Softball Victoria Annual Report 2018

vic.softball.org.au Contents

President’s Report...... 01

CEO’s Report...... 03

High Performance...... 05

Scoring...... 08

Umpiring...... 10

Championships...... 13

Memorials...... 15 2018 Life Members...... 17 Hall of Fame...... 18

Board...... 19

Awards...... 20

Financial Statements...... 22

Association Reports...... 33

Past Presidents...... 53 President’s Report

I am honoured to be have been appointed President of Softball Victoria in April this year. I understand that I’m a new face to most of you in the softball community, so I thought it prudent to provide you with a snapshot of my softball connections. I grew up in Sale where I loved playing and coaching softball. Some of my fondest memories were traveling to State Championships with my teammates. University studies brought me to Melbourne where I continued to play and coach softball. There was a hiatus when I started working full time, but I came back to softball when I started playing socially at Fawkner Park with Melbourne Softball Association’s slow pitch competition. I stopped playing again when I had my daughter. But once again I was drawn back to a sport that I love when I played in my ﬁrst Softball Victoria Masters Championships this year hosted by Werribee Softball Association, and am now looking forward to a summer back on the diamond playing regularly. Now, down to business!

With the end of the 2017-18 ﬁnancial year comes the completion of the Softball Victoria Strategic Plan for the past 4 years.

There has been an great amount achieved in softball in Victoria over the period, one of the most important being a growth of over 10% in membership. A key factor in this growth has been an increase in one-off event memberships including record participation at the Softball Victoria Masters Championships and the Memorial Shield. It is vital that as a sport we capitalise on the desire of Australians to consume their sport in different, more flexible ways – including short-term, often once-off engagements.

The Softball Victoria Board, along with CEO Nick Frayne, have already started theprocess of developing a new, bold Strategic Plan that will take Victorian softball in to the future, and through the dedicated engagement with our customers and members we will look to release this document in the latter stages of 2018.

01 The time to implement change is now and the Softball Victoria Board is committed to instilling change in the sport to take us in to the future. We need to embrace this change and apply it to our everyday decision making at all levels.

I would like to thank Softball Victoria staﬀ, operational committee members and volunteers for their hard work and commitment over the past 12 months to achieve operational objectives and continue to drive softball in Victoria forward. The passion that you display and commitment to the cause is to be commended and we will continue to embrace that passion.

Under the leadership of CEO Nick Frayne, we are pleased to have consistency in our operational approach that will no doubt have an impact on the achievement of key outcomes of the new Strategic Plan.

We have a highly skilled Board with new leadership, joining me is our Chair Ruth Caldwell, that is committed to building on the legacy of previous generations, and whilst it is vital that we respect the past of our wonderful sport; it is equally important to embrace the changes we need to make to ensure softball is relevant in Victoria in the future.

My role as President came about following the resignation of one of the most inﬂuential ﬁgures in Victorian Softball – Jenny Holliday. I would like to personally thank Jenny for her dedication and commitment to softball, and of course for her wise counsel. Jenny’s impact on softball is profound, and many of the initiatives implemented by Jenny and the Board will continue to strengthen Victorian softball for many years to come.

Former Softball Australia CEO Sue Noble also recently resigned, and thanks must go to Sue orf her many years of volunteering on the Softball Victoria Board. We will miss Jenny and Sue’s extensive knowledge of the softball landscape; however we know that we can call on them when required as passionate softball people.

Finally, I would like to thank our members for supporting our great game and the direction that we are taking it. I am looking forward to being on this journey with you all. Bron Madigan

02 02 CEO’s Report

In many ways, 2017-18 has been a transition year for Softball Victoria. I was appointed in the role of CEO in April 2017 and throughout the first 12 months of my tenure there has been significant change at Board level, and whilst it is with a hint of sadness to lose the skill, experience and profound influence of Jenny Holliday, Sue Noble and others, it has ensured that a new, vibrant Board has been instilled to lead our sport into the future.

The Strategic Plan for the past four years now comes to a close with some signiﬁcant achievements to not only celebrate, but build upon as we work to set a new, bold strategic plan for 2018 to 2022.

Since 2014 there has been a growth in membership of over 10%, bucking the trend of softball across Australia and clearly outlining the continued desire and interest of Victorians to participate in softball at various levels.

The Victorian Titans continued their promising development under the leadership of Head Coach Mark Rigg, securing a place in the ﬁnals of the National Championships in over a decade, and while this is a terriﬁc achievement I know Mark and his team are dedicated to improving that position again next year.

Our Victorian Open Men’s team also had some positive results and will be looking to build on these performances in 2018-19 with a strong culture driven by Head Coach Nigel Aiken and his team of experienced staﬀ.

03 From an organisational perspective I have already seen improvements in our State team program through a dedicated strategy, led by Athlete and Coach Performance Manager Simon Blundell, to improve what was an already strong culture within the State program to new, elite levels and the feedback from our athletes has been very positive.

The continued growth of the Softball Victoria Development Program has been extremely positive and our many thanks must go to Belinda Ainslie and Tony Black who have driven this program, their passion and selﬂessness to volunteer time for Victorian softball is an outstanding example of the fantastic people that Victorian softball have involved.

The continued support of Sport and Recreation Victoria is vital to the future growth of Victorian softball and it is important that as a sport we continue to build on this support through delivering sustainable programs and projects for the betterment of softball. I would also like to acknowledge the support received omfr VicHealth, the Australian Sports Commission and School Sport Victoria that is vital to our growth.

Finally I would like to thank our Member Associations and the hundreds of volunteers that dedicate their lives to the growth of softball in Victoria. Without your commitment we would not be in a position to now launch positively into the future via a new and exciting Strategic Plan and it is a credit to the vast history of softball in Victoria that our sport continues to thrive.

