ANNUAL REPORT 2 0 1 9 - 2 0 2 0 Mrs Pat Young* Mrs Joyce Merret*

S Miss Ruth Preddy* Mrs Dulcie Isted* Mrs Doris Simmonds*

R Miss Edna Nash* Mrs Shirly Fogarty* Miss Joan Fitton E Mrs Ilma Burke* Mrs Yvonne Edwards*

B Mrs Glenda Leedham Miss Dawn Young Miss Pat Rawlings OAM* Miss Judy Phelps OAM

M Mr Alan Burke* Mrs Leonie Ruddy* Ms Kay Thompson E Mrs Carole Peel Mr Harvey Milson Mrs Neridah Hill OAM Mr Darrell Shephard M Mr Andrew Dodshon Mrs Susan Rindfleish *Deceased) E F I L Presidents Report 04 Loretta Watts S

CEO's Report 06 Daniel Rushworth T 11 Award Winners

N Technical Reports 12 Coaching, Umpiring & Scoring

E 22 State Championships Review

T 29 Pathways & Representatives

Affiliate Reports

N 40

57 Partners O C SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

PRESIDENTS REPORT

By Loretta Watts

This year’s board members aimed to work together to support our grassroots and elite level players by assessing the way Softball NSW is managed, allowing Clubs, Associations, and Softball NSW alike to come together as one. I would like to thank the Board members this year for their hard work and diligence during a very difficult year. Your current board members are:

Softball NSW Board Members are people who have been in softball for a long time and understand the game we all love. They want nothing more than to help grow the profile of our sport and have done so under difficult times during COVID-19. Christine Halpin decided to step down from the Board before the AGM. I would like to thank her for the eight years she spent on the Board. Christine’s knowledge and dedication to our sport is unsurpassed. I wish Christine all the best in the future.

This year, our High-Performance Coordinator, John Crampton sadly made the decision to move on within his career, with Softball NSW having difficulty meeting occupational needs. John has been able to work with coaches and high-performance teams in the past to make sure Softball NSW are at the top of their game. We thank John for his hard work and hope that he remains in touch with softball.

During the 2019-2020 year, the board aimed to achieve the following goals: One Softball Model: In conjunction with Softball Australia, as well as all national affiliates, the One Softball Model has been discussed. Discussions were had with members of Softball NSW to provide support and evidence as to whether the new model would be suitable for the needs of Softball NSW as well as softball in Australia. The Board have elected to put the discussion around the One Softball Model on hold for twelve months while we work through the COVID-19 crisis. This time will allow us to focus on participation in NSW. The board is updated on the One Softball Model from Softball Australia each time there is something new.

Policies and Procedures: Continued review of all policies and procedures, in conjunction with Daniel Rushworth (CEO). The following policies have been updated – Working with Children Policy, Sanctioning Policy, Concussion Policy and Return to Play Policy. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

PRESIDENTS REPORT CONT'D

The aim to have more succinct and easier to follow procedures, the continued use of Directors of Coaching, Scoring and Umpiring were implemented. Adam Rindfleish, Kaye Greggs, and Scott Rindfleish (respectfully), have continued to lead their hard-working teams of officials who we thank for their continued passion and enthusiasm. Adam Rindfleish as the Coaching Director joins the Scoring and Umpiring Directors to form a “technical committee” to keep NSW at the forefront of softball in Australia and the region. The “technical committee” provides support on game regulations and allows for the smooth running of state championships and affiliated competitions (e.g., State League).

To the volunteers that supported Softball NSW at all events, National Championships, State Championships, The Australia Pacific Cup, and Fully Loaded softball, we thank you immensely. To those who supported us in the canteen, with coaching, scoring, grounds, and many more important roles, you are always seen and known. People may not thank you enough, but please know you are always important, and we could not see the players and officials on the field without you.

Softball NSW has been glad to host multiple championships throughout the year, including a sudden change of the locations seen in the Softball Australia Open Men’s Championships.

Softball Australia One Management, Hosting Summer Slam, Australia Pacific Cup, National 18’s Male & Female. Hosted the Under 18 National Championships for Men and Women Hosted the Asia Pacific Cup Hosted the Summer Slam – which has led to the “Fully Loaded” softball program

2020 has been an 'interesting' year to say the least with the bush fires from late 2019 continuing into January and COVID-19 starting in March. The bush fires impacted many of our community and we thank all the softball family that supported those in fire affected areas. We thank the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) for all their dedication and protection, and for keeping us all safe during that apprehensive and dangerous time. The fires were a scary time, and proved difficult for many with their houses, livelihoods, and in some cases, their families threatened. Softball NSW were able to complete a fundraiser, donating $9,404 to the NSW RFS.

The impact of COVID-19 has been devastating to our affiliates that run winter competitions. On the 10th June 2020, the NSW government announced the Return to Play for all sports from the 1st July. With the easing of restrictions on physical distancing and group gatherings our winter affiliates are now able to run their competitions for a 10 to 12-week period. The rescheduling of state events also occurred, allowing all ages to continue to engage in their representative teams, and allow for ongoing state team selection, as expected. With the assistance of the Government's Cashflow Boost and JobKeeper, Softball NSW has been able to maintain our staff during this difficult time.

Softball NSW athletes and officials continue to excel with many being selected for Australian Teams or Squads. I would like to wish the Aussie Spirit Women the best of luck heading into selection for the Olympic Team and hope to see you out on that Diamond in 2021 (or 202one if you are still holding on to 2020). I would also like to congratulate Kyira Cox on her selection to umpire at the Olympic Games, and we look forward to seeing her call the game in Tokyo. CONCLUSION The sport we love and the communities we live in are currently going through a hard time and I would like to call on everyone to assist each other to grow softball and create a positive environment around us. We all need to work together to ensure the success of our sport from grass roots through to the elite. Thank you to all for your continued enthusiasm, commitment and passion for this sport you love. My final year as President and on the Board has been both fruitful and challenging but I have loved every minute. Thank you all for your support. I wish the new Board of Directors and the new President all the best. I leave the Softball NSW Board knowing it is in good hands with CEO Daniel Rushworth at the helm. His leadership, guidance and direction during the COVID-19 crisis has been nothing but exceptional. Daniel, we truly thank you for your hard work and support during this year.

Loretta Watts President SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

A year's overview Daniel Rushworth CEO'S REPORT

Commencing in late August 2019, I could never have imagined the additional challenges to those originally posed to me when joining this organisation. What would lay ahead for society and our community has been unthinkable.

These challenges and disruptions commenced with the fires in November, December and January and have followed through to the current COVID-19 Pandemic we have experienced since starting in March.

Having worked in sport for almost 20 years, I am very pleased and proud of the way our organisation and community has and is continuing to manage through these difficult times. The levels of engagement, resilience and determination that our organisation, as well as our Associations and Clubs have shown to keep our sport moving forward is truly remarkable.

Our volunteer base from the Board, through to our technical arms, Association and Club personnel are passionate, dedicated and focused on driving our sport into the future and continue to amaze at all levels. It is an absolute pleasure to work for and with the community!

The "get it done" mantra has served our staff well across the past year, and I would like to thank them for their over and above efforts in 2019/2020; Events & Operations Manager Cathy Kerr Finance & Administration Officer Rachel Krajsic Development Officers: Donna McGrath, Kerrie Porter, Michelle Sutton Database Support: Lynne Townsend

Also a special note of recognition on the efforts of departed staff: Lauren Keith (Nov'19), Tom Whirledge (Nov'19) & Stephen Maxwell (Dec'19)

The outstanding efforts of Cathy Kerr must also be celebrated, with Cathy achieving 30 years as an employee with Softball NSW. Cathy's service and dedication to the organisation is outstanding and has certainly been a valuable resource since my commencement. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

CEO'S REPORT CONT'D Finance The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly impacted the organisation financially in the last quarter and will into the future. The impact on staff has been significant with some being stood down, on reduced hours and/or requested to take leave. All of these actions were necessary for the organisation to manage it's finances appropriately during a time where budgeted income was significantly reduced from 255k down to 12k.

Fortunately, with the downturn in finances and the State and Federal Government funding, the organisation has survived to a manageable financial position, recording a loss of 27k. The government funding has certainly a key reason in Softball NSW avoiding a six figure loss.

During this economic downturn, the focus has certainly been on ensuring that our sport could return through the creation of the Return to Train Guidelines, followed by the Return to Play Guidelines, and relative Safety Plans and additional resources. With the pandemic slowing, these resources provide an excellent footing for our Associations and Pathways to recommence as soon as possible.

Further to this, we were certainly pleased with the additional NSW Government support that was provided to this organisation and 49 Associations or Clubs as part of the Community Sport Recovery Package and Grassroots Sports Fund. This funding ensures that Softball NSW, Associations and Clubs can meet costs that were impacted directly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the fortunate outcomes during the pandemic has been the reconnection of sport through Sport NSW- our industry peak body. The connection of sport through regular meetings and zoom sessions is an excellent sounding board for all sports to engage, connect and share strategies and thoughts on managing through the Pandemic and beyond. Sport NSW's support has been of immense value in assisting with advocating for, and on behalf of all sports, to achieve government funding for which we are all very thankful.

Softball NSW also received funding from the Office of Sport for the upcoming Mothers & Friends Program which will be released in August. The Program is part of the Her Sport Her Way initiative which is designed to attract more female participants into sport through non traditional means.

Facility I must thank the ongoing outstanding support of Blacktown City Council and the relative teams of Blacktown Venue Management, as they continue to deliver a world class facility for which the Softball community is forever grateful. During this period, a total of 12 events were held at the NSW Softball Centre, Blacktown International Sportspark. These included teams from Chinese Taipei, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and New Zealand, and they were able to experience one of the best facilities in the world. The venue was showcased during the Australia Pacific Cup and Summer Slam – Fully Loaded Softball where games were broadcast by Fox Sports.

Participation In joining the organisation, the focus has certainly been on developing a participation plan that would yield the growth in participation our sport needs after lengthy decline. This can only be achieved through the acquisition and review of participation data and appropriate staff structure.

The staff restructure, particularly in the Development arm of the organisation was essential. Their role now encompasses the responsibility to Affiliates and School Programs within the same geographical area. Their support to those Affiliates is significant in assisting those hard working volunteers dealing with challenges in growing participation locally. The new elements of their role include the establishment of the Softball NSW schools program which was due to commence in Term 2 2020, however this has been restructured until later in 2020. The program included 33 events across NSW and offer Teeball to students in Year 3 & 4, Modball in Year 5 & 6 and Mixed Slowpitch for Year 9 & 10 in High School.

All programs will use rules in line with the Fully Loaded format. In addition, the Development Team are also working closely with the School Program Leaders in the implementation of essential summarised rules and delivery of game to ensure the most ideal and enjoyable experience is offered in the school environment. The implementation of common best practice is essential for school delivered programs given the lack of prime time viewing our sport has to perspective junior participants and their parents or carers.

To further assist our organisation in developing the participation plan, we engaged the services of SPRINTER which is an organisation funded through the Office of Sport and Sydney University. SPRINTER assists sport in collecting and understanding participant data through research and analysis. The first example of this was the release of the Softball NSW Membership Survey in February and March 2020. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

CEO'S REPORT CONT'D

The Survey and its analysis were pivotal in understanding the participant challenges in growing our game. The survey also provided the catalyst for the Strategic Engagement Sessions in which 20 of the 21 Associations participated in. Following the collation of all data, we will be able to formulate the new draft Softball NSW Participation Plan which is due in August 2020.

Further projects were undertaken to assist in understanding our participation, with the Affiliate Facility Audit undertaken through the Development Team. This project has lead to the organisation being able to understand the needs of facility development and also produce a capacity report. This capacity report will be shared with Affiliates in due course to understand their scope for growth opportunity.

In providing different participation experiences we have now provided an opportunity for Softball ACT, through their development arm Canberra Pride, to participate in our State Championships commencing September 2020. This two year arrangement will assist ACT in developing their players but also provide a new addition for Associations to participate against.

Communication The Communication Strategy has been multifaceted in aiming to be holistic. The development and delivery of the 'On Base' (Full Community 6k) and 'The Short Stop" (Affiliates and Clubs) stakeholder newsletters has been well received with engagement at over 40% per delivery.

