Baseball Victoria - Recent History

Recent History

In 2006, the Victorian Baseball Association (VBA) and the Victorian Provincial Baseball League (VPBL) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU was an attempt to clear the situation of having two governing bodies for baseball in Victoria. The VPBL was made of affiliated associations, predominantly based in regional centres, which scheduled competitions in the winter months (i.e. April - September). The VBA was predominantly based around the metropolitan suburbs of Melbourne and played their matches in the summer months (i.e. October - March). The VBA and the VPBL both have strong histories and heritage.

The unification process was further galvanised in 2009 by the establishment of a new Constitution and independent Board of Directors to run a single governing body for Victorian baseball, to be known as Baseball Victoria. It was hoped that the unification process would guarantee the growth and management of baseball in Victoria. The conduct, and therefore costs associated with the previous VPBL competitions remained the jurisdiction of the various associations.

Features of a unified model would be the full establishment of state-wide programs, operating in all areas of Melbourne and Country Victoria and working with all clubs regardless of historical ties to VBA or VPBL.

Baseball Victoria is responsible for selecting the Victoria Aces team that competed in the Claxton Shield; an annual, national baseball competition currently contested between the five mainland states of Australia. Baseball Victoria also governs all levels of baseball in the state, and directly runs the State Summer League (renamed the Baseball Victoria Summer League in 2010), considered to be the top level of competition in the state and the source of the majority of Australian-based players selected for the Victoria Aces.