I will leave you with a quote from ‘The future of Australian sport’ report conducted by the Australian Sports Commission that provides us with some food for thought as we move forward: “Some sports may experience a decline (in future) in audience numbers and participation rates unless they connect to wider audiences. This may require a rethink of the products oﬀered, marketing strategies and/or the structure and format of the game to better meet the consumers’ needs.”

We need to embrace change and champion the cause, speak strongly and proudly about softball to everyone that will listen!

Nick Frayne

04 High Performance Report

The Victorian teams had a consistent set of results in 2017-18 with the stand out performances being the Titans Open Women, the U23 Women and the U17 Boys who all produced quality results. A pleasing aspect across the teams was the approach taken by all of the teams during their preparations and the ﬁghting spirit showed by all of them over what is always a very challenging week atNationals. Aside from the team performances there were a number of outstanding individual performances resulting in a number of Victorian making the All-Tournament teams. National Championship Results

Event Placing MVP Best Team Player

U15 Boys 7th Ben Merrigan Jake Wallis

Brodie Hendy U15 Girls 9th Taimania Graham Chelsea Kimber

U17 Boys 3rd TumuaFeulufai-Maxwell Tynan Purtell

Lara Horman U17 Girls 6th Grace Peters Elise Cramer

U19 Men 4th Shay Crean Sam Reale Marlie Hurinui U19 Women 4th Georgia O’Donovan Amelia Mercuri

U23 Women 3rd Katherine Laemmle Rebecca Schafer

Open Men 5th Lewis Weldon Alex Chapman

Open Women 4th Sarah Tutchener Ilsa Anstey

05 The year also included a number of Victorians named in National squads:

Aussie Steelers Men’s Team Lewis Weldon, Ryan Sinclair

Junior Spirit U19 Women’s Squad Grace Peters, Marlie Hurinui

Cambell Utatao, Tristan Little, Sam Seach, Friendship Series National Teams Jordan Miller, Marcus Ferraro

In addition to this Chris Holliday was appointed as a Head Coach and Alisha Bell and Fiona Mills as Development Coaches for the Friendship Series, and Kerryn Bell and Andrea Mansﬁeld were appointed as Team Managers.

A special thanks should go to the dedicated members of the community who have given up their time to work on and in initiatives such as the High Performance Committee, the Draft Working Group, and the Women’s Competition Committee. A special mention to those coaches and oﬃcials led by Belinda Ainslie and Tony Black who have worked tirelessly to establish and run what has been a very successful Junior Development Program. The area of junior development and Academy programs has been identiﬁed as key areas for further development and more work will be undertaken in this space going forward.

06 The new State Team Selection Policy was successfully delivered this year and will provide clear guidance for selection into State Teams going forward. The pool of State Team Talent Identiﬁcation Scouts and Selectors is growing slowly and we will continue to grow this group to ensure that we are providing opportunities to our best athletes. We have a very dedicated group of State Team Coaches who give up their time each year to develop our athletes and I would encourage more coaches to come on board as either Head Coaches, Assistant Coaches or Team Managers. Being involved in the State Team program provides beneﬁts to you, your Association and club, and the athletes so it is a very worthwhile opportunity.

On a personal note I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the community over the past 12 months and collectively we are continuing to build toward the future. I would like to thank all of you who have made the time to come and chat to me during the year and to provide me with your ideas. As I said lastyear it is important that in a resource limited sport that we work together to get the best possible result we can with what we have available. Simon Blundell

07 Scoring Committee

Over the past 12 months we have been kept fairly busy with courses along with updating our people with re-accrediting the levels. Once again we see our people travelling interstate to assist at National Championships.

Statisticians again attended games during the Men’s State League games at Geelong, Werribee, Knox, Casey and Waverley. Thanks to all of the scorers who gave up their time to attend these games. Special thanks to Jim Giles for organizing everyone.

Senior Statisticians Day - 14 attended this day passing their umpire exam along with updating several topics. We sent Jim Giles, Allison Pendlebury and Kerryn Bell to Sydney to attend a level 5 course. The result of this is still ongoing.

Congratulations to all of our State team statisticians and thank them for their time and eﬀort with all of our representative teams.

Open Women Sue Rigg Open Men Helen Edwards Under 19 Women Mary Walkinshaw Under 19 Men Debbie Lee Under 17 Girls Lynne Willmott Under 17 Boys Adele Jenkinson Under 23 Women Lynne Willmott Under 23 Men Allison Pendlebury

To all the scorers who put their hands up to score for our development teams huge praises for your time and dedication. Scorers who attended National Championships;

Jim Giles and Allison Pendlebury Open Womens - Perth

Mary Walkinshaw and Kerryn Bell Open Men - Canberra

08 Congratulations must go to Jim Giles who recently was Team Statistician to the Australian Under 19 Men’s team in Canada and are now World Champions.

