Let’s take a closer look at this new development in women’s softball: the Super League. Alongside all national and international competitions—the championship, challenge, and European Cup—the federation has just launched this Super League concept for elite athletes.
The primary goal is to provide high-level playing time to over 40 players in France. This concept aims to be both collective, through matchups between randomly selected teams, and individual, as each player’s performance will contribute to their personal standings.
Numerous rules are in place to ensure that luck serves each player’s talent as much as possible. Coaches and teams are selected by lottery. Each new matchday will adjust this luck, for example, by designating captains or pitchers based on rankings. Depending on their performance, each player will earn points. See the table below.
The women’s softball community has fully embraced this new competition and will evolve it over time based on its successes and areas for improvement. For example, the initial pink logo has been changed to blue following some remarks highlighting stereotypes. It may not seem like much, but like any competition, it will refine itself over time. We’ll surely discover areas for improvement. Won’t there be some difficulty for athletes who are less well-ranked? Won’t there be strategies of duos or trios during matches to gain points at the expense of others? All this is possible, but what’s important is the collective playing time among these female athletes that will help them progress, ultimately benefiting the French national team.
The first matchday is on March 25th in Évry-Courcouronnes, which has become the temple of softball in France thanks to its facilities. Three teams will be coached by Raina Hunter, Alexandre Moussa, and Camille Riera, respectively. This will produce the first standings, which will determine the new teams for the next matchday on April 22nd, followed by another on July 2nd.
The other goal is visibility, which requires strong communication from the federation through websites, social media, specialized media, and possibly women’s media. This also means a system for broadcasting matches to share them with the French softball community across the country.
Let’s applaud this initiative and hope it brings all the expected results in the short and medium term.
