Three Western Australians have been named in the Aussie Spirit squad for the Asia/Oceania Olympic Qualification tournament to be held in Shanghai China, from 24-28 September.
The squad of 20 will be trimmed to 15 for the tournament, but as it currently stands, Leigh Godfrey, Verity Long-Droppert and Leah Parry are all in the mix to compete for Australia.
2020 will mark a special year for the sport, with Softball having been excluded from the Olympic schedule at the conclusion of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, along with Baseball which will also return in Tokyo.
The stakes are high for Australia, with the team needing to outlast seven other nations, with each country fighting for one Olympic qualification spot.
Only six nations will compete in Tokyo, and with Japan having earned direct qualification as host, Asia/Oceania will receive only one other quota spot.
The 12-game opening round will be held from 24-26 September, with the top two teams of each group advancing to the Super Round where they will carry over the result of the game played between each other. The winning National Team at the conclusion of the Super Round, will advance to Tokyo 2020.
Group A: No. 8 China, No. 23 Korea, No. 13 Philippines and No. 11 New Zealand
Group B: No. 6 Chinese Taipei, No. 37 Indonesia and No. 42 Hong Kong and No. 7 Australia.
If Leah Parry can earn a spot in Australia’s final 15 member squad, it will represent a particularly remarkable journey for the 38 year-old mother of two – who received a surprise call up for national duty earlier in the year, after she’d returned to the sport in a largely fitness and recreational purpose following a two-year layoff to focus on family.
Her return to international softball for the Spirit was incredibly her first Australian cap in six years.