Scoring committee awards for continuing service to all areas of scoring:

Lorraine Davies Statistician Award Jim Giles (Dandenong)

Rookie Statistician Award Jackie Glassy (Glen Eira) Paul Little (Casey)

Lorraine Davies

09 Umpiring CommitteeL

The Victorian Umpires Committee (VUC) for 2017/2018: Trevor Murphy Director of Umpiring and Allocations Angela Broadbent Communications Ass ss s Debbie Grove e ment i i Richard Dodds Tra n ng s Leigh Evans Rule io s v Vacant Jun r Repre entati e Sub-Committee Members Vacant AssessmentsAssessments Jason Carter Training Merv Larter Schools David Addlem General International Program Three Victorian umpires were appointed to international championships on selection or recommendation by the National Umpiring Committee, as follows: Representation & Appointments

Leigh Evans WBSC XV Men’s World Championship July–2017 –Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

Jason Carter WBSC XV Men’s World Championship July–2017 –Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

Trevor Murphy Open Women’s Tour to Japan October 2017–Kochi City, Japan

Richard Dodds Open Women Asia Paciﬁc Cup Feburary 2018 – Blacktown, New South Wales

Trevor Murphy Open Women’s Asia Paciﬁc Cup February 2018 –Blacktown, New South Wales

Trevor Murphy WBSC XII Junior Men’s World Softball Championship July 2017 –Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada

Jason Carter WBSC XII Women’s World Softball Championship August 2018 – Chiba, Japan

10 10 International Development Richard Dodds (Casey) and Chris Trengove (Waverley) have been members of the Australian international development squad and have been selected to attend the next WBSC umpire clinic in the Oceania region in January 2019. National Program Representation The following is a list of all umpires appointed to National Championships and again thisyear Victorian Umpires held management roles at numerous National tournaments:

U15 Girl’s National Regional Umpire – Peter Samuels (Casey) Championship (6 -12 January 2018, Mirrabooka, WA)

U17 Boy’s & Girl s National DTCU, Assessor & Umpire –Richard Barrow (Casey) Championships Umpire –David Addlem (Geelong) Umpire – Lucy James (Waverley) (6-12 January 2018, Blacktown, NSW) Talia McDonald (Werribee)

Open Women’s National Championship DTCU, Assessor & Umpire i ov K i o (6-12 January 2018, Mirrabooka, WA) Debb e Gr e ( e l r Park) Umpire –Richard Dodds (Casey) U15 Boy’s National Regional Umpire – Lucy James (Waverley)

Championship (14-20 January 2018, Hawker, ACT) Umpire – Talia McDonald (Werribee) Open Men’s National Championship DTCU, Assessor & Umpire –Leigh Evans (Sunshine) (14-20 January 2018, Hawker, ACT) DTCU, Assessor & Umpire – Jason Carter (Werribee) Umpire – Debbie Grove (Keilor Park) Umpire – Chris Trengrove (Waverley) Umpire – Trevor Murphy (Werribee) U19 Men’s & Women’s Championship TCU –Leigh Evans (Sunshine) (22-28 January 2018, Blacktown, NSW) DTCU, Assessor & Umpire – Trevor Murphy (Werribee) Umpire – David Addlem (Geelong)

International Friendship Series Umpire –Peter Samuels (Casey) (9-13 July 2018, Redlands, QLD) U23 Combined National Championship Umpire – Richard Barrow (Casey) (11-14 July 2018, Redlands, QLD) Umpire – Richard Dodds (Casey) Umpire – David Addlem (Geelong) National Umpiring Program Committee Members:

Debbie Grove UIC Development Leigh Evans UIC Technical Jason Carter Technical Staff Richard Barrow Communications Staff Chris Trengove Development Staff

11 Training & Development Clinics The VUC continues to conduct training courses at every opportunity including U12, U15, Werribee Memorial Shield, Victorian Masters and seeks to oﬀer more. However, the ability to achieve a satisfactory and consistent outcome is limited due to training resources and trainees. The VUC will endeavour to conduct train the trainer courses to increase resources and more training opportunities. State Championship Management Crews: CHAMPIONSHIP TCU DEPUTY TAO Masters – June 18 Kevin Oﬀer Stan Tolmie NA Open – March 18 Rhonda Scammell Trevor Murphy Debbie Grove U19 – April 18 Richard Barrow Richard Dodds NA U17 – November 17 Chris Trengove Lucy James Debbie Grove U15 – January 18 Kerry Franklin Deb Keogh, Georgia Hill Talia McDonald, Georgia (under training). Hill, FUP Trainers U12 Spectacular Ken Evans Les Morrison NA Lucy James Georgia Hill Dave Addlem Trevor Murphy Kerry Franklin

Trevor Murphy

12 2017-2018 Championships Report

This season saw the Championships and Events committee administer all of the Softball VictoriaTournaments including the State Championships series, U12 Spectacular and the Victorian Masters. Thank you to the following volunteers whose combined eﬀorts have contributed the success of this committee for another season: Georgia Hill (Registrations), Kerry Franklin (Competition Module), Grant Rice (Convener), Ray Carter (Draw and Results) and Angela Broadbent (Communications). 2018 State Championships The 2018 series of Victorian State Championships were successfully hosted by the following Associations; Casey (U15), Waverley (U17), Dandenong (U19) and Albury Wodonga (Open). The work contributed by all four host Associations was exceptional in the preparation and execution of their respective events. The professionalism shown by the host Associations and their hard working volunteers was a highlight and they are to be commended for their eﬀorts.

This season’s scheduled Championships dates presented challenges for some age groups. Once again the timing of the U15 Tournament was aﬀected by the hot January weather with the mercury peaking at 38 degrees on the Sunday. Due to the extreme conditions, the heat policy was implemented with play abandoned on Sunday after the completion of the round games and medals presented based upon ﬁnal ladder positions. Talent ID scouts were in attendance at all State Championships as these tournaments continue to be a part of the development pathway. It’s great to see a lot of former state representatives being involved to assist in this process.

The new draft process was implemented in the lead up to the U15 State Championships and was in place for the remaining tournaments of the series to assist Associations with player movement. Whilst the basic concept was well received, there were some teething problems experienced by administrators and Associations alike.

The Draft Working Group consisted of Cheryl Waye, Lynne Willmott, Taryn Richardson and Debbie Greene with the assistance of Softball Victoria’s Kerrie Evans. As is always the case when implementing new policy, members must be given the tools to adapt. The Draft Working Group continued to provide an exceptional standard of support in an often challenging environment. Now into our second season of the updated technology implemented by the Events Committee, it was great to see that the new process has been embraced by all Associations with little to no problems. All tournaments had live results available via the Softball Victoria website and Facebook updates which made the results sharing easier and more visible.