From a social media standpoint, we have continued to deliver significant engagement with growth in all platforms including the development of a LinkedIn page. To assist in understanding our audience further we engaged the services of Shunt Media. Their aggregated reports have significantly assisted in understanding what works and when, in terms of posting.

The continued development and updating of our website is paramount to maintain our shopfront to perspective participants and this will no doubt continue into the future. The development of the online store was a significant undertaking which has tremendous upside for the organisation and will continue to evolve.

Governance Policy Development for the organisation has adjusted in shape with these being developed to ensure that our Affiliates and Clubs can implement these without edit. The imminent release of the Working With Children Guidelines, Concussion Policy and Return to Play are all examples of these.

Softball Australia have continued down the One Softball pathway and is progressing this further with other States. Softball NSW will continue to monitor this process and report back to the membership at the appropriate time.

Conclusion In what has been a very challenging and difficult year, the organisation is well placed to progress into the future with the development of the participation strategy and current financial position. Our organisation would not be what it is without the support of our partners; NSW Office of Sport, Blacktown City Council, Blacktown International Sportspark, Easton, Schweppes, GA Millers, The Healthy Body Company, Nippon Travel Agency, Kays Sportswear and MySportsTape. We thank all of them for their fantastic support for our organisation and game.

Finally, to those resilient and relentless volunteers that provide opportunities for participants to enjoy our game-thank you so much, your efforts are extreme and so is my thanks.

Daniel Rushworth Chief Executive Officer 1,196

Members completed the inaugural Softball NSW Membership Survey in February and March 2020

80%

Of members are satisfied with their Softball experience. (SNSW Membership Survey March 2020) SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

7,736 69%

Softball NSW had 7736 Softball NSW Associations and members across all categories Clubs have a 69% retention of membership. This rate for the 2019/20 period, represented a 3% decline which places NSW as the compared to 2018/19 Number 1 State in Australia in retention

5 of 21 35%

Softball NSW Associations Softball NSW represents 35% experienced growth in season of all participants of Softball 2019/20 across Australia SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020 2 2019-2020 AWARD WINNERS

Affiliate Awards Affiliate of the Year

0 Finalists: Cumberland Nepean, Macarthur, North Shore and Penrith City Winner: Macarthur

Country Affiliate of the Year Finalists: Central Coast, Newcastle, Orange and Wagga Wagga Winner: Newcastle 1 Governance Award Finalists: Cumberland Nepean, Hornsby and Southern Districts Winners: Southern Districts 9

Membership Award Finalists: Central Coast and Wagga Wagga Winner : Wagga Wagga Softball Association

Development Award

- Finalists: Macarthur, Newcastle, North Shore, Penrith City Winner: Penrith City Softball Association

Communications Award

2 Finalists: Macarthur, Penrith City, Southern Districts, and Wagga Wagga Winner: Wagga Wagga Softball Association

Club of the Year Finalists: Cruisers Softball Club (Cumberland Nepean), Maitland Meteors (Newcastle), Strikers (Newcastle) and

0 Wolves (Newcastle) Winner: Strikers Softball Club

Other Awards Softball Australia Homeplate Status Associations: Cumberland Nepean Softball Association and Newcastle Softball Association. Clubs: Strikers, Wolves, Maitland Meteors, Wahroonga and

2 Castle Hill.

Player/Official Awards Official of the Year – Kerrie Porter Andrew Rindfleish Umpire of the Year – Scott Rindfleish Youth Male Athlete of the Year – Bradley Kilpatrick Youth Female Athlete of the Year - Jenna Trim

0 Male Athlete of the Year – Hayden Mathews Female Athlete of the Year – Rachel Lack

2019 Hall of Fame Inductees Belinda Barnes Carolyn Buttsworth Cathy Kerr Pat Rawlings Jacqui Wise SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Technical Reports COACHING REPORT

The Softball New South Wales Coaches (SNSWC) executive has delivered the Softball Australia accreditation program, coach education workshops, coaching lectures, online video conferencing, online education and face to face mentoring to upskill coaches of all levels over the past 12 months.

Coaches Executive: Adam Rindfleish (Director of Coaching), Darrin Crisp, Grant Kelly, Troy Lach, Lyneene Orsini, Kerrie Porter & Charlie Whetu

Softball NSW Coach Academy

In the second year of operation the Softball NSW Coaches Academy has 38 members. An increase of 47% from 2018/2019.

(Note: You do not need to be a member to attend or access the information provided by the Coaches Academy, however you do miss out on the member benefits.)

Coach education programs continue to be delivered by the Softball NSW Coaches Academy. It is the only program in Australia to actively promote the upskilling of softball coaches and the development of sport specific coaching skills.

The integration of face to face workshops continue to be a valuable education resource for participants. This year the online delivery of Coaches Chat was implemented due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.

Face to face workshops Three face to face workshops were delivered prior to COVID-19. The short game workshop was live- streamed for regional Associations to participate. This was the first online initiative by the Coaches Academy.

Face to Face Workshops Presenters Attendees Short Game Kerrie Porter – NSW Coach/Adam Rindfleish – NSW Coach 30 Sprint and Agility John Marsden – Strength & Conditioning expert 18 Competitive Advantage (rules and working with umpires) Scott Rindfleish – SNSW Director of Umpiring 16

Coaches Chat Coaches Chat is a new initiative implemented this year due to COVID-19 social distancing restriction and the inability to deliver face to face workshops. Facilitated via Zoom and broadcasted to Facebook Live, coaches are interviewed by the SNSW Coaching Director. Viewers are able to ask questions on the relevant topic.

In addition to having solid viewership from people in NSW, Coaches Chat has seen engagement from geographically diverse individuals from interstate and international locations. The initiative has been well received and will remain in place for 2020/2021 to provide educational opportunities, and offering engagement to individuals not located in the Sydney metro region.

Coaches Chat Topic Interviewed Views (as at 12 July 2020) General Coaching Darrin Crisp 713 Coaching Juniors Sue Brandenburg 953 Transitioning from Playing to Coaching Callum Beashel, Brad Kilpatrick, Nicole Morley, Bree Brooker, Mathew Beach, Sarah Diener 1100 COACHING REPORT CONT'D

Speaking Engagements Charlie Whetu represented the Coaches Executive at an event held by Mustangs, a Cumberland Nepean Club, speaking with members on the topic of “Why get into coaching?”. It is suggested that more Associations utilise this form of interactive exchange to promote the coaching pathways.

Adam Rindfleish spoke at the Club’s forum on the 14 July 2019 regarding the coaching program in NSW. Club representatives from across the state were in attendance. Information on the coaching accreditation pathway, how to engage new coaches, how to support new coaches and the tools the Coaches Academy can assist with were the topics covered.

Coach Accreditation Over the past 12 months 162 new accreditations have been attained by Softball NSW members. 83 members began their coaching journey by successfully completing the Level 1 accreditation. Softball Australia’s changes in the accreditation system and lack of roll out have hindered the ability to deliver face to face accreditation. The impacts of COVID-19 also stopped face to face accreditation. Due to these two factors, there was a downturn in accreditation/reaccreditation numbers for 2019/2020.

Accreditations held by Associations - delivered by SNSW Coaches Date held Accreditation Level Association 28/7/19 Level 2 Newcastle 31/8/19 Community Coach & Level 1 Sutherland 19/9/19 Level 2 Georges River 26/9/19 Community Coach & Level 1 Cumberland 5/10/19 Community Coach & Level 1 Newcastle 15/10/19 Community Coach & Level 1 Hornsby 31/10/19 Community Coach & Level 1 Cumberland 18/11/19 Community Coach & Level 1 Manly 3/12/19 Community Coach & Level 1 Macarthur

Accreditation/Reaccreditation Level (18/19) (19/20) Level 1 93 83 Level 2 30 18 Level 3 53 41 Level 4 9 14 Level 5 3 5 Level 6 0 1

New Coach Accreditation Program Softball Australia has redeveloped its coaching accreditation program and it is in a transitional phase. The SNSWC executive is working with Softball Australia to develop this new accreditation program as it is a critical component in the coach’s pathway and development.

The old level 1 – 6 accreditations have moved to:

Foundation Coach (Old levels 1-3) Softball NSW is responsible for the delivery of the Foundation Coaching levels to members in NSW. Foundation Coach accreditation consists of the successful completion of four online learning modules, completed in any order, followed by a competency based practical knowledge and skills assessment

The four online learning modules are: - Batter Up - Fundamental skills - Training and Practice - Managing Games. COACHING REPORT CONT'D

Performance Coach (Old level 4) – Delivered by Softball Australia High Performance Coach (Old level 5) – Delivered by Softball Australia Master Coach (Old Level 6) – Delivered by Softball Australia

Accreditation is the starting point for coach education; additional and ongoing upskilling is needed to progress as a coach and to develop athletes. This is why the Softball NSW Coaches Academy provides upskilling opportunities across a variety of platforms.

The new Softball Australia accreditation program has been adopted in NSW and is actively promoted to Associations and members. Further information on the new accreditation pathway can be found on the Softball NSW Coaches website.

Communication During 2019/2020 a stronger focus on social media communication was adopted and a reduction in the number of emails and newsletter.

Email communication statistics Year Number sent Open rate Subscribers 18/19 16 55% 759 19/20 7 43% 784

Facebook - @softballnswcoaches Year Followers # Posts Reach 18/19 397 117 7,639 19/20 358 101 18,122

Instagram - @softballnswcoaches Year Followers # Posts Reach 19/20 269 30 4,042

Coaches Website The Softball NSW Coaches website (coach.softballnsw.org.au) is the complete guide to coaching softball in NSW including accreditation and reaccreditation details, events, news, drills, rules of softball, contact details for Director of Coaching and the Coaching Program.

Coaches Congress The inaugural Softball NSW Coaches Congress is scheduled for October 2020. The proposed format for the congress is for it to be held from 9:00am to 5:00pm. There will be guest speakers and presenters, Q&A and equipment and technology demonstrations and exhibitions.

The congress will be the first of its kind for softball coaches in Australia and aims to enhance knowledge sharing, increase participation and give coaches in NSW a platform for additional growth.

Softball Australia National Coaching Panel Adam Rindfleish remains on the Softball Australia Men’s National Coaching Panel and Kerrie Porter is on the Softball Australia Women’s National Coaching Panel. COACHING REPORT CONT'D

Friendship Series Coaches The following seven coaches were appointed to the 2019 International Friendship Series teams for 2019.

Name Team Position Sally Diener Boys Gold Head Coach Kathryn Stuart Boys Gold Assistant Coach David Sheppard Boys Green Assistant Coach Troy Lach Boys Green Assistant Coach Donna McGrath Girls Green Assistant Coach Wayne Frost Girls Gold Head Coach Ashley Castles Girls Gold Assistant Coach

National Team Coaches Three Softball NSW coaches were appointed to national teams for 2019/2020.

Name Team Position Adam Rindfleish Open Men (2019) Assistant Coach U18 Men (2020) Head Coach Kerrie Porter U18 Women (2019) Assistant Coach Summer Slam – Bandits (2020) Head Coach Neridah Wearne U18 Women (2019) Assistant Coach

Adam Rindfleish has been reappointed as Head Coach to the U18 National men’s team to compete in the 2022 World Cup.

Softball NSW Coaching Program Sponsor Thank you to Whatley Trophies for their continued support in sponsoring the Softball NSW Coaching program. Whatley Trophies supply annual award trophies.

The SNSW Coaching Program is in great shape with solid numbers of coaches engaging with the accreditation system and the educational workshops. I thank the coaches executive for their ongoing dedication to providing the best possible program for the coaches of softball in NSW.

Adam Rindfleish Softball NSW - Director of Coaching UMPIRES REPORT

The SNSW Umpire Program is lead and managed by the 9 elected members of the Softball NSW Umpires Association, an umpire member-based organisation that has supported SNSW for 55 years since 1965.

Combined 92 years (various positions) of experience on the Executive Committee.

Umpires Executive: Scott Rindfleish (Director of Umpiring), Andrew Rindfleish, Vicki Lansley, Andrew Birks, Claire Austring, Leanne Gearside, Robert McIntosh, Shane McIntosh & Kristina Travers Year in Review

Accreditation’s Achieved New & Upgraded 36 Umpires achieved higher accreditation, congratulations.

