Year: 2015

by Colum Lavery

Softball Leinster 2015 Year in review

2015 saw another boost in the number of teams in the Leinster League bringing our number up to 28 teams. With 13 teams playing in a crowded 2nd division, 8 teams in the 1st division and only 7 teams in Prem, it was a rollercoaster of a season with new a few teams upsetting the status quo.

Leinster's TNT 2015

Never short on entertainment, Division Two has always been a popular breeding ground for new players and new teams, and 2015 was no different. Three brand new teams entered the league, along with Softball Leinster stalwarts, the Blazzers, making up a thirteen team, three-county-division to play out over a total of six months. The division ran as follows; Each team would play each other once before the division split into three conferences based on their placing in the league after the initial twelve games. Each team would play the others in its conference once again to decide final league standings.

The Renegade Reapers and Dodder Dynamites joined the Sauce Monsters in Conference A, leaving one spot to be claimed. With SWAT, the Blazzers and the Castleknock Wildcats contending, the Tullamore Tigers were favourites for the spot, putting eight wins in a row together on their way towards the top conference. However, the Castleknock Wildcats had other plans, beating the Blazzers and Tullamore Tigers to edge that fourth place spot. The Homers would claim the eighth place spot in Conference B, squeezing out the Oddsox Blacks.

August then played host to the Conference stage of Division Two. The Oddsox Blacks would lay claim to Conference C, outdoing both the Deadly Suspects and Renegade Titans. The Tullamore Tigers, were unlucky missing out on a spot in Conference A, but coming out on top of Conference B. In Conference A, the Sauce Monsters slipped up in losses to the Castleknock Wildcats and Renegade Reapers, with both of the latter sides also claiming wins over the Dodder Dynamites, setting up an exciting final day of the season at the top with the Renegade Reapers beating the Castleknock Wildcats.

This season’s First Division saw some exciting competitive play. The division lined up as follows: Dublin Bay Packers, Base Devils, Thunderbolts, Temple Bar Hippities, The Usual Suspects, Marlay Meteors, Kielys Chuggers and Castleknock Bearcats. The Packers were relegated from the premier division last season and Thunderbolts came up from division 2. The 1st division winners were the Temple Bar Hippities thanks to a ten-game winning streak in the middle of their season leaving their nearest contender, the Castleknock Bearcats one win short of the title. The Chuggers finished with their best season yet with a strong 8-5 season. The Dublin Bay Packers slipped from Prem and had to forfeit two games during the season due to a lack of players, they finished just ahead of their 2Pak clubmates, the Thunderbolts. The rest of the division saw the Usual Suspects, Marlay Meteors and the Base Devils rounding out the division.

Finally, a smaller Prem division with only 7 teams who played 12 games this season, with each team having a two bye weeks, was rocked this year by the upstart team made up of former Renegade Reds and Sluggers players who formed “The New Team” – AKA TNT. TNT went on to win the Prem division in their inaugural season. Coming right up behind TNT with the same amount of wins was 2014’s division champions Odd Sox Green. The rest of the Prem division finished up with the Dodder Dynamoes, Batpak, Kiely’s Kegs, Marlay Martyrs and the Renegade Beachers rounding out the 7 team division.

Thanks to all the teams and players who played this year and contributed to a great 2015 season. We are looking forward to the 2016 season and looking forward to seeing you all back on the diamond!

University of Limerick
by Colum Lavery

UL Campus hosts Limerick Softball Tournament

A one day tournament was held on the UL Campus, on the 21st of November in collaboration with UCD Softball Club. Five teams took part; UCD Softball, Sons of Pitches, two teams representing the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, as well as a team composed of Limerick, Tullamore Tigers and UCD Softball players.

Played out in a league format, it was Sons of Pitches who emerged victorious; overcoming an early defeat to RCSI 2 to claim wins over the remaining three teams. Unfortunately due to a serious injury incurred by a UCD Softball player, as well as the inclement conditions, the final round of fixtures were cancelled, leaving the final standings as follows;

Table
Limerick Softball Comp 2015

Jonathan Spielberg – Sons of Pitches captain, is presented with winning trophy by Noel FitzGerald – Limerick Softball Tournament Controller.

Congratulations to Sons of Pitches on the win. Thank you to UL Sport for allowing the use of their excellent facilities. Also special mentions must go to those who went to great lengths to ensure this tournament would go ahead – Senan Dormer, Jonathan Spielberg, Mark Mandarano and Aliyah Lockhat.

