The Chicago Gems Women's Baseball Club (the "Organization" or CGWBC) was founded in 2002 as an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for women and girls (age 14+) in the greater Chicago metropolitan area to play baseball.

The purpose of the CGWBC is to encourage and promote baseball as a viable mainstream sport for women and girls locally, nationally and internationally, to foster opportunities for women and girls to learn the game of baseball and to play baseball, locally and in regional, national and international competitions. The Organization is dedicated to contributing to the national effort to develop enough female baseball players in our country, and to increase the level of competition and skills of the top players, to the point where women's baseball might be established as an Olympic sport and/or part of the Pan American Games.

Activities

The CGWBC has defined three core programs for to fulfill its mission to make baseball as accessible to women and girls as it is to men and boys, locally, nationally, and, eventually, internationally:

The Club Program serves as the recruiting and training program, to attract women to the sport and to the CGWBC, and provide the training needed to develop their skills to play at increasingly competitive levels. The Club Program offers free instructional clinics, organized practices and scrimmages, and other events during the baseball season and the off-season to increase the number of women playing baseball in Chicago, targeting both beginners and those with more experience. These events are held at public baseball fields and private facilities rented by the CGWBC and are open to all women and girls over 14 who wish to participate.

The League Program has established a local multiple-team league, the Chicago Women's Baseball League (CWBL). The CWBL is a program of the Gems organization, created so that participants are able to play regularly and gain experience playing in a formal and competitive league environment. The CGWBC manages all aspects of the CWBL, providing the organizational, administrative and financial resources to manage and sustain it. Teams are formed via a draft process. All players must try out and be evaluated by coaches and managers in order to be eligible to be drafted onto a team. The objective is to include as many women as possible who desire to play, however, for the safety of all participants, players who are judged to be not ready to play baseball at a competitive level may be referred to the Club Program for further instruction until they have developed sufficient skills to play in the league. By providing consistent, competitive league baseball opportunities, the CGWBC is developing the talent and experience of participants to participate in competitions at the national level.

The Tournament Team Program draws the best talent from across the organization, to form an elite Gems tournament team to compete in regional and national competitions. The selection process for tournament team players is based on the skills of players who participate in Club and League programs and is at the discretion of the coaching staff. Our Tournament Team has participated in numerous national competitions since its formation, as well as attending and hosting a few regional events with teams from Detroit and South Bend. Participating in national tournaments helps to increase the visibility of our program on a national level and also contributes to the size and success of these tournaments and the public profile of women's baseball. In addition, it gives our top players the opportunity to demonstrate their talents to national scouts who attend these tournaments in search of players for the USA Baseball Women's National Team, which participates the bi-annual Women's World Cup.

In addition to the three programs described above, the Organization participates in advocacy to increase the visibility of women's baseball locally, nationally and internationally. We are a member of the American Women's Baseball Federation and participate actively in its efforts to integrate baseball into the mainstream of amateur sports available to women and girls. It is our hope to contribute to the national effort to develop enough female baseball players in our country, and to increase the level of competition and skills of the top players to the point where women's baseball might be established as an Olympic sport and/or part of the Pan American Games. Our counterparts in other countries are likewise working toward this objective.

All activities of the Organization are overseen by its Board of Directors, and appointed or elected Committees, which are responsible for the programs and general management of the Organization. The Organization has recruited volunteer coaches and trainers to provide the majority of coaching and instruction