Despite the success of this year’s Championship series there are a couple of minor issues regarding dates, draft, deadlines and combined teams that will need to be addressed in the future. Recommendations received concerning these matters are currently under review.

13 State Championship Winners AGE GRADE FEMALE MALE UNDER 15 Cup Northern District* Werribee* Plate Frankston/ Dandenong Albury Wodonga* UNDER 17 Cup Waverley Frankston Plate Albury Wodonga UNDER 19 Cup Waverley Frankston Plate Albury Wodonga Open Cup Waverley Dandenong Plate Knox Casey *Due to extreme heat policy being implemented, medals awarded based upon final ladder positions. Masters The 2018 Victorian Masters Tournament was hosted by the Werribee Softball Association and had 49 teams compete over 3 days in 9 grades. Whilst we have yet to break through the 50 team ceiling, it was fantastic to see that the metropolitan venue had no effect on team entries. Congratulations must go to Trevor Murphy and the team at Werribee for putting on such a great event. I saw firsthand the amount of work that was put into the venue and preparations by the volunteers in such a short time to ensure the event was a success. GRADE GOLD SILVER BRONZE A Grade Women Lilydale Ejays Vicsens Jnr B Grade Women Amigos Northwood Falcons Braves C Grade Women Birralee Cheetahs Tassie Spirit D Grade Women GERMSA Corkers Red Devils Angles E Grade Women Eastern Raiders All Stars Red MVP Falcons F Grade Women Bulldogs Craigieburn Eagles Sisters of Sunbury A Grade Men Mentrans Melbourne Warriors 35 B Grade Men Giants Laverton Oilers C Grade Men Pirates Sons of sunbury Bandits Under 12 Spectacular For the first time the Under 12 Spectacular was administered by both the Events Committee and the Under 12 Spectacular Committee. The Under 12 Spectacular Committee comprising Cathy Ferraro, Jo Ingram and Lynne Willmott brought with them a wealth of hands on knowledge which was enhanced by the technical support provided by the Events Committee.

The Under 12 Spectacular event was held over two dates hosted by three different Associations. The first round robin games were played with an East Conference hosted by Knox with 10 teams participating and a West Conference hosted by Geelong which saw 9 participating teams. The Round Robin days were marred by rain, whilst the weather at the Knox venue cleared to allow all rounds to be played, Geelong was not so lucky with only one of the scheduled rounds being completed before the heavens opened up and the rain set in. Some rescheduling was needed to ensure that the West Conference had opportunity to complete their scheduled games before the top 10 teams progressed through to the Gala Day hosted by Glen Eira. The final was a tight contest with Monarchs proving triumphant over Deer Park Bears 5 runs to 2. Angela Broadbent

14 Memorials

Softball Victoria wishes to extend its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the following: John Mullin

John was a former Softball Victoria Board Member and Werribee Softball Association (WSA) Life Member who passed away on the 27th of May 2018 surrounded by family. John (pictured above on the right) was a much-loved member of the Victorian softball community having previously served as a Softball Victoria Board member, and led WSA as President from 1981 to 1995. John was instrumental in WSA moving to the current facility at President’s Park and oversaw a period of signiﬁcant membership growth.

Wendy Braybon Wendy passed away on the 2nd of April 2018, aged 65. Wendy was a much loved member of the Victorian softball community, having held the role of Victorian Titans physiotherapist from 1988 until 2010. A Softball Australia Hall of Fame member, Wendy was often referred to as the ‘Body Whisperer’ by athletes around the country; however she was far from this as a person. Wendy’s presence on a team and a tour added value beyond the physio table as she brightened everyone’s day through her infectious, raucous laughter and ability to be calm in situations where athletes’ bodies were in disarray. Wendy was the Aussie Spirit Team physiotherapist from 1982-2000 attending ﬁve World Championships and 36 International tournaments. She was an Olympic physiotherapist from Barcelona 1992 to 2012 in London where her skills led her to be appointed the Head of the physio team.

15 Glory Bain (Nee Watkins)

Glory Bain (nee Watkins) passed away on Wednesday the 30th of August 2017, aged 96. Glory was a wonderful servant to both softball and Baseball as a player, coach, manageress and adminis- trator. A Life Member of Softball Victoria; Glory was a key ﬁgure in the foundation of the Melbourne Softball Association along with Esther Deason, Marg Dwyer, Merle Short and Bessie Dornan. Glory dedicated her life to women’s sport and had a profound impact on Softball within Victoria. Of particular importance is to note that Glory’s other sport was netball. She was heavily involved in both sports. She was a key ﬁgure in the foundation of the Victorian Softball Association; the precursor to Softball Victoria.

Vale Neil Pancione A Life Member of the Casey Softball Association, Neil was an integral part of Casey and his beloved Doveton, playing a major role in ground preparations and other Association activities. Softball Victoria would like to acknowledge Neil’s contribution to Victorian Softball and we pass our condolences on to his family and friends.

