Author: Colum Lavery

by Colum Lavery

Slowpitch National Team – Expression of Interest

Expressions of interest are sought from Irish eligible players who wish to be considered for the Slowpitch National Teams in 2020

Ireland will participate in two tournaments in the summer of 2020. The Men’s Slowptich European Championships will be held in the summer of 2020, most likely June, on the continent. The exact dates will be confirmed at the ESF Congress on February 8, 2020. The annual BSF World Series in London will be held at a new venue in 2020. The date for the tournament has yet to be confirmed but will most likely be the end of August/September time frame – Ireland will enter a Coed Slowpitch National Team in this tournament.  Players who are interested in representing Ireland at either of the 2020 tournaments are invited to complete the below survey which will be provided to the newly appointed Director of Slowpitch National Teams and Coaches. Please click the below link to register your interst to prepresent Ireland in 2020, players should complete the form by February 21, 2020 at which point trial dates will be announced. 

Register Expression of Interest to Represent National Slowpitch National Teams

by Colum Lavery

Director of Slowpitch National Teams Position

Softball Ireland are seeking applications for the voluntary position of Director of Slowpitch National Teams. 

The newly created position will report directly to the Softball Ireland board and provide oversight for all Slowpitch National Teams operations including, but not limited to, programme finances, personnel (hiring, evaluations) and programme operations, team logistics (scheduling, programme needs). The Director will oversee, coordinate and evaluate all coaches and players and is responsible for overall team operations, while reporting directly to the Board of Softball Ireland. The Head Coaches of the programme will report directly to the Director of Slowpitch National Teams.

The job specification for the position is available below and candidates are requested to submit a cover letter and curriculum vitate to the Softball Ireland Secretary, Conor Sayles (secretary@softball.ie) by 5pm on Friday February 14, 2020.

Click Here To Download Director of Slowpitch National Teams Job Specification.

ALSAA
by Colum Lavery

Annual General Meeting – Feb. 15, 2020

The reconvned Annual General Meeting of Softball Ireland will be held in ALSAA on Saturday February 15, 2020 at 12 noon. The documentation for the Annual General Meeting, previously circulate in November 2019 is reposted for members information. There has been no changes to the documents previously circulated which may be viewed by clicking here.

Annual General Meeting Documentation

To Softball Ireland Membership

Acting in accordance with the Constitution, the 2019 Annual General Meeting Pack is attached as follows (please click links for papers):

by Colum Lavery

Board Meeting Summary of Decisions & Actions

The Softball Ireland Board held its latest meeting on the evening of Monday January 13, 2020

Attendees:

Colum Lavery (President), Conor Sayles (Secretary), Massimo Lepri (Treasurer)

Reginald Clark (Softball Ulster), Amanda Ní Ghabhann (Softball Leinster)

Declan Carty (Ordinary Member), Andrew Craven (Ordinary Member), Jordan Sylver (Ordinary Member)

Apologies:

Melanie Cunningham (Fastpitch Ireland),

The below is a list of key decisions/actions of the Board taken at its Monday January 13, 2020 meeting

Confirmation of Decisions & Actions Since Last Meeting

  1. The Board confirmed and ratified its decision to further postpone the Annual General Meeting to February 15, 2020 and the Extraordinary General Meeting to February 15, 2020. The Board noted that the decision to postpone was based on the recommendation of the independent panel and noted that the final report of the panel would be available before the end of January 2020.

Softball Ireland Umpires Working Group Report

The Board recalled that in response to growing concerns at the quality and quantity of umpires in the regions, the outgoing Softball Ireland setup a working group in September 2019 chaired by the Softball Ireland Secretary to assess the current state of play and recommend actions to move forward. The board noted the detailed report and recommendations and APPROVED the implementation of the reports recommendations in 2020. The Board further APPROVED that the report and recommendations would be circulated to the Softball Ireland Members. The full report can be viewed by clicking here.

Regional Association Reports

  1. Softball Leinster
    • Update noted
    • Recruitment event to be held in March 2020 – date TBC
    • SL SINCC proposal at AGM to be revisited
  2. Softball Ulster
    • Update noted
    • SU Dates noted
  3. Fastpitch Ireland
    • Report noted
    • Day 3 of Fastpitch League to be held on February 1, 2020
    • International Tournament dates noted

National Slowpitch Team Director Role

The Board had previously agreed to create the position of National Slowpitch Team Director (title may change) to lead all Slowpitch Natioal team programmes. The final draft of the job specification was presented to the board for review and comment. The Board agreed that final comments would be submitted to Colum and the final job specification would be reviewed and circulated to members before the end of January.

International Tournaments

The Board noted that currently no hosts for the Men’s Slowptich European Championships in June or Clubs Super Cup in August had been confirmed. Colum on behalf of Softball Ireland was working closely with the ESF to ensure that these tournaments were progressing and that relevant parties were being kept appraised of the situation.

by Colum Lavery

Softball Ireland Umpires Working Group Report

In response to growing concerns at the quality and quantity of umpires in the regions, Softball Ireland setup a working group in September 2019 chaired by the Softball Ireland Secretary to assess the current state of play and recommend actions to move forward.