Level 7 Level 4 Level 1 Jesse Smith Jason Turner Oscar Atkins Josh Wilde Emily Banks Level 6 Raymond Bourke Level 3 Anna Butler Andrew Birks Emily Devine Duncan Lapsley Deedee Fitzhenry Level 5 Jennie McKenny Alex Green Tim Walker Kendal Henderson Joel Grimes Jennifer Womsley Shane McIntosh Indiah Jenkins Mackenzie Jenkins Level 2 Cecil Lang Robyn Bailey Kristy Lawton Laurine Devine Olivia Losanno November Thompson Jeffrey Moon Anna Offield Lucy Parkinson Natalie Pettit Emma Ralla Tara Richardson Marc Roberts Joshua Sarantakos Leelawadee Thomas Braith Warren UMPIRES REPORT CONT'D

Strategic Programs & Outcomes Senior Umpire Development Program Webinar: Game Management targeted at umpires officiating at State League. A successful interactive live and online session targeting current game management trends across NSW senior competitions.

Level 2 6 attendees with 3 successful candidates at State U14s.

Association Assistance Relaunch of ‘Umpire Recruitment Toolkit’, to support individual umpires, Clubs and Associations to attract and prepare umpires for the first key steps in becoming an umpire, as well as attracting umpires to service Club and Association duties.

Launch of a new web page ‘Jump into Umpiring’. A one stop shop of information to assist umpires ‘JUMP’ into umpiring with all the essential information and links to accreditation, assessment and development resources connecting to SNSWUA and the National Umpiring Committee.

International Appointments 2019 U18 Women’s World Cup 2020 Australia Pacific Cup 2020 Summer Slam California USA Andrew Rindfleish - TCU Andrew Rindfleish - TCU Jesse Smith Amanda Houison Amanda Houison Andrew Compton Andrew Compton 2020 U18 Men’s World Cup Claire Austring Jessica Rooke Auckland, New Zealand James English Kristina Travers Kyira Cox Jessica Rooke Kyira Cox Kristina Travers Leanne Gearside Kyira Cox Scott Rindfleish Leanne Gearside Scott Rindfleish

Special Mention Andrew Rindfleish OAM was recognised in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday honours with a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to Softball.

The SNSW Umpiring community is extremely proud to celebrate this recognition, and the SNSW Umpires Association is grateful for Andrew’s extensive exemplary leadership and service to softball and to umpiring.

Award Winners

There are five SNSWUA Award Winners; congratulations to all winners.

2019 UMPIRING AWARDS • 'Andrew Rindfleish' Umpire of the Year: Scott Rindfleish • Director's Award for Services to Umpiring: Andy Birks • Individual Award for Umpire Development: Vicki Lansley • Affiliate Award for Umpire Development: Manly Warringah Softball Association • Encouragement Award: Jennie McKenny UMPIRES REPORT CONT'D

Appointed Panel Personnel

National Umpiring Committee National Umpiring Staff Members • Scott Rindfleish - National UIC Communications • Kristina Travers - Communications • Kyira Cox - National UIC Operations • Darrell Shephard - Technical • Ron Houison - Development

Communication/Technology/Social Media/Website The SNSW Umpires Website is our online home and is the central location for all umpiring resources, tools and forms. Members are encouraged to explore the umpiring information that is categorised by “OUR HOUSE”, our strategic framework.

Staying connected with our current and prospective umpires, Associations, Clubs and even our interstate and international friends is a priority to promote membership engagement. Facebook is proving very successful with 1,338 followers (5% increase year on year). We have presented over 100 posts this year with an average of 766 reach per post, and an average of 72 comments. The top 5 posts focused on Umpire recognition, National appointments, Celebrating 55 years of the SNSW Umpires Association, our L2 Development Clinics and Jump Into Umpiring, and reached well over 13,000 people.

Resource Development Jump Into Umpiring Umpire Recruitment Toolkit State Developed Umpire Development Resources Utilisation of Softball Australia Development Programs, Accreditation Programs, Candidate Assessment, Assessor Training and Candidate preparations.

COVID Impact COVID-19 has severely impacted the development and growth of individual umpires’ due to no competitions being held. More formally, the assessment program and practical accreditation clinics scheduled for this year could not be held. With the re-scheduling of State Championships and other events, the Level 2 Assessments will be held at the U14s State. At the time of this report, clinic dates are yet to be published.

Scott Rindfleish Softball NSW Director of Umpiring SCORERS REPORT

Softball Australia Appointment Karren Plain attended the Open Women’s Australian Championship in Perth to iScore the games as part of Softball Australia’s High Performance.

Official Scorers Official scorers were supplied for the following championships and tournaments hosted by SNSW: Softball NSW Events: 2019 Female and Male State League Games (Aug - Nov) 2019 Open Women’s State Championships (October) 2019 Open Men’s State Championships (November)

Softball Australia Events: 2020 U18 Men’s Australian Championships in December 2019 2020 U18 Women’s Australian Championships in January 2020 Australia Pacific Cup (February) 2020 Fully Loaded Softball Summer Slam (February)

For two days prior to, and the first two days of the Australia Pacific Cup, Rowena Whittle, as one of a group of scorers (from NSW, Qld and Vic) attended a WBSC course on scoring and statistics for Olympic Games.

Accreditations (August 2019 - July 2020) Level 1 48 (including 1 reaccreditation) Level 2 4 (including 1 reaccreditation) Level 4 3 (6 scorers were reaccredited with Level 4)

Congratulations to the following scorers who upgraded their scoring level: Level 2: Caroline Jagger (MWSA), Donna Jay (NSDSA), Simon Tilley (HDSA) Level 4: Sylvia Kohut and Daniela Palma (SSSA), Sharon Smith (Macarthur) SCORERS REPORT CONT'D

Courses Conducted

Level Date Affiliate Participants Level 1 Sept 2019 Newcastle 5 Oct 2019 Penrith City 4 Oct 2019 Sutherland Shire 1 Oct 2019 Far North Coast 9 Nov 2019 Newcastle 13 Feb 2020 Cumberland Nepean 1 Feb 2020 Campbelltown 15

Level 3 July 2019 SNSW (Part 1) 4 Aug 2019 SNSW (Part 1) 6

Level 4 Aug 2020 SNSW 7

Reaccreditation Level 2, 3 and 4 scorers whose reaccreditation is due this year have been sent the new Softball Australia National Scoring Reaccreditation Guidelines and relevant paperwork. Because of COVID-19, Level 2 and 3 scorers, instead of scoring a ‘live’ game, have been given permission to send two previously scored games from last season, along with the other requirements. I am hopeful that most of these scorers will soon respond to this.

COVID-19 This pandemic has had a significant impact on our ability to conduct courses and practical assessments for scorers. In particular, those scorers who undertook the first part of Level 3, have not had the opportunity to undertake their final day of theory and the written assessment. Level 2 courses are often conducted after the conclusion of the summer season of softball and these have not been held this year.

Restrictions with social distancing will continue to affect the number of practical assessments able to be undertaken at one time. At the time of submission of this report, liaison with Lynne Townsend to hold some Level 2 practical games during the NSDSA winter season was being held. Hopefully some practical assessments for Level 3 and 4 will be undertaken at our Open State Championships.

Acknowledgements Rowena Whittle’s organisation of the scoring for the Fully Loaded Softball Summer Slam event held in February was again exceptional.

I would like to thank the SNSW Office Staff, Lynne Townsend, Rowena Whittle, and all the volunteer official and assistant scorers for their assistance given to me at this year’s State and National events.

Thank you to these affiliate scoring conveners who conducted Level 1 courses this past year: Karen Beckett, Michelle Cate, Chris Mackay, Rhonda Schultz and Val Dowse.

Kaye Greggs Softball NSW Director of Scoring STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2019/2020 OVERVIEW & REPORT

n s w . s o f t b a l l . o r g . a u SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Open Women's State Championships-BISP

North Shore claimed the Women’s Open State Championship title after a tough contest against Manly Warringah at Blacktown International Sportspark.

North Shore finished the regular rounds in second place behind Manly Warringah in their Pool. The crossover saw North Shore having to fight their way past Cumberland Nepean, and then Penrith, before facing off once again against pool winners Manly Warringah.

Manly Warringah were aiming for a fourth straight Women’s State Championship after being undefeated heading into the Grand Final. However, Shore exploded early to gain a 4 run lead after some exceptional hitting at the top of the 1st. Manly being the excellent team they are crawled their way back into the contest to be down by 1 run heading into the 7th.

Shore leading the 7th away, were able to secure another 2 runs and take their lead out to three. At 6-3, Manly dug deep and were able to grab another run before some acrobatic outfielding saw Shore claim their first title since 2015.

Finishing Position 1st North Shore 2nd Manly Warringah 3rd Penrith City 4th Cumberland Nepean 5th Sutherland 6th Hornsby 7th Newcastle 8th Macarthur 9th Georges River 10th Southern Districts

Tournament MVP - Michelle Gorisse (Manly Warringah) Batting Award - Rachel Lack (North Shore) Pitching Award - Jess Tolmie (Hornsby)

Grand Final – North Shore 6 defeated Manly Warringah 4 SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Open Men's State Championships-Newcastle

The 2019 Open Men’s State Championship didn’t disappoint with the level of play very high and all 7 teams in contention for the title of State Champions.

It came down to the last round to confirm who would face Macarthur in the final with Macarthur securing a spot in the Grand Final first, after only dropping one game to Hornsby during the rounds.

In the final Georges River got off to a good start scoring 1 in the top of the 1st, then another in the top of the 2nd. Macarthur replied with 2 in the bottom, followed by a homerun. Another homerun in the bottom of the 3rd and together with some hits and wild pitches took the score to 6 – 2. Georges River clawed back 3 more runs but the floodgates opened and Macarthur’s batters took charge adding another 6 runs for a 12 – 5 win in 5 innings.

Thank you to the great volunteers from the Newcastle & District Softball Association who did a fantastic job in hosting the event.

Finishing Position 1st Macarthur 2nd Georges River 3rd Cumberland Nepean 4th Hornsby 5th Penrith City 6th Southern Districts 7th Newcastle

Tournament MVP – Hayden Mathews (Hornsby) Batting Award – Callum Beashel (Georges River) Pitching Award – Harri Peters (Macarthur)

Grand Final – Macarthur 12 defeated Georges River 5 SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Men's & Women's State League

After 3 months of competition the Manly Eagles and Tropics came out on top and took the State League Titles for 2019.

Tropics went into the finals as one of the favourites after finishing on top of the table, and took on Dolphins in the major semi final. A come from behind win saw Tropics take the game 9 runs to 4 and move straight into the grand final, whilst on diamond 4 United showed their class with a 14 – 1 win over Mounties.

In the preliminary final United proved too strong with an 11 – 6 win over Dolphins. This set up a grand final between Tropics and United. Tropics got off to a great start in the final with 2 runs in the bottom of the first innings and then was never headed winning 6 – 1.

The women’s final day started with 6 teams still in contention but that was narrowed down to 4 after wins to Panthers and Sweet Heat knocking out Northern Storm and Norwest Wolves respectively.

Manly Eagles and Sharks went head to head for a place in the final and in an exciting game Manly snuck home winning 5 – 4. In another exciting game Panthers kept their hopes alive by nudging out Sweet Heat 3 – 2 to move through to face Sharks in the game that would decide who Manly would play in the final. Panthers put up a brave fight but were defeated 11 – 4 to finish 3rd for the season.

Both Manly Eagles and Sharks had Aussie Spirit players who were keen to show their skills and they didn’t disappoint, but it was Manly Eagles who shone out on the day and took the title 6 runs to 1.

Finishing Position Female Finishing Position Male 1st Manly Eagles 1st Tropics 2nd Sharks 2nd United 3rd Panthers 3rd Dolphins 4th Sweet Heat 4th Mounties =5th North Storm & Norwest Wolves 5th Thurbredz =7th Phoenix & Hills 6th Titans 7th Demons

Men’s Award Winners Rookie Award: Jack Besgrove (Tropics) Batting Award: Lachlan Smith (Dolphins) Pitching Award: Brad Kilpatrick (Dolphins) MVP Award: Shaun Lanaghan (Dolphins)

Men’s Grand Final Tropics 6 defeated UWS United 1

Female Award Winners Rookie Award: Charli Orsini (Sweet Heat) Batting Award: Shannon Keevers (Sharks) Pitching Award: Chantelle Ladner (Norwest Wolves) MVP Award: Kim Wright (Panthers)

Female Grand Final Manly Eagles 6 defeated Sharks 1 SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 23 State Championships-Campbelltown

The Inaugural 23 & Under State Championships were held at Milton Park, Campbelltown and proved to be a success with 10 female teams and 6 male teams competing. The feedback was very positive and the standard of competition was high.