16 Life Members

1946 Jack Owens* 1988 Aubrey Kotz 1946 Williams Newsome* 1989 Betty McGuire 1947 Irene Burrowes* 1996 Margo Koskelainen OAM 1948 Lorraine Michael (nee Reid) 1998 John Byrne 1949 Jack Franklin* 1999 Lyn Bishop 1950 William Muir* 1999 Lorraine Davies 1951 Roy Bartlett* 1999 Vivienne Triplett* 1952 Frances Craig* 2001 Des Smith 1953 Dorothy Lumsden* 2003 Bill Gobbart* 1954 Judy Thompson* 2006 George James 1954 Gwen Hoopel 2009 Kevin Broomhall 1955 Thomas Dobson* 2009 Leigh Evans 1956 Esther Deason, MBE* 2010 Dot Bourke 1963 Glory Bain 2010 Rhonda Scammell 1964 Elizabeth Dornan* 2012 Esther Lightowler 1968 Myrtle Edwards* 2014 Debbie Grove 1971 Merle Short* 2015 Helen Edwards 1975 Marjorie Dwyer* 2017 Mary Walkinshaw 1977 Lorraine Ireland (nee Cadman) 2017 Kerrie Maddern 1979 Pauline Carew* 1980 Midge Nelson MBE 1984 Arthur Allsopp* 1986 Elaine Duyvestyn

*Denotes deceased

17 Hall of Fame

Awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement in Softball

Ken Allan Josephine Loton Jan Allsopp Merrilyn Middlin Rhonda Boyd Midge Nelson MBE Helena Coghlan Joanne Paez Myrtle Edwards* Gladys Philips Leanne Evans Marjorie Sargent Judy De Lacy Merle Short* Esther Deason MBE* Margaret Swann Bess Dornan* Vivienne Triplett* Rita Guy Sandra Trohan Denise Hutchinson-Daynes Norma Wood

*Denotes deceased

18 Board of Directors

PRESIDENT STAFF Chief Executive Oﬃcer Jenny Holliday (Resigned April 2018) Bron Madigan (Appointed as President Nick Frayne – April 2018)

Athlete & Coach Performance Manager CHAIR Simon Blundell

Ruth Caldwell (Appointed as Chair Association Coordinator – April 2018) Kerrie Evans DIRECTORS Sporting Schools Coordinator Ben Byrnes Jenny Cassidy Roger Maddern Sue Noble (Resigned April 2018) John Watkin (Resigned August 2017) Katya Lakes (Resigned August 2017) Tanya Reale (Resigned January 2018) Charelle Ainslie (Appointed August 2017, Resigned November 2017) Alison Lyons (appointed August 2018) Anthony Bradstreet (Appointed April 2018) Mike Billing (Appointed April 2018) Troy Buntine (Appointed April 2018) Michelle Clyne (Appointed April 2018)

19 Awards

Softball Victoria Life Membership Life Membership is awarded to outstanding individuals that have rendered exceptional service to Victorian softball at an administrative level over a period of more than 10 years. Chief Executive Oﬃcer Jenny Holliday (Resigned April 2018) Bron Madigan (Appointed as President Nick Frayne – April 2018)

Athlete & Coach Performance Manager Simon Blundell

Ruth Caldwell (Appointed as Chair Association Coordinator – April 2018) Kerrie Evans Kerrie Maddern Mary Walkinshaw

Sporting Schools Coordinator Ben Byrnes Merle Short Service Award Jenny Cassidy Roger Maddern The Merle Short Service Award honours members for their valuable contribution to softball by being recognised with the award for exceptional service to softball. This year’s recipients were: Sue Noble (Resigned April 2018) John Watkin (Resigned August 2017) Katya Lakes (Resigned August 2017) Tanya Reale (Resigned January 2018) Charelle Ainslie (Appointed August 2017, Resigned November 2017) Alison Lyons (appointed August 2018) Anthony Bradstreet (Appointed April 2018) Mike Billing (Appointed April 2018) Troy Buntine (Appointed April 2018) Michelle Clyne (Appointed April 2018) Alison Pendlebury Angela Forgan Lynda Otimi Jodie Lightowler Waverley Softball Association Waverley Softball Association Sunshine Softball Association Sunshine Softball Association

20 Peter Phillips Award In honour of Peter Phillips, who mentored and coached many of our female stars, the award is presented to the most valuable Under 17 female player in her contribution to the team both on and oﬀ the diamond during training and Championships. This year it was awarded to: U15 Girls Chelsea Kimber – Casey Softball Association Brodie Hendy – Casey Softball Association

U17 Girls Elise Cramer – Waverley Softball Association Lara Horman – Know Softball Association

Marjorie N Dwyer Memorial Scholarship The Marjorie Dwyer Memorial Scholarship was established to provide ﬁnancial assistance for the education, training and advancement of Softball Umpires. Les Morrison – Knox Softball Association Margo Koskelainen Umpire of the Year The Margo Koskelainen Umpire of the Year award recognises an umpire for their high level of oﬃciating skill and commitment to the Victorian and National Umpiring Program. This year’s recipient: Richard Dodds – Casey Softball Association John Larter Umpire Development Award Recognises an up and coming umpire that has shown promise and ability within the umpiring community. This year’s recipient: Saxon Bailey – Keilor Park Softball Association Lorraine Davies Statistician of the Year The Lorraine Davies Statistician of the Year award recognises a statistician for their high levelskill of and contribution to scoring in Victoria and nationally. This year’s recipient is: Jim Giles – Northern District Softball Association Statistician Rising Star The Statistician Rising Star (Previously known as the Rookie Statistician of the Year award) recognises a newly accredited scorer for their contribution to scoring in Victoria at a local and state level. This year’s recipient is: Paul Little – Casey Softball Association Jacqui Glassey – Glen Eira Softball Association

21 Financial Statements

22 22 23 SOFTBALL VICTORIA INCORPORATED ABN 22747699848 For the year ended 30 April 2018 Prepared by Jadestone Business Services / Sports Accounting Australia

