Chelsea Forkin

Chelsea Forkin

Forkin in March 2012 during a photoshoot
Personal information
Born	14 July 1989 Perth, Western Australia
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Softball, Baseball
Event(s)	Australian National Team "Aussie Spirit"
Turned pro	2016
Achievements and titles
World finals	2004 Women's World Series, 2004 Women's Baseball World Cup, 2007 ISF Junior Women's World Championships, 2010, 2012, 2014 ISF Women's World Championships
Medal record Softball Representing  Australia ISF Junior Women's World Championships 2007 Netherlands Women's Team ISF Women's World Championships 2012 Canada Women's Team 2014 Netherlands Women's Team Canada Cup 2011 Canada Cup Women's Team 2013 Canada Cup Women's Team

Chelsea Forkin (born 14 July 1989 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian softball and baseball player. As a softball player, Chelsea has won 3 Australian National Championship titles with the Western Australian Flames and 1 title with the Queensland Heat. During her baseball career, she competed at the 2003 Under 14 Australian National Baseball Championships, one of only two girls competing. As a 15 year old, she represented Australia at the 2004 Women's Baseball World Series in Uozu, Japan and the Inaugural Women's World Cup of Baseball in Edmonton, Canada. At the age of 16, Chelsea left the sport of baseball to play softball, where she is a utility player. She went on to represent Australia in softball at the junior and senior national level. With the Junior National Team she competed at the 2007 ISF Junior Women's World Championships winning a Bronze Medal. Her first appearance for the Senior National Team was later that year, in a series against China at The Redlands in Queensland. Chelsea's first Senior World Championship appearance was in 2010 in Venezuela, where the Aussie Spirit finished 6th. Chelsea currently has 2 bronze medals from the 2012 ISF XIII Women's World Championships and 2014 ISF Women's World Championships. In 2016, she will be playing for the Dallas Charge in the National Pro Fastpitch League and also representing Australia at the 2016 ISF Women's World Championships in Surrey, Canada.

Personal

Forkin was born on 14 July 1989 in Perth, Western Australia^[1][2] and is from Anketell, Western Australia.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Baseball

Forkin started in baseball as a six-year-old playing teeball. She followed the path to baseball and in 2001 by the age of eleven, she played on a boys' team, Melville Braves where she earned the team's Fairest and Best award.^[8] Starting off in the junior system, she competed at the 2003 U14 Australian National Baseball Championships in Alice Springs, Northern Territory where she represented Western Australia. She was one of only two girls to participate in the tournament^[9] and was Western Australia's first girl ever to be named to the boys' team.^[8] She went on to represent Australia at the senior level. As a schoolgirl, she represented Australia at the 2004 World Series and World Cup of Baseball.^[5] She eventually left the sport for softball.^[7]

Softball

She plays two positions, catcher^[7] and shortstop.^[2] She started playing softball as a sixteen-year-old. Within two years, she had made the Australian junior national team.^[7] By mid-2007, she had played seven games for the team.^[7]

Forkin has represented Australia on the junior national level in softball. In 2007, she was a member of the Australian side that competed at the International Softball Federation Junior Women's World Championships in the Netherlands,^{[7][10][11][12][13]} where she earned a bronze medal.^[1] In 2007, as a member of the U19 national team, she also participated in a softball tour of the Netherlands.^[14] She was still with the team in 2008.^[4] In 2008, 2009 and 2011, Forkin had a scholarship with and for the Australian Institute of Sport team.^{[1][15][16][17]}

Forkin has represented Western Australia on the national level,^[4] she has twice been a member of the Western Flames team that won the national championships.^[1] She represented Western Australia at the 2007 Australian U-19 Women's Fastpitch Championship, where her team lost to New South Wales in the finals. She was named the competition's most valuable player and best batter.^[18] She has competed at softball on other levels inside Australia. In 2008, she played for a local side at the Northern Territory titles.^[4]