Macarthur went into the final undefeated and having only 8 runs scored against them, as well as piling on 45 runs for. In the final, Georges River piled on the runs in the first two innings taking a 7-2 lead. Macarthur managed to peg back a run later in the game but it was Georges River running out winners 7-3 and taking the inaugural 23 & Under Men’s State Championship Title.

The Women’s Competition was a very close affair with placings for the finals determined by runs against in most cases. Pool A saw a 3 way tie with North Shore, Cumberland Nepean and Macarthur all finishing on 10 points with only 1 loss each and runs against came into play. Pool B had Sutherland and Hornsby finishing on top with Sutherland having less runs against finishing first. The Manly Warringah and Penrith City game in the last round would be a determining factor in which team would progress. Despite the loss, Penrith City hung on to 3rd place with less runs against.

Sutherland and North Shore made their way into the final defeating Cumberland Nepean and Hornsby respectively.

Sutherland came out firing and took the lead early in the game 3-0, then North Shore slowly pegged back the runs to force a tie breaker. Sutherland were unable to convert in the top of the innings. In the bottom of the innings North Shore moved their runner to 3rd then a long sacrifice fly scored the winning run, with North Shore taking the game 4 runs to 3.

Thank you to Softball Campbelltown and their many volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to make this event a success.

Female Finishing Position Male Finishing Positions 1st North Shore 1st Georges River 2nd Sutherland 2nd Macarthur =3rd Hornsby & Cumberland Nepean 3rd Southern Districts 5th Macarthur 4th Penrith City 6th Penrith City 5th Orange 7th Manly Warringah 6th Newcastle 8th Southern Districts 9th Newcastle N.B 2020 Under 16 & Under 18 10th Campbelltown State Championships rescheduled until September SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 14 State Championships-Georges River

Cumberland Nepean won both the U14 Titles at U14 State Championships held at Kelso Park Panania.

Both teams went through the weekend undefeated with the girls dominant in all games and amassing at total of 102 runs for, and only 4 against, whilst the boys scored 56 runs for and 17 against. Strong pitching by both teams, backed up by solid hitting, was the key to success.

Cumberland Nepean defeated Macarthur 7 – 0 in the girls final, and the boys were victorious over Southern Districts in a tighter game 8 – 5.

Thank you to Georges River Softball Association and their many volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to make this event a success.

Female Finishing Position Female Male Finishing Positions 1st Cumberland Nepean 1st Cumberland Nepean 2nd Macarthur 2nd Southern Districts = 3rd Hornsby & Manly Warringah = 3rd Georges River & Macarthur = 5th North Shore & Wagga Wagga = 5th Penrith City & Newcastle 7th Georges River = 7th Campbelltown/ Wagga Wagga 8th Penrith City 8th Orange 9th Sutherland 9th Sutherland 10th Campbelltown 11th Sutherland

Female Grand Final Male Grand Final Cumberland 7 defeated Macarthur 0 Cumberland Nepean 8 defeated Southern Districts 5 SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 12 Girls State Championships-BISP

8 teams participated in the 2019 U12 Girl’s State Championship at Blacktown International Sportspark.

North Shore were undefeated in the rounds and went into the Grand Final as slight favourites after their convincing win over Manly Warringah earlier in the day, 14 – 2. Manly Warringah, who finished 2nd on the table, headed into the rematch with confidence after amassing 83 runs for, and only 27 against through the rounds.

The Grand Final was an exciting game from the outset with Manly Warringah scoring 2 runs in the first innings then North Shore scoring 1 in the bottom of the 2nd. Manly Warringah added another 2 runs with North Shore replying with 1 in the 3rd to take the score to 4 – 2. Manly Warringah came out with their bats on fire at the top of the 5th scoring 5 runs. North Shore couldn’t get their bats going in the bottom of the innings with the game finishing at 9 – 2.

Finishing Position Grand Final – Manly Warringah 9 defeated North Shore 2 1st Manly Warringah 2nd North Shore 3rd Penrith City 4th Cumberland Nepean 5th Georges River 6th Campbelltown 7th Southern Districts 8th Hornsby

Under 12 Boys State Championships-BISP

The U12 Boy’s State Championship saw some exciting Softball from the future stars of the game at Blacktown International Sportspark.

8 teams fought it out during the round robin to see who would meet in the final. In the end the undefeated Georges River came out on top and would take on 2nd placed Macarthur in the final to decide the championship.

Macarthur couldn’t score in the top of the 1st innings with Georges River coming out firing and scoring 3 runs in the bottom, which sparked the Macarthur bats into action scoring 5 in the top of the 2nd, then 2 in the 3rd and 5 in the 4th, with Georges River only managing 1 more run. Macarthur won the game 12 – 4 and took out the 2019 State Champions Title for the 5th year in concession. Grand Final – Macarthur 12 defeated Georges River 4 Finishing Position 1st Macarthur 2nd Georges River 3rd Southern Districts 4th Central Coast 5th Cumberland Nepean 6th Penrith City 7th Sutherland 8th Campbelltown

N.B 2020 Under 10 State Championships rescheduled until December PATHWAYS & REPRESENTATIVES

2019/2020 OVERVIEW & REPORT

n s w . s o f t b a l l . o r g . a u SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Open Women's National Championships Gilleys Shield Players Event Performance (1st) Bianca Abrahams Penrith City Game Opposition Result Michelle Cox Manly Warringah Game 1 SA Starz 1 - 0 Amelia Cudicio North Shore Game 2 WA Flames 11 - 4 Mya Geros Manly Warringah Game 3 Vic Titans 6 - 2 Shannon Keevers Sutherland Game 4 Qld Heat 8 – 1 Rachel Lack North Shore Game 5 WA Flames 7 – 3 Stacey McManus Sutherland Game 6 SA Starz 2 - 0 Molly Meenan North Shore Game 7 Vic Titans 6 – 3 Tahli Moore North Shore Game 8 Qld Heat 9 – 1 Kaia Parnaby North Shore Game 9 WA Flames 3 – 2 Jasmine Peters Penrith City Game 10 SA Starz 1 - 6 Stacey Porter Tamworth Game 11 Vic Titans 4 – 0 Ellen Roberts North Shore Game 12 Qld Heat 6 - 9 Tarni Stepto Manly warringah Grand Final SA Starz 2 - 1 Jenna Trim Manly Warringah Player of the Grand Final – Taylah Tsitsikronis Penrith City Rachel Lack (NSW Firestars)

Team Management & Selectors Umpire Appointments Head Coach Kerrie Porter North Shore Amanda Houison - Assessor Assistant Coach Chris Coleman Penrith City Kyira Cox - Assessor Assistant Coach Neridah Wearne North Shore Andrew Birks - Successful Level 6 Manager Annette Tsitsikronis Penrith City Candidate Statistician Rowena Whittle Cumberland Nepean James English Physio Kandice Goodwin Video Analyst Tony Mackie Selectors Alan Munro SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Open Men's National Championships John Reid Shield

Players Callum Beashel Georges River Event Performance (2nd) Josh Bond Macarthur Game Opposition Result Mitchell Brownlow Georges River Game 1 ACT 89ers 6 - 9 Nathan Dickinson Georges River Game 2 Western Blaze 12 – 2 Lachlan Hay Georges River Game 3 Qld Patriots 1 – 2 Aidan Kajan Hornsby Game 4 Victoria 4 - 6 Brad Kilpatrick Georges River Game 5 SA 10 – 0 Ryan King Macarthur Preliminary Final Qld Patriots 4 - -1 Hayden Mathews Hornsby Grand Final ACT 89ers 3 - 4 Kieran O’Leary Hornsby Liam O’Leary Hornsby NB: Championship was affected by wet Stuart Perry Georges River weather only round 1 results were Harri Peters Macarthur considered for final series Lachlan Smith Macarthur Best Pitcher – Harrison Peters (NSW) James Todhunter Macarthur Rosemary Adey Medal – Rookie of the Year Peter Wards Macarthur – Bradley Kilpatrick (NSW)

Team Management Umpire Appointments Head Coach Adam Rindfleish Macarthur Claire Austring Assistant Coach Scott Rindfleish Macarthur Assistant Coach Charlie Whetu Sutherland Manager Lesley Darby Macarthur Statistician Sue Frost Penrith City Video Analyst John Crampton SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 18 Women's National Championships Elinor McKenzie Shield

Players Event Performance (1st) Ryleigh Arnott Cumberland Nepean Game Opposition Result Madi Baker North Shore Game 1 Victoria 6 – 3 Georgia Barton Penrith City Game 2 SA 2 – 0 Alyssa Conley Cumberland Nepean Game 3 WA 5 - 3 Nicole Connacher North Shore Game 4 Queensland 3 – 2 Mia Gilmore Macarthur Game 5 ACT 9 – 2 Jayde Jensen Sutherland Game 6 Victoria 8 – 3 Isabella Lorenzo Manly Warringah Game 7 Queensland 4 – 3 Emma Lowry Manly Warringah Game 8 WA 14 – 4 Hannah MacKean Hornsby Game 9 ACT 12 – 1 Alyssa Mighell North Shore Game 10 SA 5 – 0 Bridie Murphy Penrith City Semi Final Queensland 2 – 1 Charli Orsini Cumberland Nepean Grand Final WA 7 - 0 Arabella Ward Manly Warringah Caitlin Wilde Cumberland Nepean Most Valuable Player – Ryleigh Arnott (NSW) Grace Wrixon North Shore Best Pitcher – Charli Orsini (NSW) Player of the Grand Final – Caitlin Wilde (NSW)

Team Management & Selectors Umpire Appointments Head Coach John Neilsen Hornsby Jay Gibson - Assessor Assistant Coach Brett Kirk Cumberland Nepean Kyira Cox - Assessor Assistant Coach Nicole Morley Manly Warringah Andrew Compton - PT Manager Sue Pobjie Cumberland Nepean Jessica Rooke Statistician Damaras Clarkson Hornsby Leanne Gearside Physio Nathaniel Harnett Tony Moncaster Selector Andrew Dodshon Selector Janelle Dunk Selector Matthew Hayes SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 18 Men's National Championships Nox Bailey Shield

Players Event Performance (2nd) Joshua Banks Newcastle Game Opposition Result Blake Becquet Southern Districts Game 1 WA 9 – 1 Jack Besgrove Penrith City Game 2 Victoria 12 – 2 Jack Davies Macarthur Game 3 ACT 16 – 0 Ethan Field Penrith City Game 4 Queensland 8 – 1 Jeremy Garland Penrith City Game 5 Victoria 21 - 4 Zane Howarth Newcastle Game 6 WA 18 – 3 Jake Gleeson Macarthur Game 7 ACT 15 – 2 Blake Hunter Macarthur Game 8 Queensland 21 – 1 Caden Keed Orange Game 9 Victoria 8 – 1 Tyler Kelly Macarthur Game 10 Queensland 12 – 1 Klay Kilpatrick Georges River Game 11 WA 7 – 0 Boston Lowe Macarthur Semi Final ACT 10 – 3 Michael Owen Newcastle Grand Final Queensland 0 - 3 Zachary Roberts Southern Districts Hayden Shaw Penrith City Best Batter - Jeremy Garland (NSW)

Team Management Umpire Appointments Head Coach Peter Rainer Penrith City Claire Austring Assistant Coach Tony Jackson Southern Districts Jessica Rooke Assistant Coach David Sheppard Sutherland Manager Justin Saunby Penrith City Statistician Maria Wakefield Southern Districts Selector Craig Richardson Selector Tony Jackson SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 16 Women's National Championships Esther Deason Shield

