Firstly there will be a fee for playing over the weekend.  This is typically around £25-35 (or £13-18 per day, if you only play one day).  This is directly related to the overall fee to be paid by the team to enter the tournament so these fees vary from tournament to tournament.

Secondly, there is the travel cost. We usually drive to tournaments and car share, so maybe that’s another £5-10, depending on where the tournament is.  Just split the fuel costs with your driver and other passengers.  (If you are the driver, politely ask for a contribution.)

Finally, if the tournament is further away, you may wish to stay overnight.  There is often camping (usually free), but you may wish to stay in a cheap hotel or AirbnB.  A good few of the tournaments that we will look at are in Farnham Park or Swindon, so people will usually commute to those both days and only the party animals camp over.

The team needs to be balanced, and it could be that you don’t get into the team at first. Don’t worry, we will get back to you and will try to prioritise you. For example, if we can’t fit you in to a particular tournament line-up, we will try to fit you in to the next tournament. If we have many people interested, we could look at two team line-ups and alternate between those two.

One objective of the Ox Factor initiative is to encourage more Oxford League teams to go to tournaments, so we’d really like to encourage you to get your regular team to tournaments. We may be able to find extra players if your team may be short, so do get in touch.

The team is primarily for newer players who may not have had experience of tournament play. However, in order to make the team work well, we are likely to need one or two more experienced players. Therefore if extra players or if players in key positions are needed, there may be a space for you. Nevertheless newer players will be prioritised in 2026.

The team will be strictly limited to players rostered to Oxford League teams. The only exceptions to this are likely to be restricted to the team being at a tournament, and unexpectedly finding itself short of players.

In 2026, the team will concentrate on players who are within their first few years of playing softball. Players from teams which have not attended tournaments (recently) may also be prioritised. If you have more experience but would still like to play, please encourage your league team to enter some tournaments (but also see our note below about those who have been to tournaments before). We may be able to get back to you in 2027 when we could have a second team.

Step one: register your interest for Ox Factor, and one of the organisers will get back to you.  This will be your ‘application’!