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 32 Albury Wodonga Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Sharyn Tolley President David Goode Vice President Tracey Chadwick Treasurer Kathy Goode Secretary Maree Ryan Games Secretary Catherine Garoni Tournament Coordinator Matt Clayton General Committee Lesley O’Neill General Committee Kiera Nicholson General Committee Netaya Jackson General Committee Aﬃliated Clubs: Bears, Comets, Phantom, Wodonga Junior program: With limited numbers for our U16's competition we created 4 teams of 7 a side. This was very successful. Keith Quinn ran a successful active after schools program with the assistance of several playersand parents. Junior representatives in state teams-U15's, Bailey Butterworth and Ben Jones. U17's- Joanna Garoni, Ethan Patrala and Tynan Purtell. Tynan winning the best team player award. Senior program: Unfortunately our numbers for seniors went down this season. Steven Martin represented Albury Wodonga in the Victorian U19's team. Keith Quinn was assistant coach to the Victorian U17's team

Season highlights: Hosting the Opens tournament in March was a highlight. We would like to thank everyone who helped or attended the event. Three teams went to Masters in June. The Albury Angels winning bronze in Women’s D Grade.

33 Casey Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Dot Bourke President Jenny Joynson Vice President Steven Lloyd Secretary Helen Short Treasurer Vicki Giddens Nigel Mackey Bernard Vella

Aﬃliated Clubs: Berwick, Bunyip, Chiefs United, Cranbourne, Doveton, Hallam Cobras, MVP, Narre Warren, Royal Falcons

Junior program: We ran a small T/ball competition over 6 weeks which all seemed to enjoy, some participants then transferring to our Under 13 competition. Our Under 13 Competition had 4 teams and was run as Coach Pitch which all players and oﬃcials felt was great and we saw a marked improvement in the batting of all players. Our Under 15 competition comprised of 4 teams and with outstanding improvement over the course of the summer Senior program: Our Seniors were again strong in number. The Women ran with Social Women 8 teams, B Women 8 teams and A Women 4 teams. The men’s competition ran with 7 teams It was great to see all the clubs combining to get combined teams on the diamond, happy to ﬁll gaps if and when needed

34 34 Season highlights: We again competed at all State Championships and had mixed results. I would like to congratulate the following players on their participation in State Teams. U17 Girls Abbie Hoare, Keziah Pauli, Under 19 Women Tamar Hutchinson, Open Men Jayden Banford, Alex Chapman, Aaron Hare, Under 19 Men Jordan Miller Campbell Utatao, Under 17 Boys TumuaFeulufai Maxwell, Tristan Little, Jordan Miller, Ethyn Morgan-Tavita Campbell Utatao SSV representatives, Keira McLaverty, Kiara Rhind Luke, TahuneRhind Luke, Zoe Carter, Brook Steendam, MontannaChavasse, Luke Steendam, Campbell Utatao, Jordan Miller, Ethan Morgan-Tavita and Secondary School team, Abbie Hoare, MontannaChavasse, Keziah Pauli, Chelsea Kimber. We had 3 players selected in an Aussie Squad, Jordan Miller, Campbell Utatao and Tristan Little. We had 2 Umpires represent at Nationals and they were Richard Barrow and Richard Dodds. Congratulations to all. Richard Dodds and Paul (tiny) Little also received awards at the state Dinner. We hosted the Under 15 Champi- onship in late January in extreme heat. I would like to thank all the members of Casey that worked prior to the tournament and during the heat to showcase our Association. Many went above and beyond the norm despite the heat. It was great to have Diamond 1 complete with the surfaces completed, the new back nets and dugouts and the tiered seating in place and Diamond 8 with surfaces completed and the tiered seating in place. Many thanks to the City of Casey for all their support in providing and completing these 2 diamonds. Our really big highlight of the summer was announcing that our new Club rooms will be built over the 2018/2019 summer. It has been a challenge packing up the Association rooms over the past months but this is now complete and the current rooms at Sweeney Reserve will disappear in September. We look forward to our bigger and better rooms, again thanks to the City of Casey. Lastly I would like to thank the committee members of Casey Softball Association and all the members for their support over the last year. Yours in Softball Dot Bourke President

35 Dandenong Softball Association

Name Role Paul Bonner President Sandie Russell Secretary Sue Arnold Assistant Secretary Taryn Richardson Association Manager

Aﬃliated Clubs: Pinewood Rebels, Southern Knights Junior program: Building a good junior base, with excellent coaches and mentors.Increasing our boys/men numbers steadily Senior program: Maintaining a strong senior base of players with quite a few up and coming juniors starting tojoin the ranks of our senior teams. Season highlights: The season that was 2017/18 Our season saw ourselves participate in the SEMR competition which provides our teams with a high level of competition with many teams involved in each age group.

This season Dandenong had 12 teams enter the competition with 4 teams taking out the premierships in U15 girls, U17 girls, Open Women (A) and Open Men. We were again able to enter boys in their own club team at the U15 and U17 level, which was not only extremely rewarding from an association level, but also rewarding for the clubs to be able to house their boys in their own teams.

Considering Dandenong is a 2-club association this was an amazing eﬀort from our clubs – congratulation to Rebels and Southern Knights! State Championships Entered 5 teams- 4 of the 5 making grand ﬁnals- Under 15 Girls- Champions Plate Division Under 17 Girls- Runners Up Plate Division Open Women- Runners Up Cup Division Open Men- Champions Cup Division

36 Unfortunately, we were unable to raise a boys’ team in the junior rankings however our boy’s membership is growing, and we envisage and look forward to being able to enter our own boys team in future state championships. DSA successfully hosted the U19 state Championships this year and it was a great success for all involved, We would like to thank our members who worked hard throughout the weeks prior and the weekend to help us make it the success it was State Representatives Dandenong had 15 members represent and play for our state throughout almost all levels, in both male and female competition at nationals. We would also like to highlight Jim Giles’ achievement on being team Statistician for the U19 Aussie Junior Steelers competing in Canada for the World Cup.