Players Event Performance (2nd) Chelsea Bennett Manly Warringah Game Opposition Result Sienna Burgess Newcastle Game 1 WA 8 – 1 Amelia Cousins Cumberland Nepean Game 2 SA 4 – 13 Matilda Gibbons North Shore Game 3 Victoria 6 – 3 Abbey Hart Macarthur Game 4 Queensland 3 – 5 Porsha Hawe-De Thierry Sutherland Game 5 ACT 15 – 2 Annalise Kemp Hornsby Game 6 SA 16 - 5 Tallulah Lewis Manly Warringah Game 7 WA 11 – 0 Abbie Mooris Manly Warringah Game 8 Victoria 2 – 1 Sophie O’Connor Manly Warringah Game 9 Queensland 3 – 11 Erin Partridge North Shore Game 10 ACT 8 - 0 Gisele Petalio Conte Hornsby Semi Final Victoria 4 – 0 Monica Pettitt North Shore Preliminary Final SA 5 - 0 Grace Prior Sutherland Grand Final Queensland 0 - 7 Hannah Trevena Macarthur Keira Trim Manly Warringah

Team Management & Selectors Umpire Appointments Head Coach Wayne Warren Penrith City Scott Rindfleish - TCU Assistant Coach Wayne Frost Penrith City Darrell Shephard - Assessor Assistant Coach Kathryn Stuart SNSW Jesse Smith - Assessor Manager Sally Diener Sutherland Joel Grimes - Successful Level 5 Candidate Statistician Chris Fraser Penrith City Shane McIntosh - Successful Level 5 Candidate Trainer Maddie Beard Corey Hall Selector John Black Joshua Wilde Selector Fiona Ioannou SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 16 Men's National Championship Arthur Allsopp Shield

Players Event Performance (3rd) Oscar Atkins Penrith City Game Opposition Result Brandon Berenger Penrith City Game 1 ACT 21 - 0 Joel Byrne Macarthur Game 2 WA 17 – 2 Cooper Easthorpe Penrith City Game 3 Queensland 9 - 8 Timothy Gleeson Macarthur Game 4 SA 14 - 5 Lachlan Hort Macarthur Game 5 Victoria 10 - 1 Nicholas Hunter Macarthur Game 6 WA 12 - 2 Ky Hurst Orange Game 7 SA 21 - 0 Kadyn Judd Sutherland Game 8 ACT 17 - 2 Dante Machiavello Macarthur Game 9 Queensland 2 - 9 Jayden McDonald Wagga Wagga Game 10 Victoria 4 - 11 Jackson Newcombe Newcastle Semi Final Queensland 3 - 11 Riley Sutcliffe Macarthur Preliminary Final Victoria 6 - 9 Cameron Taylor Central Coast Makye Telfer Newcastle Best Batter - Cameron Taylor (NSW) Evan Wulff Macarthur Best Pitcher - Dante Machiavello (NSW)

Team Management & Selectors Umpire Appointments Head Coach Adam Sheehan Macarthur Scott Rindfleish - TCU Assistant Coach Dylan Crisp Georges River Darrell Shephard - Assessor Assistant Coach Troy Lach Georges River Jesse Smith - Assessor Manager Debbie Sheehan Macarthur Joel Grimes - Successful Level 5 Candidate Statistician Rhonda Schultz Penrith City Shane McIntosh - Successful Level 5 Candidate Video Analyst Peter Wards Macarthur Corey Hall Selector Peter Doherty Joshua Wilde Selector Robert Powell SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 14 Girls & Boys Regional Championship Umpire Appointments U14 Boys Regionals: Ron Houison - Assessor, Duncan Lapsley & Jason Turner

U14 Girls Regionals: Jason Turner

Team: Country Gold

Girls Team Boys Team Kaliyah Browning Far North Coast Zinzan Aumoe Newcastle Hayley Chivas Central Coast Michael Berndt Orange Rebecca Clark North Shore Austin Gooden Wagga Wagga Isabella Cooper Wagga Wagga Nicholas Henderson Newcastle Renee Coubrough North Shore Mathew McKenna Orange Milla Durnell North Shore Kaman Pappas Newcastle Makaide Gale Wagga Wagga Noah Powell Newcastle Kate Luyten Georges River Joshua Sherriff Newcastle Alex Maiden Wagga Wagga Oliver Shields Far North Coast Taya Richards Wagga Wagga Crawford Wadley Wagga Wagga Brooke Thomas Cumberland Nepean Braith Warren Wagga Wagga Mikayla Tomlins Central Coast Wesley Warren Far North Coast Paige Young Campbelltown

Team Management & Selectors Team Management & Selectors Head Coach Mark Armstrong Cumberland Nepean Head Coach Eddie Cashen Newcastle Assistant Coach Di Barrymore Central Coast Assistant Coach Stephen Besgrove Penrith City Assistant Coach Jack Morel Campbelltown Manager Liz Powell Newcastle Manager Prue Adams Wagga Wagga Statistician Jane Wadley Wagga Wagga Statistician Jodette Clark Newcastle

Event Performance 6th Event Performance 6th Game Opposition Result Game Opposition Result Game 1 WA White 15 – 0 Game 1 Qld Storm 3 – 12 Game 2 Qld Flames 2 – 10 Game 2 Victoria 3 – 10 Game 3 Metro Orange 2 – 12 Game 3 WA 8 – 6 Game 4 SA Red 10 - 4 Game 4 Metro Orange 3 - 8 Play Off Game Victoria 4 – 10 Game 5 Metro Green 9 – 6 Play Off Game Qld Fire 6 - 15 Game 6 SA 16 – 9 Game 7 Qld Thunder 8 – 12 Play Off Game SA 11 - 17 SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 14 Girls & Boys Regional Championship Umpire Appointments U14 Boys Regionals: Ron Houison - Assessor, Duncan Lapsley & Jason Turner

U14 Girls Regionals: Jason Turner

Team: Metro Orange

Girls Team Boys Team Georgia Benson North Shore Dylan Andrade Southern Districts Sophie Burnett North Shore Cooper Collins Georges River Riley Cherry Macarthur Lincoln Fretton Southern Districts Harriet Clayden North Shore Cameron Hodsdon Macarthur Maddi Durnell North Shore Callum Lillyman Macarthur Jacynta Eisermann Hornsby Memphis Maskill Georges River Kirra Gilchrist Manly Warringah Jordan McSavaney Georges River Maya Gillies Sutherland Ethan Milligan Georges River Ashlyn Glasson Manly Warringah Mac Orsini Cumberland Nepean Sarah Grenfell Macarthur Isaac Plummer Macarthur Sophie Horvath Manly Warringah Cooper Rauhihi Cumberland Nepean Jayda Lorigan Cumberland Nepean Jeremy Stapleton Sutherland Natalie Pettitt North Shore Liam Sutcliffe Macarthur Jasmine Taylor Southern Districts Maikera Thompson Cumberland Nepean

Team Management & Selectors Team Management & Selectors Head Coach Greg Trevena Macarthur Head Coach Eliza O’Leary Hornsby Assistant Coach Marsheal Walker Campbelltown Assistant Coach Sarah Diener Sutherland Manager Allison Connell Cumberland Nepean Assistant Coach Malcolm Nunn Southern Districts Statistician Evelyn Pettitt North Shore Manager Leanne Hunt Penrith City Statistician Wendy Ormerod Hornsby

Event Performance (2nd) Event Performance (2nd) Game Opposition Result Game Opposition Result Game 1 SA Red 6 – 7 Game 1 SA 2 – 11 Game 2 WA White 16 – 1 Game 2 Qld Thunder 9 – 1 Game 3 Country Gold 12 – 2 Game 3 Victoria 6 – 5 Game 4 Qld Flames 9 – 2 Game 4 Country Gold 8 – 3 Game 5 Victoria 5 - 1 Game 5 Qld Storm 5 – 4 Semi Final Metro Green 5 - 4 Game 6 Metro Green 16 – 3 Grand Final Metro Green 4 - 5 Game 7 WA 6 - 6 Semi Final WA 10 - 7 Grand Final Victoria 1 - 12 SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Under 14 Girls & Boys Regional Championship Umpire Appointments U14 Boys Regionals: Ron Houison - Assessor, Duncan Lapsley & Jason Turner

U14 Girls Regionals: Jason Turner Team: Metro Green

Girls Team Boys Team Olivia Bedwell Cumberland Nepean Owen Cox Macarthur Chelsea Gleeson Hornsby Flynn Day Macarthur Olivia Haskew Georges River Devontay Fasavalu Southern Districts Kendal Henderson North Shore Riley Harrington Macarthur Angelique Iredale Cumberland Nepean Brodie Jessup Penrith City Madeline Kemp Hornsby Harrison Langford Georges River Shontelle Layton Manly Warringah Bradley McCarthy Penrith City Breeanna Luc Macarthur Dru Parfumi Cumberland Nepean Abbie Purvis Sutherland Domonic Palmer Macarthur Ciara Saunby Penrith City Noah Seddon Penrith City Carys Thomas McDonnell Manly Warringah Carter Shears Macarthur Isabella Trevena Macarthur Gavonnica Terito Southern Districts Kaitlyn Wallwork Cumberland Nepean Dylan Wulff Macarthur Bailee Unitt Cumberland Nepean

Team Management & Selectors Team Management & Selectors Head Coach Jack Rauhihi Cumberland Nepean Head Coach Chris Brownlow Georges River Assistant Coach Ray Gavin Macarthur Assistant Coach Michael Thorne Sutherland Manager Kerrie Wallwork Cumberland Nepean Manager Nathan Shears Macarthur Statistician Daniel Haskew Georges River Statistician Matthew Wulff Macarthur

Event Performance (1st) Event Performance (3rd) Game Opposition Result Game Opposition Result Game 1 Victoria 14 - 3 Game 1 Victoria 5 – 4 Game 2 SA Blue 17 - 0 Game 2 WA 8 – 9 Game 3 WA Gold 3 - 6 Game 3 Qld Storm 10 – 4 Game 4 Qld Fire 10 – 12 Game 4 SA 11 – 4 Play Off Game Qld Fire 7 – 5 Game 5 Country Gold 6 – 9 Semi Final Metro Orange 4 – 5 Game 6 Qld Thunder 10 – 8 Grand Final Metro Orange 5 - 4 Game 7 Metro Orange 3 – 16 Semi Final Victoria 6 - 8 SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Regional Academies

Each of the academies are support by local government and also a number of sponsors which assist the programs to be conducted in a professional way.

Unfortunately, the Your Local Club Academy Games were cancelled due to COVID-19 with all 3 programs also being cut short due to COVID-19.

Hunter Academy of Sport

Female Males Staff Emily Banks Zinzan Aumoe Head Coach – Bree Brooker Hayley Chivas Seth Charter-Smith Assistant Coaches – Callum Beashel, Leigh Regan Dawkings Nicholas Henderson Halpin Carly Jones Colin Metcalfe Trainee Coaches – Alyssa Charter-Smith, Kaman Pappas Emily Gordon, Grace Wrixon Joshua Sheriff Program Co-ordinator – Christine Halpin Spencer Cornish

South West Sydney Academy of Sport

Females Males Staff Annaleise Armstrong Cameron Hodsdon Head Coach – Adam Sheehan Brooke Fulton Devontay Fasavalu Assistant Coaches – Brittany Johnson, Grace Caldwell Dylan Andrade Paez Debbie Sheehan, Marsheal Walker, Riley Cherry Ethan Roberts Peter Wards Ashlee Gallagher Flynn Day Manager – Donna Zaballero Leearna Grant Harrison Doris Sarah Grenfell Joel Byrne Tina Horton Lachlan Hort Breeanna Luc Liam Sutcliffe Jasmine Taylor Nicholas Hunter Isabella Trevena Oliver Stewart Paige Young Riley Harrington

Western Sydney Academy of Sport

Females Males Staff Olivia Bedwell Dylan Debono Head Coach – Brett Kirk Danica Bleza Cooper Easthorpe Assistant Coaches – Wayne Frost, Richard Rachael Dunk Dylan Gresswell Gatt, Donna McGrath, Jack Rauhihi, Paul Jacynta Eisermann Evan Halliburton Young Keira Field Riley Hogan Manager – Jo Beach Angelique Iredale Brodie Jessup Jayda Lorigan Bradley McCarthy Ciara Saunby Riley McGettigan Jessica Smith Cooper Rauhihi Brooke Thomas Noah Seddon Bailee Unitt Dru Senituli Jamie-Leigh Young Jaydee Szanyi SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020 Affiliate Report Annual Summaries

SOFTBALL NSW AFFILIATES Campbelltown Hornsby North Shore Central Coast Illawarra Orange Cumberland Nepean Macarthur Penrith Dubbo Manly Warringah Southern Districts Far North Coast Mid North Coast Sutherland Forbes Mudgee Tamworth Georges River Newcastle Wagga Wagga SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Campbelltown

Softball Campbelltown have worked tirelessly with our sponsors, Wests Leagues Club and Campbelltown City Council to ensure we are promoting Softball to our community. Softball Campbelltown were also successful in gaining sponsorship with Kennards Hire for a 2 year deal to allow us to hire equipment when required. Stonewill Landscaping also assists us with diamond maintenance when required.