Senior national team

Forkin has played for the Australian senior national team. She was a member of the national team in 2007 and participated in a six-game test series against China in the Redlands.^[6][19] This was her first international competition with the team.^[6] In March 2009, she participated in a Brisbane-based training camp.^[17] In 2011, she was a member of the Australian side that competed at the World Cup of Softball.^[20] She played in the 8–0 loss to the United States. It was her second loss on the day, also having played in a game where Australia lost to Japan.^[20] She played in another game at the Cup against the United States where Australia lost 5–2.^[21] She was on the Australian side that won a bronze medal at the 2011 Canada Cup.^[22] She is a member of the 2012 Australia women's national softball team and is trying to earn a spot to compete at the 2012 ISF XIII Women's World Championships .^[3]

Recognition

In 2011, she was recognised by the Australian Institute of Sport when she was named as having earned a Sport Achievement Award.^[22]

References

1. "AIS Softball – Chelsea Forkin". Bruce, Australian Capital Territory: Australian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
2. "Chelsea Forkin". New South Wales Australia: Softball NSW. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
3. "Australian Open Women's Squad 2012". Australia: Softball Australia. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
4. Tiffen, Peter (1 August 2008). "Interstate quartet pitch in to bolster Darwin teams". Northern Territory News. Darwin, Australia. p. 30. NTN_T-20080801-1-030-238479. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
5. Dixon, Catriona (13 July 2004). "REPORT CARD". Daily Telegraph. Sydney, Australia. p. 40. DTM_T-20040713-1-040-991078. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
6. Purdon, Fiona (13 April 2007). "China challenge". The Courier Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 105. CML_T-20070413-1-105-493920. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
7. "Forkin the road to glory". Weekend Courier. Perth, Australia. 15 June 2007. p. 104. CWC_T-20070615-104-104073. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
8. "National Players – Chelsea Forkin". Perth, Western Australia: Baseball WA. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
9. "Alice host best in Australia". Centralian Advocate. Darwin, Australia. 3 January 2003. p. 36. CAV-20030103-1-036-114600V11. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
10. "Verity proves her mettle". Western Suburbs Weekly. Perth, Australia. 8 May 2007. p. 79. CWS_T-20070508-079-179064. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
11. "August games in sight". Eastern Reporter. Perth, Australia. 15 May 2007. p. 71. CES_T-20070515-071-171038. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
12. "Games berth". Melville Times. Perth, Australia. 15 May 2007. p. 59. CMF_T-20070515-059-159038. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
13. "Michelle in again". Stirling Times. Perth, Australia. 15 May 2007. p. 55. CST_T-20070515-055-155006. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
14. "Andrew picked for world event". Wanneroo Times. Perth, Australia. 15 May 2007. p. 71. CWT_T-20070515-071-171058. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
15. Warren, Adrian (17 January 2008). "Victorian's squad pitch pays off – SOFTBALL". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. p. 13. 20080117000020192571. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
16. Warren, Adrian (16 January 2008). "AAP News: Soft: Smethurst swaps books for bat and ball in chase of Olympic dream". AAP News. Australia: Financial Times Information Limited – Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. WAAP61447173. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
17. Grimaux, Andre (27 February 2009). "Weaver out on high note". The Northern Times. Brisbane. p. 64. TNT_T-20090227-1-064-931013. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
18. "NSW too strong for gutsy WA". Eastern Reporter. Perth, Australia. 30 January 2007. p. 50. CES_T-20070130-050-150031. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
19. Stannard, Damien (15 April 2007). "Test soured with softball coach sent". The Sunday Mail. Brisbane. p. 88. SML_T-20070415-J-088-421165. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
20. Latzke, Jeff (20 July 2009). "US keeps cruising through softball World Cup". Associated Press Archive. D99HTIB81. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
21. Latzke, Jeff (23 July 2011). "Arioto's triple lifts US past Australia 5–2". Associated Press Archive. Associated Press. D9OL43D80. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
22. "Sport Achievement Awards". Bruce, Australia Capital Territory: Australian Institute of Sport. 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.