Who are we?
Bristol Baseball Club is an amateur baseball club which has five teams that all play in the British Baseball Federation. The teams are the Badgers (AAA), Bats, Buccaneers and Brunels, all A. The Bobcats is our women's team competing in the national league. We also have a fledgling youth section called the Bristol Bolts.
Our club is a not-for-profit, CASC-registered sports club run by volunteers. Our goal is to raise awareness of and the participation in the sport of baseball in the UK.
Community impact
Bristol Baseball Club is based at Somerdale Pavilion in Keynsham on the edge of Bristol. We currently have 100 members which is up from just 40 in 2017. Our members come from all across the greater Bristol area, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
Our teams play others from across the country and we hosted the national baseball finals in 2020 and 2021.
We obtain excellent press coverage in the local newspapers and on local radio and have a successful social media presence across the main platforms.
We run successful tasters for new recruits and hold these sessions and indoor spring training sessions across the area.
Why are we crowdfunding?
Three of our players have reach the extended rosters of GB Baseball. Tom Maclennan is with GB under 15s and Becky Cottrell and Kat Golik are with GB Women.
The trials started in September 2021 and since then all of them have been travelling across the country to London, Sheffield, Bournemouth and Slough to keep their commitment of wanting to play for their country.
This has all been self-funded and now they could face costs, if they make the final rosters, of around £1,500 each to take part in the relevant European Championships this summer and autumn.
Alongside contributions from the club and its members, we hope the wider baseball community will help support our players in their bid to don the GB Baseball jersey.
How we’ll spend the money raised
All the money raised will be divided equally between the three players specifically to help with the costs they will incur if they make the final rosters.
The costs include flights and accommodation in Europe for the tournaments which will be held in July and August. Our players will also need to buy new baseball clothing.
Money raised will also go towards the cost of travelling to the GB training sessions they will need to attend in the lead up.
If they do not make the final rosters, the money will be given to the players to cover the costs they have incurred to date.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Create a fundraiser of your own. Use the button on our page to get started. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!