Three of our members were recognized by our sponsor Wests Leagues Club as their monthly winners. Both Marsheal Walker and Peter Phillips were winners of the Spirit Of Sport award and Paige Young was the winner of the Junior Sports Award. A fantastic achievement by these members who have to compete with other sports people and clubs in the Campbelltown region.

Marsheal Walker was also nominated for the Campbelltown Australia Day Citizen of the Year for all her time and effort that she puts into the game of Softball. Not surprising that Marsheal was unable to be there to accept her award as she was coaching a team at the Australia Day tournament in Canberra.

Softball Campbelltown were lucky enough this year to have received 2 grants from Office NSW Sport to the value of $20K to put irrigation into diamond 1 and and reskin diamond 5. This will enable Softball Campbelltown to offer and promote outstanding facilities to our members and the softball community.

Softball Campbelltown were involved in a community based program to promote softball to kids who do not normally get access to sport with the hope to create a healthy lifestyle. It was a rewarding program seeing kids enjoy our sport with the hope of recruitment in the future.

Campbelltown Softball offered Teeball U8 & U10 mixed teams, U12 & U14 mixed teams Modball, Friday Night Youth Comp, Ladies and Men's Comp as well as Classics Tournament for age groups U10, U12 & U14 plus various Masters tournaments. Along with SNSW, Campbelltown held a Teeball clinic in February where our kids had a great time learning new skills. We also provided access to umpiring clinics which were held during the active season on Saturday. The SC Robyn Draper Umpire Award was presented to Cheryl Irlam, who consistently showcased her continued support and dedication to softball and Softball Campbelltown.

We have promoted the Fundamental Coaching Course to all members whilst being in COVID-19 and had 15 members complete their level 1 Scorers course in February 2020.

Softball Campbelltown were represented at State Championships in numerous age groups and 2 of our members were selected in the SWSAS program along with one of our coaches but unfortunately due to COVID-19 there were unable to play in the tournament they all trained so hard for. We were lucky enough to have been awarded the U23 State Championships in February this year and our members worked extremely hard to deliver this new age group State Championships. A SNSW Facebook coverage was created by 2 of our members for the event which is a first for our sport. This has in turn created a weekly Podcast called “The Round Up with MO & JB” with guests from Softball and other sports gaining numerous followers each week. A great advertisement for Softball and the hard work these sportspeople put into the game. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Central Coast

The 2019/2020 season saw Central Coast Softball Association field players in competition from Teeball all the way through to Open Women’s, and the season was successfully completed in March. Alongside the regular competition, Benny Ball was again offered to our most junior players. The use of the Active Kids Voucher was promoted heavily, along with our representative program which encourages participation which has in turn seen player retention.

Our Executive has worked tirelessly this season to deal with minor issues at the grounds, particularly with holes and sinking issues, along with smoke, heat and rain. One fence required replacing which is currently underway. Our groundsmen Mick Lees, is to be congratulated for his efforts in continuing to have the grounds in a playable condition each week. We also congratulate our many volunteers who without their help each week the season would not be able to run. Special mention also goes to Elyssa Clyne for stepping in to run umpiring sessions at short notice.

Central Coast Softball Association promoted attendance to the Coaches Clinic for Level 1 accreditation in September 2019 held in Newcastle, as well as holding a scorer’s course which was held on 27 November 2019, with the exam held two weeks later.

Central Coast Softball Association combined with Campbelltown Softball Association to form an U18’s female State Championship team and we thank Campbelltown for their willingness to do this. Cam Chivas was picked up by Orange Softball Association for U14’s male State Championships and several of our other players represented the Association; Chloe (U12’s), and Keely, Angela and Hannah (U23’s).

Central Coast Softball Association congratulates all players, parents, volunteers and officials for a successful season as well as Softball NSW for their support.

Cumberland Nepean

CNSA provides Softball to members in Sydney’s West and North West. CNSA boarders and has members from over 5 LGAs, with close to 1000 members participate in Softball activities primarily held over the summer period (October-March) each year. We offer Softball in various formats from ages 3 and up. The programs that we provided during 2019-2020 are from under 8 to over 35, female, male and mixed divisions. In addition to our regular competition we provide the following to our members:

BlastBall (Batter Up Program) Disability Softball – 10 rounds FREE Pitching Clinics on Saturdays Zooka Machine for 2 age groups to assist in transition to Softball

In addition to the regular summer season offering, we were planning to provide the following this season: Wheelchair Softball, Social 7’s and a Fully Loaded Softball mid-week competition. Due to COVID-19 these were suspended. We look forward to being able to run this in 2020/21.

Volunteers are recognised at CNSA through programs such as National Volunteer Day and the like. In addition to that all our representative volunteers are provided their equipment e.g. clothing and merchandise free of charge. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Cumberland Nepean Cont'd

We have a President’s Award that seeks to recognise contributions provided to the Association each year. This year the award went to Jack Rauhihi. There is a Club of the Year award presented to a club to recognise their achievements to the Association and the sport. This year this was awarded to Wenty Waratahs Softball Club.

We have continued to maintain two grounds as an Association; Stanhope Gardens and International Peace Park during the 2019/2020 season. Once again, our focus for the grounds was to have both safe playing surfaces and facilities for all members and visitors.

Stanhope Gardens We once again re-surfaced the batting area on Diamond 1 before the start of the season which included tonnes of new soil being replaced and a few sore backs. Diamonds 3 and 4 also had new batting areas replaced. We had a few issues with Diamond 2 during the season with the sprinkler system causing flooding at different times.

New soil bins have been provided for the Association by council during the season, which was a nice surprise. In addition to this, the building has been painted and refreshed. We have continued work with Blacktown Council on facilities upgrades which will hopefully see further improvements to the facility.

International Peace Park (IPP) The new grass surfaces that were installed last season on Diamond 5 ,7 and 9 took a few extra months to combine than we had planned. Council this season also installed painted walkways and pathways for the safety of both pedestrians and vehicles. Mother Nature also decided to give us a hand with tree removal this season which really didn’t help our lighting system, knocking down a light tower along the way. This has now been fixed and re-installed ready for the upcoming season.

We have also seen the new bridge installed at IPP which has been a few years in the making. A great addition to the facility to help facilitate our disability sports program and make it that much easier for us all to get around.

From the start of the season in October up to December, there were 5 Umpiring clinics held on Wednesday nights. In addition to that, practical training was provided each weekend by our Blues trainers. During the January break, we held a Balls & Strikes session at Stanhope Gardens. The session was well attended with 9 umpires from CNSA plus a visiting umpire from Hornsby. Plate signals and mechanics were part of the session. The zooka machines were used to simulate live pitching.

In July, Cumberland was fortunate to be able to host the Softball NSW Umpires Association Level 2 Accreditation clinic. As experienced umpires, three of our Level 6 umpires, Andy Birks, Krissi Travers and Vicki Lansley were the presenters and CNSA had Level 1, Gabby Green attend.

The clinic was also well supported by representative players of the U14s and U16s from Cumberland as well as from other Associations. The intention of the clinic is to provide the guidelines, tools and feedback to Level 1 umpires who look to present for their Level 2 accreditation in the next 24 months and is part of the development umpire pathway in NSW.

In addition to the practical sessions, the new In the Zone publication was posted on the CNSA Facebook page. The publications have covered topics specific to umpiring: The Strike Zone, Starting positions for the First Base and Third Base umpires. This will continue when the season is set for 2020/2021. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Cumberland Nepean Cont'd

Umpire Accreditation Advancement Congratulations to the following umpires who advanced their accreditation during the season: Level 3 Jennifer Womsley attained during State League Level 6 Andy Birks attained during SAL Open Women’s National Championships WBSC Krissi Travers awarded in September 2019

The Association has continued to provide opportunities for coaches in 2019/2020. We held 2 level 1 coaching courses and saw over 25 new Level 1 coaches to the Association in 2019/2020. We also had new coaches achieve their Level 2 and Level 3 and many complete the new online modules provided by Softball Australia during the COVID-19 period.

Pathways It has been another successful Representative season for CNSA in 2019/2020. And we have had success from grassroots through to World Championship selection. The CNSA Representative Program is by far one of the biggest in the state, with the Association filling teams (both male and female) in nearly all age groups this year. In addition to this, we have fielded several Development teams from Under 10s to Under 14s age groups, to provide opportunities for our elite players to participate and develop.

This year we held our 5th annual charity event at CNSA. A big thank you to the Wenty Waratahs Club for organising the day. This year we raised funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. This annual event is very much looked forward to by all of our members and this year we took our combined funds for the previous years to over $13,000 collectively fundraised by the Association. I am so proud of our members for doing this, raising funds for charities that are close to our heart and are very meaningful. We look forward to our charity day in 2020/2021.

Grants Community Building and Partnership Grants - $25,000 (Successful) Community Building and Partnership Grants - $3,000 (Successful) COVID-19 Community Grant - $1,000 (Successful)

Recognition Cumberland Nepean Softball Association Finalist for SNSW Affiliate of the Year Finalist for SNSW Governance Award Homeplate Status

Fiona Crawford WBSC Hall of Fame Inductee Vicki Lansley SNSWUA Individual Award for Umpire Development Andy Birks SNSWUA Directors Award for Services to Umpiring Amelia Cousins Blacktown City Council Junior Sportsperson of the Year Finalist Amy Mann Blacktown City Council Junior Sports Person of the Month SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Dubbo

Nil Report received

Far North Coast

The Association provides a Mixed Social competition and Batter Up for Juniors Under 12 on Friday nights and a women’s competition on Saturday afternoon with three divisions (1, 2 & 3).

It was a challenging season, due to external environmental factors. The smoke haze from local fires and localised flooding, Council closing our grounds, and finally COVID-19 all contributing to a substandard season. It was a disappointing outcome for all our players involved in the finals, which were cancelled, with the teams who advanced through to the Grand Final from the Semi-Final being award the Major Premiers. Luckily for two of the Divisions the Major Premiers were also the Minor Premiers with Rous Hotel Rangers winning the Division 1 competition, Casino Cougars taking out the Division 2 competition, while Rous Hotel Rascals won the Major Premiership with Ballina Mako’s winning the Minor Premiership in Division 3.

Trish Claydon received the President’s Award for her outstanding effort and dedication to the sport. Trish organised the weekly draws and the ongoing challenge rescheduling games that were postponed.

The Executive stepped up this season, multitasking in different roles due to unexpected hiccups. Those roles included running the canteen, umpiring the mixed social games, ground repairs and general upkeep of the complex.

The publicity in the local paper and Lismore app and our Facebook page, led by Lauren Forrester, has been a great forum to highlight player's achievements throughout the season, with some great photos of players being published each week. Craig Bateman was awarded the Umpire-In-Chief’s award for his dedication to Umpiring.

Our facility, Albert Park is currently undergoing redeveloping after FNC Baseball, Baseball Australia and Lismore City Council received a large grant in 2018. All grounds have been re-turfed, new dugouts on all diamonds, BBQ facilities, new carpark, modifications to Club house, extra toilets, and a playground to name a few of the improvements.

Forbes

Nil Report Recieved SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Georges River

GRSA’s major challenge in 2019-20 was a proposal by Canterbury-Bankstown Council to redesign Kelso Park, which would have seen us lose a diamond and four diamonds turned into a multi-sport facility. The new proposal sees GRSA getting a new car park and club house, and some unused space and the back of our park being used as a winter cricket pitch and soccer/football training pitch. We have also reached out to Council to assist with a diamond lighting upgrade. Unfortunately all projects of that nature are on hold due to COVID- 19, but it is something we will continue to pursue in the future.

