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Where is the Cup held?

InThe Netherlands, in Schiedam (a town near Rotterdam).

Why the Netherlands?

The Netherlands is the heart of fastpitch softball in Europe – between Italy and the Netherlands, these are the two countries that have the highest ‘world’ ranking amongst all European nations.

What kind of team is this?

In the first 2 years of this event, we truly had an ‘All-Star’ team as we had tryouts, and we chose the best that we invited which made it the true All-Star team. Well, this didn’t work out because we didn’t win, and we had prima donnas which made the social/history side of the trip unbearable as well. We knew at this point that this form of selecting athletes was not going to work. So, we changed the format of how to select athletes. Since then, we select athletes first on personality, attitude, and social skills. We are together off the field far too much to have these 3 factors not be the paramount ingredient in building a team. We then have a reference that gives us information on skills. We have had 1st team all-league players, 1st team all-state players, and athletes at the other range that we’re not all-league or a few that didn’t even play school ball at all, but still were “High School Age”. What we don’t have is an ‘All-Star’ team of softball talent. Instead, we go on recommendations of great girls so the entire trip is much more pleasurable.

Why the Netherlands?

This is not the game that any state sanctions as we have had to completely rewrite the rules of this game to fit the indoor game. The differences are dramatic:
* We use different balls
* Each batter starts with a 1 and 1 count
* We have ceiling rules
* We use 8 players
* We allow timed games
* The base length is different

This is just for starters! The game is built for speed and a far cry from the game that states sanctions, so be prepared for speed!

Do you have a listing of references?

We have both player and parent references available.

Do you have a listing of references?

We have had athletes from all over the United States and Canada.

What is the cost?

The cost for Cup  2024 is $4250 per traveler.

What does this fee cover?

*Roundtrip airfare from the “gateway” airport to Amsterdam, returning from Paris
*Airport/hotel transfers coinciding with our itinerary
* Four-star hotel accommodations in Rotterdam & Paris
*Hotel breakfasts
*Transportation from Rotterdam to Paris
*3-Day Rotterdam tram pass
*2-Day Paris Metro pass
*One Jersey and a jacket for players
*Federation’s fees and taxes
*Sponsorship raffle tickets

Are there fundraisers?

For years we have advised athletes on how to raise up to 100% of the cost of the trip. We have also had numerous parents come up with great ways to sell crafts at ball games throughout the year to afford the trip. We decided to take things differently a few years ago. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we used a formula that is very successful and gives the athletes an easier way to raise money.

What is the installment program?

There is an installment program is for Cup each year.  Depending on when you register in the year, we can offer up to an 8 to 10 installment payment option plan which must conclude on the 15th of November.  Please contact us if you have questions about this option to discuss your situation

What is NOT covered in the Cup fee?

We don’t pay for lunch, dinner, shopping, and tour events.

Can we back out?

Prior to your April 15th Deposit, you can back out at any time. After your first deposit, each option plan contains different refund policies, please contact us in regards to these options. Each traveler is also urged to sign up for a “Cancel for any reason trip insurance policy”, we can direct you to some agencies that provide this service.

Are parents and/or family allowed to go?

In the first Cup, we had a couple of parents, in the past Cups we had in excess of 100, inclusive of grandparents, siblings, etc!

How many teams and how many are on a team?

We normally take 6 teams of 10 athletes from America/Canada.

Where is the ‘staff’ from?

The staff comes from Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Jersey. We have former pro fastpitch players, high profile summer coaches, in the most recent years with the 2 time Gold Medal-winning coach from the U.S. Olympic Team.

What teams are we playing?

Each year it varies but we can be assured that the Dutch National team will be represented. In previous years we’ve had the Polish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Czech, German, Belgian, French, and British.

Will we be informed about passports?

You’ll be well informed on how to go about getting a passport.

What is our rooming situation?

Parents/Guardians traveling with athletes will room together.

Is this Educational?

This trip is actually a history, culture, and social trip way more than just a softball event. Look at it this way:

 

  • We leave on a Wednesday and return on a Wednesday:

  • On the Wednesday departure day, you can go to school

  • Thursday (the arrival day) while your classmates are in school, we are learning and touring in the Netherlands – learning! Just like your classmates!

  • Friday, while your friends are in school, we are learning some serious history in Amsterdam, headed to Anne Frank’s home just for starters

  • Friday night when school’s outback home, we’re playing ball!

  • Saturday when school’s out, we’re playing ball

  • Sunday when school’s out, we’re playing ball – then headed to Paris

  • Monday is Martin Luther King’s day – and your friends are sleeping in – We are touring Paris, Notre Dame, and the Louvre – more learning!

  • Tuesday when school is back in session back home, we are still touring Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, and Arc de Triomphe, yep, they’re learning and we are too.

  • Wednesday when your friends are in school, we are still learning as we are not only in Paris but we are also headed home



As you can see, we really take seriously the education of our athletes. We are learning firsthand. We are only playing when school is out of session, the fact is we are learning while school is out on MLK day! The bottom line, this is a great educational trip/history trip first behind it we play some serious ball.

Won’t I miss school?

Yes, but even though we’ve gone 8 days and 7 nights – you will only have to miss Thursday, Friday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as generally we play over Martin Luther King Weekend – which means the Americans are out of school.

Isn’t this during exams?

In most cases this is during exams – provisions made with the administration well beforehand have never kept an athlete from going to the Cup.

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