This tournament was important for raising awareness of our sport to a whole new batch of softballers, for some it was a first introduction to Irish softball, while to others it was their first ever tastes of competitive softball. Varsity softball will continue in the new year, and any volunteers who would like to aid in this promotion of our sport are always more than welcome. Please contact saucemonsterssoftball@gmail.com for more information.

by Colum Lavery

Dublin Indoor Softball Tournament – January 30, 2016

2016 Dublin Indoor Softball Tournament – Confirmed for January 30, 2016 – Entries Open

The 2016 DIST, Dublin Indoor Softball Tournament, will take place in ALSAA, Dublin on Saturday 30th January, 2016.

The cost of the tournament will be €120 per team and umpires will be provided but you will still have to score a couple of games. Once all teams have been confirmed the schedule will be sent out in the week of the tournament.

To enter a team please forward your team name and contact details to brian@softball.ie and arrange to pay a €60 deposit (or the full amount if you want) transferred to the account details provided Brian on confirmation of your entry. The closing date for entries and receipt of your deposit is January 15, 2016.

Teams who played in the Winter Indoor Softball Tournament will be prioritized for spots!!!

We look forward to seeing you on the day…

by Colum Lavery

Schedule Confirmed for WIST

The schedule for the Winter Indoor Softball Tournament to be held in ALSAA on November 28, 2015 has been released.

With neither the Saltaires or Marlay competing in this Weekends Tournament a new winner will be crowned after tomorrow’s final.

We wish everybody competing the best of luck – first game is 0930

 

Time Court 1 Score keeping Court 2 Score keeping
9.30 Kegs Renegades Sauce Monsters Dynamoes Oddsox SI
10.00 Kegs Dynamoes Renegades BSC Sauce Monsters Suspects
10.30 Renegades BSC Oddsox Sauce Monsters Suspects Kegs
11.00 Renegades Dynamoes Suspects Kegs Oddsox BSC
11.30 Dynamoes Sauce Monsters Renegades Kegs BSC Oddsox
12.00 Renegades Suspects Kegs Oddsox Sauce Monsters Dynamoes
12.30 BSC Suspects Oddsox
13.00 Lunch Lunch
13.30
14.00 Kegs Suspects Dynamoes Oddsox BSC Sauce Monsters
14.30 Dynamoes Suspects Renegades Renegades Oddsox BSC
15.00 Renegades Sauce Monsters Kegs Dynamoes BSC Suspects
15.30 Oddsox Suspects Sauce Monsters Kegs Sauce Monsters BSC
by Colum Lavery

Softball Ulster – 2015 Year in Review

2015 has been a successful year for Softball Ulster!

 SU League 2015

  • In 2015 we had seven teams competing in the league including the Angels in their first season of softball – with Sliders winning their third title in their first unbeaten season. We had 128 registered players a cross the seven teams – let’s continue to do our best to grow our sport. Any suggestions on how to do this are welcome.
  • The new league fixture structure in 2015 meant that league positions were not decided until almost the final games of the season which made the league more interesting for everyone! There were a number of upsets and generally a higher level of softball all around.
  • In the end, the league finished with the Sliders on top, Brawlers second, Cubs third, the new Angels entered the league in fourth spot, The Buccs climbed up to Fifth in their second season, The Aces avoided the wooden spoon in sixth and the Aviators finished in seventh after failing to capitalise on a promising start to the season.
  • SU hosted the Softball Ireland National Club Championships for the first time in our history in 2015. The Sliders represented Ulster and took on TNT of Dublin. They couldn’t quite win th e 2015 championship, even with home advantage… but one of these days an Ulster team will take home that silverware!
  • The Sliders also made a clean sweep of the MVP awards with Daniel Taylor, William Mitchell and Suze Kennedy all victorious and Maarten Blanken winning the Umpire of the year award. The MVP voting system was changed this year and seemed to be a success and we will continue to consider the decision making process in 2016.

Tournaments

There were a number of successful tournaments held in Ulster in 2015.

  •  SU SOS saw entries from the Homers, Sons of Pitches and the Irish National Fastpitch team as well as lots of interest from the Ulster league.  It was great to see interest from teams from further away and would be fantastic to see this continue – we will continue to work with SI and SL to encourage participation. SOPs ran out the winners of this one.
  • The Carrie Trundle Cup saw a mediocre fancy dress effort but was a great day of softball with BSC taking the honours. Our proposed competitions president (John Mitchell) already has some ideas about re-vamping this tournament in 2016.
  • The End of Season tournament was another success and saw the Cubs defeat a fast improving Aces side in the final and also saw SU host SINCC for the first time.
  • The two club-run tournaments were very popular and well run – congrats to the Cubs and the Buccs for organising The Teddy bear’s picnic (won by the Buccin’ Sliders) and Buccfest (won by BSC).
  • It was also great to see Ulster representation at most of the SL/SI tournaments this year. BSC attended The SOS/Brian Walshe blitz, Cas tleknock Niall Mellon blitz, Renegades 4 July blitz, EOS/Thunderbolts blitz and IOST, as well as both indoor tournaments, while the Cubs made an appearance at the Suspects pink blitz. Other SU members (mainly from the Sliders and Cubs) also went down as solo players or joined other teams in order to take part in blitzes. This was great to see and SU feel that it should be encouraged – and so in 2016 IOST weekend will be left completely clear of league games in Ulster. IOST is the most prestigious tournament in the SI calendar and we feel that everyone should have the opportunity to attend.