This year we implemented grassroots recruitment incentives including new player discounts and family discounts. As an Association, more work needs to go into our recruitment program, and we have amended our committee structure to include a Communications, Technology and Media Coordinator. This role will hopefully help in our recruitment drive. We have tabled ideas about Club level Gala Days amongst junior age groups to encourage participation – finding a suitable weekend is a challenge.

Georges River summer competition consists of Saturday morning U7s and U10s, Teeball, U12s, U14s, U16s, and we also offer a seniors Sunday Mixed competition. Normal winter competition would consist of an U12 and U14 Friday night development program, a seniors Sunday mixed competition as well as a senior men’s winter competition. This year we tried a few new ways to promote participation. We modified our U7s to run for a shorter season and be a combination of development training sessions and games to promote inclusion, fun and development.

We also modified the rules of our U12s competition so there are no ‘walks’. After 4 balls, the offensive team coach is allowed to pitch three pitches to the batter to encourage players to hit the ball. More elite players were encouraged to play in an older more challenging age group, or alternatively develop their umpiring, coaching or scoring skills. This was also going to be a chance for Teeball players to experience facing a live pitch in a development setting rather than a competitive game – unfortunately this program did not go ahead due to COVID-19.

GRSA admit we are definitely lacking in the area of umpire development but we did encourage our trainee umpires to get involved in our Friday night winter development program, where they would be paired up with a mentor umpire to work on their skills – unfortunately this program was cancelled due to COVID-19.

A ‘coach the coach’ program with a small group of players to teach our coaches how to coach correct batting techniques, was to be rolled out to a larger group of players with our developing coaches running the sessions, however this was interrupted by COVID-19. Scoring development is also an area in which GRSA is currently lacking but we do recognise this downfall and plan to commence a scoring program for next year.

GRSA put a lot of focus on development this year through the following: Battery program – beginner battery sessions were open to all interested members of any skill level. New equipment was purchased to support this program which saw 20+ keen players turning up every week. Batting – a batting program was introduced to a small group of players as a trial program, not only teaching the players but also teaching the coaches. The program gained good momentum and was to be rolled out to a larger group of players but was interrupted by COVID-19. Development competition – a U12 and U14 Friday night development program was planned, with players registering as individual players and the competition committee splitting them into equal teams with the focus being on developing skills in game scenarios – unfortunately this could not get up and running due to COVID- 19.

We did also have many players participate in Academy, Regional and State programs. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Hornsby

The Hornsby District Softball Association 2019/2020 season was completed successfully although was impacted at times by the devastating bush fires due to smoke and extreme heat. Competitions were run from Teeball all the way through to Division 1 and A Grade.

This year we trialled livestream capability for the Division 1 and A Grade grand final with these being posted on Facebook. We look forward to building on this next season to stream more games at different levels. Before the Christmas break, we raised money for the local Rural Fire Brigade in Galston and donated a total of $500.

On grand final day, Damaras Clarkson was awarded Life Membership of Hornsby District Softball Association as recognition for her contribution to Hornsby throughout the years and across a number of areas. The Paul Wolf trophy was awarded to Amy Tilley and Teoni Lamb for their contribution also, and Kirsty and Paul lamb were awarded the Peter & Heather James Volunteer trophy for their dedication to our Association.

All new players in Teeball or Modball received a free started kit which included a leather glove, backpack, hat and ball.

Before the season started, construction work on Diamond 4 to install our final permanent back net was completed. Thank you to Richard Gatt, Simon Fitzhenry, David Dunk and Simon Tilley for their support of this project. Thank you also to Julian Leeser MP, our local Member for Berowra for providing us with a $9,000 grant as part of the Stronger Communities Program to assist with funding this project. Completion of the final diamond now makes Hayes Park the premier softball grounds in the Hornsby Shire.

Umpiring development continued this year with our Junior Blues campaign once again running. Thank you to our senior umpires for facilitating to ensure we have Blues coverage on our Club games throughout the season. Congratulations to the following members who were awarded the Umpiring perpetual trophies for the 2019/2020 season: DeeDee Fitzhenry, Indiah Jenkins, Courtney Tuma and North Rocks Softball Club. In October 2019, just as our season was commencing, we were able to run a combined Community Coach / Level 1 coaching course which was attended by 11 participants. This course was coordinated by Donna McGrath from Softball NSW, along with Scott Kemp and Debbie Jehn from Hornsby. Another two participants attended the Cumberland Nepean Level 1 course run at the end of October. Whilst we did not hold any scoring courses this year we are still in a strong position regarding levelled scorers, however we will need assistance in the coming season to reaccredit our scorers whose qualifications will expire.

Our representative program received a boost this year with our first Open Men’s team entered into the 2019 State Championships. In other age groups this year we were well positioned with the highlight being our female U18 team finishing Runners Up. Congratulations to our Representative players for their dedication and commitment to their teams. In particular, congratulations to Hannah Mackean, Caitlin Wilde, John Neilsen (HC) and Damaras Clarkson (S) – U18 National Champions; Annalise Kemp and Gisele Petalio Conte – U16 National Runners Up; Kandra Lamb – 23U National Runners Up; and Aiden Kajan, Hayden Matthews, and Kieran O’Leary – Open Men National Runners Up. Also, special mention to Teoni Lamb and Caitlin Wilde – 2020 Aussie Diamonds Women’s Future Squad (Canada – cancelled due to COVID-19), and Jacynta Eisermann – 2020 Aussie Diamond girls squad (LA, cancelled due to COVID-19).

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers. Thank you to Pennant Hills High School for allowing access for our representative teams to train, and to Baulkham Hills Sports Club for providing us with a grant to hire our function room for meetings, AGM, pre-season meetings and presentation nights. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Illawarra

Our Association or Competition Overview is a mixed social competition which runs on Tuesday nights from October to March at Fred Finch Park, Berkeley.

Our playing group is generally Seniors, however we do have a couple of Juniors who are aged between 15 and 17.

Illawarra Softball Association doesn’t have Clubs as such, we only have teams of which we have seven- Braves, Crushers, Crusher Chiefs, GTR, Jaguars, Panthers & Hakuna Matata.

Unfortunately due to being short on volunteers there has been no new initiatives undertaken.

Macarthur

Softball Macarthur is set on beautiful grounds on the left of Argyle Street as you enter Camden. It is a glorious space that its members proudly call home. We have a very strong hardworking core of volunteers who keep our diamonds looking beautiful, our members playing, and the Association running. We provide opportunities for all to participate in the great sport of Softball. We cater for all abilities and all ages to play, develop skills and develop friendships. We are in a financially stable position and work closely with Camden Council who are very supportive.

In 2019/2020 we provided opportunities in the following age groups - Under 8 Teeball (non-competitive), Under 10 Teeball (Wednesday night and Saturday morning), Under 12s, 14s, 16s, Youths (Under 18 males and Under 21 females), Women’s and Men’s competition. (All played on Saturdays).

Softball Macarthur provides opportunities for members to start as a junior umpire under the guidance of the Director of Umpiring and proceed through to high levels of umpiring.

All coaches have access to Softball Macarthur’s Coaching Coordinator for support and development. A coaching clinic planned was postponed due to COVID-19.

Training sessions of basic scoring for ‘local’ scoring were conducted with support available during the competition. Again, the completion of this training program was disrupted by COVID-19.

Many junior members took the opportunity to play in more than one age group which provided those players with extra game time and opportunities for further skill development. Macarthur’s Representative teams are well prepared and perform competitively. All players who are interested in high performance pathways are guided and supported through this process.

There is always more to do and we will take this one step at a time to continue to provide quality to our members. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Manly Warringah

The 2019/2020 season saw Manly Warringah Softball Association run from September to March with our grand finals unable to be completed due to COVID-19. We ran competitions for female Teeball, Junior and Senior players as well as mixed competitions for OzPitch and Disabled Divisions.

During the season we successfully ran programs for the ongoing growth and development of our coaches, umpires and scorers, as well as creating a future plan for the grounds and our players. Our recruitment strategy included Try Softball Clinics, helping at various Gala Days and social media campaigns, as well as a growth and development program for pitchers and catchers.

A big thank you goes to Flora Van Der Heide for her leadership with our umpire program. Manly Warringah Softball Association gained three new Level 1 umpires this season: Emily Devine, Lucy Parkinson and Natalie Perry. Lauren Devine received her Level 2 umpiring accreditation at the Under 14 State Championships – a great achievement. Thank you also goes to Sue Brandenburg for performing the coaching coordinator role and to Nikki Morley who ran a Level 1 coaching course resulting in six new accredited Level 1 coaches. Thank you to Doug Stracey who overseas our scoring program which over the year saw two Level 4, one Level 3, and one Level 2 scorer reaccredited, as well as seven new Level 2 accreditations.

Our representative teams have represented Manly Warringah Softball Association fantastically well, showing great sportsmanship, skill and dedication at all times. We continue to select one representative team and 2 development teams in junior ages up to 16s, which is great to see, and great for our Association.

One of our key challenges remains the need to upgrade our fields and facilities to ensure the safety of our players, and of high enough standard to attract premier championships. We hope to work with Council to facilitate this upgrade in the near future.

Mid North Coast

Currently we are a social competition catering to mainly Open age players. We have 2 diamonds on Findlay Park Port Macquarie which our local Port Macquarie Hastings Council maintain.

Our Association caters for 8 teams in two time slots on a Saturday afternoon during Summer. The Port Macquarie Hastings Council maintain our grounds including the ongoing line marking, after we do the initial marking in early October. We also do not currently 'pay' for the use of the fields.

The main initiative that has worked for us in the retention of players and teams is the implementation of a $200/$100 off registration in next season if your team wins or are the runner up. With our social format of play, we allow borrowing of up to 3 players from any team up to the finals stage; they must play outfield and bat at the end of the line-up which in turn minimises forfeits.

We supply all umpires so that teams are not concerned by the possibility of having to umpire. We encourage those interested in learning and developing to get involved under a peer support process.

We are looking to implement a Junior Umpire Co-ordinator for the 2020/21 season to assist also. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Mudgee

Mudgee Softball Association currently run a small program on Saturday mornings with Juniors encouraging team participation and working on skill development. It is a social competition that works on allowing Juniors to try softball for the first time and be encouraged by their friends.

At present there is no ongoing development of scorers, umpires or coaches however we would like to work with Softball NSW to encourage formal accreditation for our volunteers.

We are working on being able to purchase better equipment, and working with Council to maintain the grounds for the purpose of playing softball.

Newcastle

Our Summer Competition runs from October to March for Benny Ball, Junior, Senior Male and Females. Due to COVID-19 the Over 50 Teeball and Winter Competition did not go ahead.

NDSA provided a free CPR Course for any member to attend in October 2019 so that all Clubs may have a First Aider on the park. Members from each Club are nominated and recognised by NDSA at presentation and given a small gift at the end of the season. Volunteers are given role descriptions and a Board member to contact for support and information. This past year saw us have sub committees such as Tournaments, Junior Development Squad, Fundraising, Social Co-Ordinator, Social Media Committee and Canteen Supervisors for both canteens.

New pitching and home plate mats were upgraded on four of our outer diamonds. A new back net on the baseball diamond was erected by City of Newcastle Council. The NDSA Softball Complex building had carpet replaced and the office furniture was all upgraded. Outer diamonds have been top dressed.

NDSA Technical Development Director ran a basic Umpiring clinic. We continue to have senior umpire’s mentor and assess junior umpires coming through. Level 1, 2 and 3 Coaching courses were all run throughout the past year. Kathy Horton (Level 6 coach) and Chris Mannweiler (Level 3) continued to help our Association with their expertise and guidance for new coaches.

Level 1, 2 & 3 scoring lectures were all held in November 2019.

We continue to support the Hunter Academy of Sport softball program. NDSA provides the coaching staff and manager for this program. NDSA ran a Development Squad for Junior players below the academy age. Kathy Horton held a junior development clinic and this was available for all of our U15 and U13 members to attend. We have players participating in State League and enter teams into State Championships where we can.

We continue to develop State Players, with six State Players attending National Championships. NDSA was well represented with numerous players participating in Under 14 Regional teams. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

North Shore

North Shore District Softball Association run their main competition throughout the Winter months with the season running from mid-April and concluding in early September. This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season commenced in early July once restrictions were lifted for community sport. At the time of writing, teams have adjusted well to the requirements of COVID-19 Safety and Return to Play guidelines.

