Category: News

by Colum Lavery

Senan Dormer Appointed Slowpitch National Teams Head Coach

Softball Ireland are delighted to confirm the reappointment of Senan Dormer as the Irish Coed Slowpitch and Men’s Slowpitch National Teams Head Coach.

Senan was originally appointed to the role of Coed Slowpitch National Team Coach in 2015 leading national teams to 2 bronze medals during his tenure to date. Senan has been appointed until December 2023 which will include three European Championships and potentially the inaugural Coed Slowpitch World Cup.

I addition to Senan’s appointment, the Softball Ireland Board also confirmed the appointment of Karen Brady, Peter Mullen and Eoin Coonan as programme assistant coaches.

Senan Dormer said “I am delighted to be reappointed as head coach of the Irish Slowpitch National teams. I look forward to the challenges ahead. I have a coaching team of Karen Brady, Peter Mullen and Eoin Coonan. I look forward to bringing more silverware to Ireland and trying to qualify for the inaugural Slowpitch Softball World Cup.”

Speaking on Senan’s appointment, Softball Ireland President Colum Lavery said “Together with the Board we are delighted to reappoint Senan to the role. Senan has a proved track record at European Championships since 2015 and we are confident he will take the programme forward”. Lavery added “We are entering a challenging period post COVID for national teams and Senan and his coaching team have vast international slowpitch softball experience on and off the field and we are confident that they will bring through the next generation of players at the international level.”

Subject to the approval of the Softball Ireland medical committee, the Coed Slowpitch National Team is scheduled to play in the World Series in London during September 2021.

Softball Ireland have confirmed that the position of Director of Slowpitch National Team remains vacant and will be readvertised shortly.

by Colum Lavery

Softball Ireland Board Changes

It is with regret that Softball Ireland announce that further to Amanda Ní Ghabhann’s resignation as Secretary of Softball Leinster, the Softball Ireland Board have reluctantly accepted Amanda’s retirement from the Softball Ireland Board as her mandate as the Softball Leinster Representative has concluded.

Amanda has been an active member of the Board following her appointment in November 2019 during what has been a challenging period due to COVID. In particular Softball Ireland wish to note that thanks to Amanda’s effort and expertise we now have in place a Safeguarging policy and a diversity policy in particular.

We are delighted to confirm that Amanda had agreed to continue her position as Softball Ireland National Childrens Officer and as a member on the Slowpitch Ireland Development Committee who are in the process of finalising the draft Slowpitch Development plan.

The Softball Ireland Board would like to thank Amanda for her contribution to the Board and we look forward to continuing to work with Amanda on key areas moving forward.

Strike Zone
by Colum Lavery

Strike Zone is Taking Bookings

Baseball Ireland’s Strike Zone, the indoor training facility in Dublin, is now available for bookings. The venue includes 3 alleys with pitching machines and may also be opened up for fielding practice on its synthethic field.

There are options to book the full venue (€100ph peak times / €50 off peak times) or just book a stand alone alley for some BP.

The online booking form is now available on line.

Book Baseball Ireland Strike Zone
by Colum Lavery

Softball Ireland Gender Inclusion Policy Launched

Softball Ireland has launched its Gender Inclusion Policy to coincide with the Sport Ireland and Sporting Pride #LetsGetVisible campaign as part of Pride week.

The #LetsGetVisible campaign aims to recognise and acknowledge the importance of visibility and representation amongst the LGBTQI+ community.

The Softball Ireland Gender Inclusion Policy is a continuation of softball’s support for the LGBTQI+ community and to ensure that softball in Ireland is a welcoming and inclusive space for the community.

Softball Ireland is proud to launch our Gender Inclusion Policy and support the #LetsGetVisible campaign and we encourage the softball community to do the same.

Speaking about the launch of the Gender Inclusion Policy, Softball Ireland President Colum Lavery said “Softball Ireland has always had a commitment to softball being an open, welcoming and inclusive sport to members of the LGBTQI+ community. The purpose of this policy is to ensure there is absolute clarity for everyone involved in softball in Ireland when it comes to the openness and inclusiveness of our sport.

Softball Ireland fully respects the gender identity of players and our policy reiterates our position that softball should continue to be played in the spirit of sport, allowing for a safe and fun environment for all players.”

Click here to download Softball Ireland’s Gender Inclusion Policy

We are also asking teams and players to post their messages of support for the campaign using #LetsGetVisible – you can get creative and post a picture with a pride flag, wearing your most colourful clothing, or you can use any of the graphics available to download on the Sporting Pride website.

To get involved in the campaign all you need to do is go to Sporting Pride’s website https://www.sportingpride.ie/campaign/lets-get-visible  and download a profile picture overlay, which you can add to your profile picture.

by Colum Lavery

Galway to launch inaugral Co-ed Slowpitch Softball League

Softball Ireland wish to congratulate the Committee of Galway Softball Club on the creation of the Galway League which will commence on Monday June 21, 2021. The efforts of the Committee has seen huge growth in the Galway area with membership doubling as Galway exited lockdown.

