Geraldton Softball Association to host 2025 June Carnival marking 50th anniversary

The Geraldton Softball Association is hosting the 2025 June Carnival this weekend, marking the 50th anniversary of one of Australia’s most renowned softball tournaments.

From its humble beginnings as a friendly competition between Geraldton and Karratha, the event has blossomed into the largest women’s softball tournament in the country.

Now spanning two major venues — Utakarra Oval and GBSC Sports Park — the carnival will feature more than 50 teams across six divisions, with participants travelling from across WA, including Perth, Bunbury, Port Hedland and Tom Price.

Geraldton will be strongly represented, fielding nine local teams.

The festivities start at 5pm on Friday at Utakarra Oval, with the annual Simone Purcell Memorial Game — a team of local players, led by Simone’s family, will face-off against the umpiring crew in a spirited opener.

A significant change this year is the restructuring of division one, downsized from eight to six elite teams to create a more competitive environment.

Each team will play one another twice, culminating in a grand final on Sunday night. With reigning champions Rockingham absent this year, the division one title is wide open.

In a nod to its roots and future, the GSA is reintroducing an All-Star GSA representative team in division one for the first time in several years.

Additionally, a junior and rookie development squad will represent GSA in division six, highlighting the association’s commitment to nurturing talent at all levels.

To commemorate the tournament’s 50th year, Saturday night games have been removed allowing teams to enjoy the social side of the event.

The evening will feature a players’ revue and 50th anniversary celebration at the Utakarra ballpark — a chance to reflect on five decades of memories and milestones.

To accommodate the expanded schedule, the tournament will use 13 diamonds across the two venues, thanks to the support of GBSC Sports Park.

GSA chair Paul Valenti, who is also tournament director and coach of the GSA division one side said it was going to be “a huge weekend”.

“I can’t thank all the volunteers enough who’ve worked tirelessly over the past six months to make this happen,” he said.

“This takes a huge effort from many people to pull off an event this size, and we have a great team.

“If you’ve never watched a game of softball, or haven’t been to the ballpark in a while, I’d encourage you to pop down to either venue over the weekend and take in the action and atmosphere.

“Our GSA side is looking strong, and we expect to be very competitive in division one.”