The successes Dandenong has had across all levels of competition, club, state and national, could not have been achieved without the dedication of the support staﬀ we have involved at Dandenong. Our coaches are a credit unto themselves – not only giving of their time to coach our players, mentoring, motivating and encouraging these players to be the best they can be. Our scorers and managers also play a pivotal role in the success of these teams. We also need to recognise those that are so often forgotten – the families and friends that come each week to support, encourage, be part of our teams and who also lend a hand. These are the people we truly cannot do without. Thanks also to the associations that we have worked with this past season either at the SEMR or at the State Championships level. Let’s continue to communicate eﬀectively, to move forward, let’s strive to be better.

37 Frankston Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Malcolm Jansen President Luke Jansen Vice President Terri Landt Secretary/Registrar Lyn Pimm Treasurer Sharon Jansen Junior Development Co-Ordinator

Affiliated Clubs: Frankston Softball Junior program : State Championships teams Under 15 boys and Girls. State Championship teams Under 17 boys teams. Girls with Keilor Park. State Championship teams Under 19 boys and girls. Joint teams. Under 12’s Spec- tacular team. Domestic comp. Under 12 domestic . Under 15 boys runner in Grand Final, Under 15 girls finished 3rd, Under 17 boys runner up in Grand Final, Under 17 girls finished 3rd. Senior program: 3 teams Men team runner up in Grand Final. Women’s teams Storm played finals. Finished after semi-finals. Braves. Played finals. Runners up. No grand final played. 2x men players played Open championship and win with Dandenong. State Under 23’s Luke Jansen, Cody Smith, KathlernLaemlle. Under 15’sState Kasey Smith. Under 17’s State Cody Smith, Miles Harding, Nathan Tidey. Lots of players picked for state trials. Season highlights: Receiving plateaward. All teams playing in finals.

38 Geelong Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Janine Jewell President Kelly Willmans Vice President Ruth Addlem Junior Vice President Mandy Beattie Secretary Stacey Birch Assistant Secretary Greg Christie Treasurer Shirley Bruenjes Registrar David Addlem Umpires Lynne Willmott/Chris Walker Juniors Aﬃliated Clubs: Allstars,Birralee, Cougars,East Belmont and Ocean Grove Junior program: Geelong again ran a junior program with success. I would like to thank our hard-working band of players and parents who put a lot of time and eﬀort into running the Wednesday night’s Batter up program, Kelly Williams, Chris Walker, Rachel Smith, Kelly-Ann Day, Stacey Birch, Kelly-Ann Day, Emma Willmott, Lynne Willmott and Mums and Dads anyone else who helped. Senior program: The Geelong Open Women’s competition run on a Wednesday night teams were Birralee White and Gold, Cougars, East Belmont Saints, All Stars and Ocean Grove. Premiership team was Cou- gars, runners up Birralee White. Geelong Men again played in the Werribee Competition on a Saturday as Cougars. Geelong also has a team in the State League which they won this year. Ocean Grove also entered in the women Werribee B/C completion with players from several Geelong clubs.

39 Season highlights:

Social 7’s - A successful and enjoyable Social Sevens competition was ran this season which without the Involvement and hard work of these people Lynne, Kate, Emma and Karl Willmott, Matthew Taylor, Debbie Brackley and Chris walker, it would not have been as successful.

Tournaments - Geelong ﬁelded teams in the Men’s and Women’s open tournament in Albury. Both Men and Ladies were runners up I would like to congratulate all involved: - Lynne Willmott, David Addlem, Chris Walker, Ruth Addlem, Carmel Addlem, Karl Willmott, Kelly-Ann Day, Scorers, Managers, Mums & Dads and Players. Umpires Many Thanks to David Addlem with support of his team: - Chris Walker, Jarryd Addlem, Angela Broadbent, Trevor Murphy, Keanu Tauiwi, Tobias Sadler, Lewis Weldon, Chris Hutchinson and Michael Morse who help make our games happen. We are lucky to have David who puts in many hours arranging these umpires for our weekly games and other groups who require umpires thorough out the year.

Awards - Eric Nicholls Umpire Service Award – David Addlem, Janine Jewell Junior Umpiring Award – Tobias Sadler and Sophie Mairos, Ron Casey Award – Chris Walker Val Boudrie Award – Lynne WillmottGSA Service award – Not Awarded Life Membership Award – Not Awarded Open Women’s MVP Ruth Addlem Open Men’s MVP Anthony Batrich MVP Ladies Wednesday Competition Kate Willmott Representative players/ oﬃcials Victorian Ladies Under 23s team Kate Willmott 2017 Tori Russell 2017 Coach Karl Willmott Victorian Mens Open Team George Psimaris Patrick Brackley National Men’s Open Championship George PsimarisVictorian Ladies Under 19s team Moana Benjamin Victorian SSV Under 17s team Teraizer Bonner Victorian SSV & National under 17s scorer/statistician Lynne Willmott National Under17s /19s Umpiring David Addlem

In conclusion I would like to thank everyone who has assisted me in my role as President of the Geelong softball Association this year and hope that with a continuing group of devoted and dedicated volunteers we can continue to grow softball. The biggest issue on going for softball in Geelong is to ﬁnd a way to continue to accommodate, people of all ages, abilities and levels in their desire to play softball. I believewe have started in our attempt to achieve this but there is a long way to go. I wish the new Board and delegate’s success for the New Year and season ahead.

Janine Jewell, President Geelong Softball Association.