The four team league will be played at St Marys College between 6 pm and 8 pm on Mondays through to September 6, 2021. Galway Softball Club have also secured local sponsorship for the inaugral league with An Púcán, Kennys Bookshop, Irishscores.com & Megadale Automation agreeing to naming sponsorship of each of the league teams.

Speaking on Galway Softball Clubs announcement, Softball Ireland President Colum Lavery said “We are delighted to welcome the Galway Softball League to the Softball Ireland family. The growth of Softball in Galway has been a joy to watch over the last number of years and the efforts of the club members during the lockdown has been phenomenal.”

Lavery added “Galway have shown that there is a need for and demand for social, co-ed sporting activites post COVID, and we believe Softball offers the perfect mix of social interaction together with both recreational and competitive sport depending on the level you wish to play at. Today is about celebrating the succes of Galway Softball Club and celebrating the inaugral league which launches this Monday.“

Speaking about the inaugral Galway League, Vinny McGrane Galway Softball Chairman said “It’s a great day for Galway Softball to be able to announce the inaugural Galway League.

Without our sponsors we would have really struggled to get this off the floor so a big thank you to An Púcán, Kennys Bookshop, Irishscores.com & Megadale Automation. The fact that Galway Softball can attract the support of such impressive companies is a great measure of our current success.

There has been huge efforts to make this happen and I would like thank Softball Ireland for their support over the years, the Galway Softball Committee and all the people that kept the club going since 1998. But most of all the players who have made this possible.”

Details on teams and fixtures for the inaugral Galway League are available on the club website and if you are interested in playing details are available here.

by Colum Lavery

Brian Walshe Cup – June 12, 2021 – Registration Open

The Brian Walshe Cup is scheduled to be held June 12th in ALSAA. Unfortunately due to the current government advice on cross border travel, teams from Northern Ireland may not register for this tournament. Softball Ireland are continuing to work with Softball Ulster on the format for an Ulster team to qualify for the BWC Finals Day.

The cost of entering the tournament on the day is €150 per team.

Register for the Brian Walshe Cup 2021

To comply with the advice of the SI Medical Committee the following will be adhered to:

1. There will be no “borrowing” of players from other teams on the day, i.e. players may play with one team only to limit their number of contacts and exposures.
2. The competition will be divided into groups containing a maximum of 4 teams again to limit the amount of exposures. As a result we cannot guarantee entry for all teams that register so please register as early as possible.
3. All players must be registered with SI before playing and team rosters must be submitted for contact tracing purposes.

Please see the Covid hub of the SI website for the latest Medical Committee advice:
http://www.softball.ie/covid-19-hub/

If you have any questions please email tournaments@softball.ie

Registration closes Monday 7th June @ 5pm.

Register for Brian Walshe Cup
by Colum Lavery

Game ON! Return to Play Dates Confirmed

Further to the confirmation of the Government that sports clubs in the Republic of Ireland may return to training in groups of up to 15 from May 10, 2021. We are delighted to confirm that having considered the recommendation of the Medical Committee, the Softball Ireland Board have confirmed that softball training may return in Republic of Ireland from May 10, 2021 subject to the following conditions:


(I) The Government continue to permit sports teams to partake in training sessions; and
(II) All teams in the Republic of Ireland to continue to train in accordance with Government advice and restrictions; and
(III) All training sessions are held in accordance with the updated Softball Ireland Return to Play Protocol set out on the Softball Ireland website; and
(IV) Players are only permitted to attend and train with teams (clubs) they are registered with.


To further assist Teams return to play, a COVID-19 Risk Assessment Guidance and a downloadable COVID-19 Risk Assessment Template have been prepared by the Softball Ireland Medical Committee and are available on the Softball Ireland website.


To assist the Medical Committee with its constant review of Protocols and Guidelines, we would be appreciative of feedback on these from all Teams to allow us to improve and support the return to softball further.


We can confirm, that subject to Government restrictions remaining unchanged, the Softball Ireland insurance policy will be re-activated with effect from May 10, 2021 for Republic of Ireland Team for training only.

Based on the Government announcement, competition/leagues may be permitted to commence from June 7, 2021 and Softball Ireland will continue to liaise with Sport Ireland on the matter.

by Colum Lavery

2021 Registration & Team Fees Announced

As the outlook for the 2021 season continues to look on the up, Softball Ireland are inviting teams wishing to play in leagues or tournaments in 2021 to register with Softball Ireland.

Membership of Softball Ireland provides players with insurance to play in leagues and tournaments as well as opening up access to training and educational courses provided to Softball Ireland throughout the season. The Softball Ireland membership fee (paid through your team) allows Softball Ireland cover its ongoing operational and development costs.

Teams participating in the Softball Ulster league or the Softball Leinster mid-week league should register through their region, all other teams wishing to register with Softball Ireland should email the Softball Ireland Secretary.

FEES

The Softball Ireland Board had confirmed the 2021 teams fees as follows:

Team Fee (which includes insurance) – €350

Development Levy* – €30 per team

The development levy will be ringfenced for investment in coaching and umpiring courses and the implementation of the Sofbtall Ireland Slowpitch Development Plan.

An overview of the Softball Ireland 2021 budget and the allocation of members funds may be accessed here