The Working Group members consisted of the respective Regional Umpiring Chiefs, current and formed ESF umpires and active umpires from the regions. The Working group consisted of the following members:

  • Conor Sayles (Chair)
  • Maarten Blanken (SU)
  • Niall Byrne (SL)
  • Sean Gottschalk (SU)
  • Derek Harnett (SL)
  • Paul Peake (SL)
  • Phil Wallace (SU)
  • Colum Lavery (SI President)

Speaking on the report, Softball Ireland President Colum Lavery said “Umpiring is a major challenge facing Softball Ireland, especially in the Leinster Region at this time. Softball Ireland formed this group to hopefully assist the efforts of the Regional Boards in addressing the challenges they are facing. I wish to thank the Working Group members for their honest, constructive and expert input and recommendations. The Working Group meetings highlighted the depth of experience that still exists in our sport and the enthusiasm to make real progress.”

The attached report is the outcome and will be progressed in 2020. Please contact secretary@softball.ie with any queries.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD REPORT & RECOMMENDATIONS

by Colum Lavery

Ireland Team Entries for 2020 Confirmed

Softball Ireland have confirmed the National Team Entries for 2020 Season

Men’s Slowpitch National Team

The second Men’s Slowpith European Championships is scheduled to be held in 2020. To date, no host or date for the tournament has been confirmed and Softball Ireland have requested a meeting with the ESF at the 2020 congress to discuss its concerns that there is a possibility there will be no European Club or International Softball tournaments in Europe in the 2020 season.

Ireland have entered the Men’s National Team in the tournament and the full list of entered teams for the tournament can be seen here.

by Colum Lavery

Super Cup Entries Confirmed

16 Teams Confirmed for Slowpitch Super Cup

Softball Europe have confirmed that 16 Clubs in total have entered the COED European Slowpitch Super Cup for 2020. The tournament is due to be held in August 2020, however at this juncture in time no Federation has put itself forward as a potential host.

It is hoped that more details on the tournament will be provided at the Softball Europe congress in February 2020 so that Dodder Dynamoes and Belfast Brawlers, the two clubs representing Ireland at the tournament, can plan well in advance for the tournament. 

More details on the tournament and previous winners may be found at europeansoftball.org/cspesc/ including details of Dodders famous win in 2009.

Confirmed Tournament Entries

A1Pioneers*GBR
A2Bandits & Witches LinzAUT
A3Chucks SoftballAUT
A4AfterburnersBEL
A5Mortsel SkywalkersBEL
A6Akademics SofiaBUL
A7DNAceCZE
A8Sparks Mladé BukyCZE
A9Mannheim TornadosGER
A10UCE TravelersGER
A11London ChromiesGBR
A12Windsor KnightsGBR
A13Belfast BrawlersIRL
A14Dodder DynamoesIRL
A15Tex Town TigersNED
A16LokomotivaSRB
by Colum Lavery

On the 7th Softball Day of Christmas …

On the seventh Softball Day of Christmas, Softball Ireland gave Slowpitch National Team and National Fastpitch League equipment

Softball Ireland are delighted to confirm the donation of helmets and team bats to the Slowpitch National Team Programme for the 2020 season. Softball Ireland hope the grant will assist the Slowpitch National team in their preparations for the 2020 Mens European Championships and World Series Tournament in September. In addition tot the grant to the Slowpitch National Team, the National Fastpitch league will receive a grant of catchers gear, helmets and used bats for the newly formed league.

by Colum Lavery

On the 6th Softball Day of Christmas …

On the sixth Softball Day of Christmas, Softball Ireland gave the BSI youth programme equipment bags

Softball Ireland are delighted to confirm the donation of youth gloves, indoor bases, and youth helmets to the BSI Youth Programme. The youth programme was agree as one of the key primary joint projects and the equipment bags will allow for both open days and to provide targeted schools with equipment. The first discussions between Baseball Ireland and Softball Ireland on the programme have taken place with the final project plan to be confirmed early in 2020.

There will be also a stock of “loaner” gloves available to assist any member wishing to organise youth days.

by Colum Lavery

On the 5th Softball Day of Christmas …

On the fifth Softball Day of Christmas, Softball Ireland gave our extended BSI family Baseball Ireland three sets of catchers kit and our newest softball team Ashbourne Antlers a starter bag.

Softball Ireland are delighted to confirm the donation of three complete sets of catchers gear to our fellow BSI members Baseball Ireland. We hope that the two senior sets and one junior set of catchers gear will help out in reducing cost for our sister baseball clubs.

Feeling a little extra Christmas spirit today Softball Ireland and Softball Leinster are delighted to  grant a starter bag of softball equipment to the Ashbourne Antleres to assist them in year one of their new team in the Softball Leinster league

by Colum Lavery

On the 4th Softball Day of Christmas …

On the fourth Softball Day of Christmas, Softball Ireland gave Softball Leinster a Softball Development Bag.

Softball Ireland are delighted to confirm the granting of a bag of softball development equipment to Softball Leinster to allow them continue growing the game in the region. We hope the grant will assist Softball Leinster in running open days or providing starter equipment to new teams in Leinster. 

In addition to the Wilson team bag, Softball Leinster will receive indoor bases, bats, gloves and a surprise.

by Colum Lavery

On the 3rd Softball Day of Christmas …

On the third Softball Day of Christmas, Softball Ireland gave Galway Tribes a Softball Development Bag.

Softball Ireland are delighted to confirm the granting a bag of softball development equipment to Galway to allow them continue growing the game in Galway. The Galway Tribes have nurtured and grown the game to two teams in the last number of years in the Galway area and we hope the grant will help the club in running open days or provide equipment to new players. 

In addition to the Wilson team bag, Galway will receive indoor bases, bats, gloves and a surprise.