The Greater Brisbane League or formerly the Greater Brisbane Baseball Boardleague is the largest baseball league in the Australian state of Queensland and covers all teams from Brisbane North, South, West, Metro as well as two Gold Coast teams. These are from age groupsLittle League through to seniors. It is run by the governing body of Baseball Queensland. To participate in the Greater Brisbane Major League, clubs must meet certain criteria set by Baseball Queensland. Generally the hardest criteria for clubs to meet is to field a team in the junior age levels U14's, U16's and U20's. When this criterion is not met, senior teams may only compete in the South Queensland Baseball League or Pacific League competition. The GBL consists of six senior division teams from Major/Pacific League A and B through to South Queensland League A-C and a separate Masters competition. Juniors consist of an U20 competition, division one and two U16 and a division one and two U14 competitions. U8, U10 and U12 competitions are run by their respective regions and are non-divisional.
History
The Greater Brisbane League was originally known as the Queensland Baseball Association fixtures, which began in 1946 when six teams entered the competition playing primarily at New Farm Park, Kalinga Park, Langlands Park, Perry Park and the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. Uniforms were made out of surplus army uniforms and teams made up of many American ex-pat soldiers from World War II and A-Grade cricketers to keep game fit during the off-season.
Format
Teams
Clubs currently in the Greater Brisbane League are:
Robina Braves field only junior teams in the GBL.
Below is a map indicating the locations of all eighteen teams competing in the Greater Brisbane League competition. The Brisbane CBD is represented by the black square. Also note Toowoomba is located off the map to the west:
Commissioners Cup
The Commissioners Cup or Commissioners Shield is an annual, end of year event that usually coincides with the Christmas break of the season. It is a one off game in Major A, B and C grades between the current Greater Brisbane League leaders of the Northside and the Southside. Major A standings are on win percentage, whereas Major B and C-Grade standings are on points.
Major League Criteria
The basics to qualifying for Major League criteria, clubs must have a minimum of:
27 senior registered players excluding U18's, in at least the Major A, B and C grades
60 junior registered players
One team in each of the Baseball Queensland U14, U16 and U20 competitions; together with a minimum of one team in each of Little League, U8 and U10
One level 1 accredited coach to each team: LL, U14, U16, U20 and all senior teams
One accredited scorer and umpire for all junior and senior games
The Greater Brisbane League is covered across many media sources from Quest Community Newspapers including the Redcliffe and Bayside Herald, Caboolture Shire Herald, Albert and Logan News, Pine Rivers Press, Northern Times, and the Logan West Leader, as well as many other regional newspapers such as the Hinterland Grapevine, The Sunshine Coast Daily, Gold Coast Bulletin, Benowa Garden News, and the Mudgee Guardian. Major League results are also covered by the television network 7 and more in depth results are covered by The Sunday Mail and The Courier Mail.