Our Junior competition is for ages 4-18 and is played on Saturday mornings at our grounds in St Ives. We currently have five (5) Junior competition levels from Teeball for our youngest members progressing to Division 4 through to Division 1 as they age. Our adult competition is played in the afternoon through three rotating timeslots starting at 12.00pm and is also open to our Juniors, with the age range being 14-70+. For the adults playing in the 2020 season there is six (6) grades available: A grade, A1, B1, B2, B3 and C grade.

During the offseason, improvements were completed to the male and female changerooms with funding from the Local Sports Grant program. An application for funding through the Community Building Partnership grant was submitted to build dugouts at 3 diamonds at St Ives.

Our Association continues to remain strong in representative areas fielding female teams at State Championships in all ages except over 35s. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed restrictions and delayed development programs for coaching and scoring, however the Association appointed a Director of Coaching in 2019 and is working to improve our coaching development pathways. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Orange

Our 2019/2020 season saw Orange Softball Association run Teeball, Modball, 16s, Mixed B (social competition) as well as A grade. All our grades are mixed and we successfully ran our competition from October through to March with a break for the Christmas and School Holiday period. We also offered a disability program.

In the lead up to the season Orange Softball Association assisted in a School-run Teeball Gala Day that was attended by approximately 30 teams from various local schools. This resulted in our smaller club almost doubling their membership, which in turn helped us keep our registration fees stable. As in previous years, our main challenge is player retention.

Our volunteers once again have been invaluable in helping the Association. In addition to mentoring new volunteers, we also run umpiring and coaches nights in a social setting to help our new umpires with their understanding and giving them a platform to learn in a less formal format. We have several coaches step up each year to formally accredit. Our scorers also have opportunities to learn more formally and to upskill. Our disabilities program had a change in coordinator this year which has been seamless and we are thankful for our regular assistants to help keep the program running. We are looking to expand to Bathurst in the coming season, pending COVID restrictions with our volunteers already in place to operate this.

Unfortunately, Orange Softball Association has struggled recently to fill our girls representative teams in nearly all age groups, however, our developing players have been able to join other Associations as pick up players to gain experience at this level. The boys pathway and representative teams are doing well with our U16 team making the State Championships Grand Final, and our U18’s placing third. We have been able to field teams in all age groups with the exception of U12’s. Three (3) boys have been successful in being selected for NSW State teams in each of the U16’s, U18’s and U23’s with the latter being selected as Captain of that team – a fantastic achievement.

Upgrading works at Sir Jack Brabham Park have just completed a new amenities block which includes disability facilities, toilets and changerooms. We have also recently added a storage area adjacent to the canteen, which also now has running water and some additional power. Further upgrades to the Orange Regional Sports Precinct will continue in October 2020. Due to this, Orange are very excited to be able to host the Under 12 State Softball Championships in 2021 and 2022. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Penrith

The season on paper was going to be 17 rounds of competition which was more than we had in the past few years. We were planning to hold 4 tournaments and had an excited new committee of great ideas and enthusiasm and there were many plans of things we wanted to achieve to make a difference to this Association. Unfortunately, many hurdles were faced this season that tested most of us on many occasions and made it difficult to do a lot of the things we had planned. The cancellation of many weeks of softball, due to smoke which was deemed hazardous from local bush fires, excessive heat also played a factor in games lost, and a major flood to Surveyors Creek caused more weeks of loss to games.

We held our first Association Come and Try Day with six of the ten associated Clubs in attendance. We had games, prizes, registration information and new starter packs to try to entice new registrations and make a more cost-effective way of joining the sport with the Active Kids’ Vouchers. It was not a 'perfect' day, but we learnt a lot for future events and many positives came from it. Many thanks to everyone who supported it and were prepared to give something new a go.

We introduced the Square EFTPOS equipment to the canteen. This allowed for ease of payment for our members and a better and more efficient way of tracking and recording food and transactions in the canteen. As we learnt more about the system, we realised it will be a great advantage to the Association for many things with a lot of potential for Clubs as well for future seasons. Cost wise, it has definitely been a financial gain for the Association.

Our membership took a small decline again this season. As I mentioned prior to the start of the season this is something that would not be turned around in 1 or 2 years but would be more of a 3 to 5-year process. We are currently on the right track to change this. The positives that did come from our membership this year was three of our smaller clubs had significant growth with Hornets, Outlaws and Blue Mountains all having an increase in membership. This is a good thing for competition with more Clubs participating in different time slots.

We finally had the lights upgraded on diamond one to game standard and despite red tape slowing the process we are well on the way to getting Diamond 1 skinned with new sandstone seating and landscaping to make it more enjoyable for both players and spectators. All discussions and plans have been done with Council and we have submitted a few unsuccessful grant applications, but fingers crossed we are successful with the current lodged applications.

We would like to congratulate all our Representative Teams. We had a male and female team in every age group at NSW State Championships. With a high number of players and officials being selected in State and National teams, we congratulate you all, you are a credit to our Association and your hard work does not go unnoticed.

A special mention to the 6 current Australian players we have at Penrith City Softball Association: Taylah Tsitsikronis - Australian Open Women’s team (Aussie Spirit) – won the Olympic qualifier and secured the final place for the historic Olympic return of softball in 2020. Shaylan Whatman – Australian U19s Women’s team (Junior Spirit) – finished in 4th place at the 2019 Under 19 Women’s World Cup that played at Irvine, California USA. Ethan Field (V/C), Jeremy Garland, Hayden Shaw and Jack Besgrove - Australian Under 18 Men’s team (Junior Steelers) – finished in 2nd place at the 2020 Under 18 Men’s Softball World Cup that was played in Palmerston North in New Zealand.

This season also saw a higher number of younger members wanting to become umpires. Nearly every time slot this season was covered by either our Blue Crew or Blues in Training. Thank you to the senior umpires for stepping up and mentoring the junior’s week in and week out. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Southern Districts

Southern Districts Softball Association started the season with the award for Governance Award at the 2019 SNSW Awards dinner and was a Finalist in the Communications Award.

Then the floods in February 2020 again consumed our facility. We had to clear out everything including electricals and fixtures and high pressure clean the whole facility. The canteen, office, Umpires’ rooms, and storage room have now been repainted and new lino laid in these rooms. We are in the process of refitting out the canteen and all the other rooms. The Council have been amazing during the last 12 months for us and we cannot thank the Council teams enough that were involved.

We have also been busy applying for grants to assist us with replacing all the items that were destroyed and have been successful in obtaining most of those grants. This will be a fantastic help for the Association in rebuilding. A big thank you too all our wonderful members who have banded together with us during those difficult and challenging times over the past 12 months.

We must also express our sincere thanks and gratitude to GRSA for allowing us to play some competition rounds at their grounds after the Floods. This was just amazing. Thank you as well to all the Associations who provided us support and donations of items at that time. It was so wonderful to see. The season was very disrupted due to Poor AQI levels from the bushfires, rain, heat, flood then COVID-19 and due to COVID- 19, our grand final day was cancelled and there was no winter competition offered this year. We also provided RSA courses for our canteen volunteers & we are looking to provide a First Aid Course for Club representatives to undertake in the next 12 months.

The Southern Districts Softball Umpires Association (SDSUA) has had another busy year with The Blues in Training Program (BITS) continued with 2 umpires, Jennie McKenny and Tim Walker, successful in gaining their Level 3 Umpire's accreditation.

Coaching Accreditation has proved to be a bit of a challenge for us and an area we need to work on. We have promoted the online coaching courses to our current accredited coaches to enable them to move through this process.

We also run a Battery Clinic once a week for pitcher's and catchers from Club & Representative teams by Chris Brownlow, with the assistance of Zac Roberts, Blake Jackson and Bree Honeybrook. This program has been a success again and will continue in the coming 12 months.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 we have been unable to hold our Annual Representative Teams presentation but hope to organise this soon. Our Over 35s men’s team won the State Championships in 2019, and our U14s boy’s Representative team were runners up in 2019, with U12s boys and 23s men finishing 3rd. Our U12s girls picked up several players from Sutherland which was a great experience and opportunity. We were well represented at the State level by Blake Becquet and Zac Roberts (U18 Men's), and Blake Jackson and Daniel Harrison (Open Men) picked up by South Australia, along with 2 officials Tony Jackson (U18 Men's Assistant Coach) & Maria Wakefield (U18 Men's Statistician). At the Metro level we had 6 players (1 girl, 5 boys) and 1 official selected to compete at the SAL Regional Championships in January.

We had a number of players selected into SWSAS and Western Academies but unfortunately the Academy programs were also severely disrupted over the last 12 months by COVID-19.

We would like to recognise and farewell Bruce and Sue McCahon for their outstanding contribution to Southern Districts Softball Association and wish them all the best as they move to Boggabri for their retirement. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Sutherland

The Sutherland Shire had the following clubs entered into our various grades - Arrows, Tigers, Wave, Brewers, St Pats, Monkeys, Storm, Cronulla RSL, Scorpions, Bonnet Bay and UNSW. We had Senior A, B, C, D, mixed B and Junior A, B, modball and Teeball grades.

Sutherland offered free Teeball but this does not seem to be a significant incentive, however we are considering a mid-Week (twilight) – Teeball and modball competition next season. We have a philosophy of ‘pay to play’ and support free registration for any officials (Coaches, Scorers, Managers and Umpires) who do not play.

SSSA offered an Umpire Development program and awarded 3 x Gold and 2 x Level 1 Umpire Awards this season. SSSA ran the Community Coaching and had several members qualify to be able to run these programs locally this season. 6 Scorers at SSSA either became accredited this season or renewed/updated their scoring status.

SSSA was proudly represented by many at State and National level and would like to congratulate both Stacey McManus and Shannon Keevers on their Olympic journey to date. We introduced the Clive Simpson Presidents Award to Services to Softball this season after Life Member and ex-president, Clive, passed plate past year. The inaugural award was well deserved being awarded to our Will Lutke.

SSSA this season has completed skinning two more diamonds bringing our skinned diamonds to 3, one of which is to International standards. We have covered dugouts and seating on all fixed diamonds with portable dugouts and seating for our temporary ones. 6 Scorers at SSSA either became accredited this season or renewed/updated their scoring status.

Unfortunately, as our membership overall also continues to fall, we only managed to field 46 teams significantly down from 58 teams this year. We had 575 registered members which is again significantly down from 663 last season.

Tamworth

The 2019 / 2020 season saw Tamworth Softball Association field teams from Teeball through to social Seniors as well as holding a twilight mixed slow pitch competition.

Thank you to our volunteers who have worked tirelessly throughout the season. We are yet to formally thank their services due to the season being cut short by COVID19.

During the season we were able to provide our Juniors with new equipment, install shade cloth for the dugouts and to purchase a new barbeque. SOFTBALL NSW INC. ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

Wagga Wagga

Wagga Wagga has faced many trials and tribulations over the year. We began with very limited amenities but found a way to make it work. Then we had to endure a highly stressful situation when we were hit with COVID-19 smack bang on finals.

At French Fields we have seen a new facility build, with Wagga City Council providing a state-of-the-art amenity building, which we are greatly thankful for. The addition of a sealed car park and improvements to the hill on diamond 1. The fields themselves always looked stunning on game days, thanks to the dedication of the ground person's.

The Association has taken a small hit financially this year, being mainly due to the first half of the season and a very limited canteen facility. Although for the small amount of loss in that time I think everyone is impressed with the finished amenities building with the new productive canteen. The introduction of the ‘Square’ EFTPOS system has been a great investment and step forward. The association has also purchased new equipment to fit out the canteen to maximise its efficiency.

Player numbers this year were good, our clubs are to be thanked for this, their hard work is to be applauded. Working together to help strengthen each other grows a stronger competition.

The Umpiring situation is still a flow on from past years, but we have seen some improvements with a few members gaining their level 1 this year and we congratulate them.

At a Representative level, we have seen both male and female across a number of age groups go to State Championships.

We believe Wagga Wagga Softball Association is a fantastic Association to be a part of with a lot of great people involved and we all seem to be headed in the right direction and most importantly we are providing an opportunity for children and adults to come together playing sport, meeting new friends, being active and most important having fun. nsw.softball.org.au