilities – The Ripken Experience® Aberdeen (Maryland), The Ripken Experience® Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), The Ripken Experience® Pigeon Forge (Tennessee), The Ripken Experience® Elizabethtown (Kentucky), and Cooperstown All Star Village (New York). Ripken Baseball also brings its youth sports experience to satellite locations through Ripken Select Tournaments. Learn more at ripkenbaseball.com.
CONTACT:
Eric Nemeth – on behalf of Ripken Baseball
nemeth@ericpr.com