International representation

SU had its largest ever representation on an international level as Marian Neill, Shawna Walsh and Suze Kennedy of the Sliders all represented Ireland at the European fast pitch championships while Marian and Chris Barr of the Cubs also represented Ireland at the World Series event in London. Huge congratulations to all of you – it’s great to see our region represented on the international stage – let’s hope even more of us qualify in 2016.

by Colum Lavery

2015 Winter Indoor Softball Tournament – November 28 … last remaining spaces

The 2015 WIST, Winter Indoor Softball Tournament, will take place in ALSAA Saturday 28th November in ALSAA, Dublin Airport.

The cost of the tournament will be €120 per team and umpires will be provided but you will still have to score a couple of games. Once all teams have been confirmed the schedule will be sent out in the week of the tournament.

To enter a team please forward your team name and contact details to brian@softball.ie and arrange to have €60 deposit (or the full amount if you want) transferred to the account detailed below on or before Friday 13th November. If you want to send a cheque let me know brian@softball.ie

by Colum Lavery

Softball Ireland AGM

Colum Lavery Re-Elected As President of Softball Ireland

The Softball Ireland membership at it Annual General Meeting unanimously agreed to re-appoint Colum Lavery as President of Softball Ireland for a further two year term.

Speaking of his appointment Lavery said ” I am honoured that the membeship have voted to give me a second term as President of Softball Ireland. I look forward to working with Softball Leinster, Softball Ulseter and all our teams to continue growing our sport both domestically and internationally.” Lavery added ” there is much work to be done in the coming years and I am delighted to be joined on the Board by people with the skills and motivation to bring our sport to the next level”

Other Decisions Confirmed By the Softball Ireland AGM are laid out below:

  1. Membership agreed to move Softball Ireland from ASA Rules to ISF Rules with immediate effect
  2. Membership agreed to provide seed funding of a maximum of €500 upon application to assist National Teams
  3. Membership confirmed that SI should continue to be an active and engaged member of the ESF and agreed to subsidies Congress attendance to a maximum of €400 in 2016

Election Results

Executive Members

  • President: Colum Lavery
  • Secretary: Paddy Donnelly
  • Treasurer: Olwen Barrett

Ordinary Members

  • Conor Lennon
  • Erin Brown
  • Elaine Cunningham (Softball Ulster)
  • Jonathan Spielberg (Softball Leinster)

Other Updates from Softball Ireland

  1. SI Regulations will require all teams to have a minimum of three helmets available in the dugout at all times. SI announced that a subsidy of upto €40 will be available to clubs who buy helmets through Softball Ireland
  2. SI announce funding for a 2 day Umpiring Course to be held in early 2016
  3. SI announced a centralised ball deal for all Regions with a sponsor who will be announced shortly
  4. SI have confirmed that all tournaments will need to be approved in advance by Softball Ireland
  5. SI announced that the Womens Fastpitch league will be launched in early May 2016
  6. SI confirmed that IOST will be held in the University of Limerick in August 2016

 

by Colum Lavery

James O’Farrell Represents Ireland at WBSC CO-ED Slow Pitch World Cup

Ireland may have not traveled to the 2015 WBSC Co-Ed Slow Pitch World Cup, however we are delighted to be represented on the field by James O’Farrell who was selected as one of the Umpires for the event.

James is well know within Irish and European Umpiring circles and we are delighted that he was selected to the event.

Speaking on his appointment, Softball Ireland President Colum Lavery said “James selection is an appropriate recognition of both his ability as an Umpire and time and effort he has put into developing the Co-Ed aspect of umpiring in Ireland and Europe. Softball Ireland wish James all the best and we have no doubt that he will do us proud.”

Lavery added “Softball Ireland hopes that James appointment shows our members the pathway that can exist for umpires and the opportunities available to them.”

Softball Ireland at is AGM on November 14 announced that it will fund Umpire training courses and will work with Softball Leinster and Softball Ulster to increase the pool of Umpires in Ireland.

The 2015 WBSC Co-Ed Slow Pitch World Cup takes place from November 19 – 22, 2015.

by Colum Lavery

Presidents Message to Softball Leinster AGM

We understand that not all in attendance could hear the message below at the SL AGM – we have re-produced it for our members on the website.

To: Softball Leinster Membership

I would like to start by apologising for my absence from the Softball Leinster AGM today, however unfortunately due to Work Commitments in London I am unable to join you.

I have asked Nadia’s permission to read the following short paragraph on my behalf today.

I would like to start by thanking the current Softball Leinster Committee for all their efforts in running the leagues over the last 12 months. As volunteers it is very difficult to balance work, home, team and a committee at the same time. It has been a challenging year for Softball in Ireland and in Leinster and I would like to thank SL for their support in the SI initiatives during the season and applaud them for continuing to grow the sport during the season past.

I have watched with interest the election campaign for Chairman of SL and the comments associated with it and I am delighted to see two strong candidates for Chairman, either of which I am confident will continue to develop the game in the region and Softball Ireland will look forward to working with them … I would encourage those running for the executive positions today who are not elected to consider taking another role in SL as volunteers with such calibre are always valued!

I do shortly wish to address a number of items brought up during the current post season and provide clarity to the membership:

  •  SL is a region of Softball Ireland charged with the responsibility of running the league’s and developing the game within the region
  •  SI DO NOT have any intention of disbanding or interfering in any other way with the running of SL
  •  SL is free to structure leagues in the format they think is best for the development of the game in the region – independent of any influence from SI
  •  Finally, SL are fully involved and a key contributor to the governance of SI through their Board Member

Two weeks from today, Softball Ireland will host its AGM and it will be another important moment for our sport with a number of announcements … as we move forward and develop into an Olympic Sport which bring the potential funding options with it, I would ask all members to take an active part on the day as we look to take the sport to the next level.

Today however is about celebrating the last 12 months of SL and preparing for the next 12 months …

Finally, I would like to thank the outgoing SL Committee for all their work and pay special tribute to Nadia … over the las number of years Nadia has been close to the centre of everything good in SL and freely gave up her time to work on developing and grow the game … Nadia will be another loss to SL however, she should be thanked for everything she has done to help SL get to where it is now.

Thanks you for taking time to listen and I hope you all enjoy the Rugby World Cup final!

Colum Lavery

President, Softball Ireland

by Colum Lavery

Notice & Agenda of 2015 AGM

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

OF

SOFTBALL IRELAND

 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an Annual General Meeting of Softball Ireland will be held at The ALSAA Sports Complex, Old Airport Road, Toberbunny, Co. Dublin on Saturday November 14, 2015 at 3.00pm (1500) for the purposes of transacting the following business in accordance with the Softball Ireland Constitution:-

1. Adoption of Standing Orders 

2. Minutes of the 2014 AGM and Matters Arising 

3. Presidents Report 

4. Financial

  • Accounts and Balance Sheet of SI for year ended September 30, 2015 
  • Appoint Auditors for 2016 
  • Note the 2016 Draft Softball Ireland Budget

5. Election of Softball Ireland Board

  • Consider Nominations for President
  • Ratify Appointment of Softball Leinster Representative
  • Ratify Appointment of Softball Ulster Representative
  • Election of Ordinary Board Member 

6. Motions

7. Any Other Business 

Dated this October 16, 2015

By order of Softball Ireland

Note: 

i.        The Quorum for a General Meeting shall be 50% of the fully paid up Teams in accordance with Article 7 entitled to attend and vote at a General Meeting.

ii.        Each fully paid up Player in Good Standing of SI may attend and speak, subject to the standing orders, at the General Meeting

iii.        Unless designated as Representative of a Team at a meeting, the Player shall not have a vote.

Nominations:

  • Nominations for the position of President or Ordinary Board Member must be submitted noting the proposer and seconder by 1700 on October 30, 2015 to secretary@softball.ie 
  • Motions to amend the constitution of Softball Ireland must be received by 1700 on October 30, 2015. Any motion must clearly state the rationale behind the change. Please submit all proposals to secretary@softball.ie
by Colum Lavery

TNT CROWNED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Leinster 2015 Premier Division champions TNT beat Ulster champions Sliders 19-9 to win SINCC

After winning their first Premier Division title in early September, TNT have followed this up and beat Ulster champions the Belfast Sliders. Moving forward SINCC will rotate annually between Leinster and Ulster and 2015 saw the first time the tournament was played outside of Dublin.

The game was in the balance until the fourth inning but a ten run inning from TNT put the game beyond Sliders with the game being called in the fifth. TNT will now be nominated as Softball Ireland second representative for the European Club Cup to be held in 2016. TNT will join the 2015 Champions Oddsox Greens as Ireland’s representatives.

Softball Ireland would like to thank Softball Ulster for hosting the tournament as part of their End of Season Blitz.

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