40 40 Glen Eira Moorabbin Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Barb Lewis President/Umpire Co-ordinator Caitlin Lewis Secretary/Council Liaison Lisa Cleland Treasurer Karen Kerney Registrations Oﬃcer/SEMR Rep Jenny McDonough Recruitment Contact/Uniforms Jacqui Glassey SEMR Rep Claire Siracusa Website/Social Glenda McDonald Social 7’s Simone Giulleri General Committee Laura Dale General Committee Tori Allen General Committee Jane Geeson General Committee Lauren Olsen General Committee

Junior program: Our mixed U12 Allstars team, coached by Jenny McDonough and Caitlin Lewis, finished Runners Up in the SEMR comp, Lily Peck being named MVP for the season. This team also competed in the U12 Spectacular, the team making it through to the Gala Day final. Our U15 boys coached by Jenny McDonough/Kerrie Di Siervi and Jacqui Glassey were preliminary finalists, with Daniel Lee runner up SEMR MVP and our U15 girls team coached by Claire Siracusa and Simone Giulieri had another competitive year. Our U17 girls coached by Amy Bahn again were very competitive. We ran a short term Batter Up Program and thanks to Karen and Kat Kerney for overseeing this. Individual GEMSA season awards went to Ina Carillo for Rising Star, Daniel Lee for Most Promising Junior. We are encouraging our junior players to participate in SV development opportunities and take up invitations to trial for Victorian State teams.

41 Senior program: We fielded three Open women teams in the SEMR comp, Division 1 Saints, Division 2 Corkers Red and Corkers Black. The Saints also competed in the Open Division 1 KDSA comp, taking out the championship, with Keira McLean named MVP in the Grand Final. Corkers Red, coached by Lisa Cleland, took out the Grand Final in the SEMR Division 2 Comp, Corkers Black were Semi Finalists with Hannah Bahn being named overall Runner Up MVP for the season. Our Moorabbin A Grade team playing out of Waverley were semi-finalists. We ran a highly successful Social 7's competition, ably organised by Glenda McDonald. GEMSA senior individualward a went to Hannah Bahn as Senior Player of the year. Season highlights: We received five Grants throughout the season, Nick Staikos, MP, local member for Bentleigh, Glen Eira City Council Community Grant, Telstra, VicHealth Active Club, Giving4Grassroots Balls for Balls and we were presented with a defibrillator by the Bendigo Bank Murrumbeena branch. We held major fundraising events in August and November. We hosted T-Ball at the Day of Disability event in December. GEMSA was fortunate to have three representatives in the Pacific School Games, Cameron McCutcheon, Ina Carillo and Niamh Carmody with Daniel Lee attending as a student representative. GEMSA hosted the U12 Spectacular Gala Day in February; we also hosted the SEMR Grand Final Day in March. We had players represented in all age groups at the Victorian State Championships and thanks and acknowledgement goes to all our coaches, team managers and scorers. We fielded two Masters Women's teams in the State Champs with Corkers Black taking out the Gold medal in D Division and our Corkers Red team did a great job in the A/B Division. We were well represented in Victorian State teams by Jackie Di Siervi, Jess Bahn and Marina Walker in Open Titans, Daniel Lee in U15s, Jacqui Glassey as scorer, Alisha Bell as Coach of the U17 girls team, and Hannah Bahn, Captain of the U19s. GEMSA President, Barb Lewis, was nominated for a Victorian Sports Award under the category of Service to Victorian Community Sport and Recreation for services to the sport of Softball. Thank you to our umpires, in particular Max Lichtenbaum, grounds preparation, in particular Phil Kerney and to Karen Kerney and all those who assisted with the canteen. Thank you to our families, players and all those who contribute to our wonderful Association.

42 Keilor Park and Districts Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Paul Oliver President Joanne Skyzlink Treasurer Jackie Sweeney Development Oﬃcer

Aﬃliated Clubs: Keilor Indians, Craigieburn Eagles, West Coburg Redbacks, Keilor Comets Junior program:

Runners up U15 girls State Championships KP U19 girls State Championships KP U17 Girls State Championships KP U19’s Boys State ChampionshipsKP Senior program: Open Men’s State Championships Open Women State Championships

Season highlights: Craigieburn Eagles U19’s Runners up 2017/18- season Clubroom up grade due 2018/19 Finish- ing 3rd in the Homeplate program. Signiﬁcant membership growth.

43 43 Northern District Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Anthony Bradstreet President Kerry Laird Senior Vice President Allan Laird Junior Vice President Cathy Ferraro Secretary Craig Kneebone Treasurer Ray Carter Registrar

Affiliated Clubs: Monarch Softball Club Inc, Cheetahs Softball Club Inc, Rebels Softball Club (Team), Dragons Softball Club (Team) Junior program: Thanks to Kerry and the team of helpers who ran the T-ball program for the association. It is always great to look across the diamond to see the young kids running around. Our Under 13 Division is a thriving competition with many of our members falling within this age group. We play using the Under 12 Spectacular Rules and our players soon learn how to play this modified version of softball and enjoy the challenge. The Under 12 spectacular was a tremendous demonstration of the skills of our players. To have both clubs represented in the final day was a great achievement. Congratulations to the Monarch team that won the tournament. Well done to all the players, coaches, officials and parents who have had a great season. Our Under 16 was a hard fought competition that went down to the wire at the end of the season. Once again it was great to see the progress of the players at this age group. Many of our players in this Division have been part of Development and State teams or invited to trial for State teams showing that players are enjoying the sport and taking up the challenge of advancing further. Our numbers in the Under 19 Division have again been disappointing this year and this age group remains a challenge.

44 Senior program: Our Open Women's Division saw the inclusion of another team this season - Dragons Softball Club. A big thank you to Kirstyn Macdonald for all ofher efforts in getting this team off the ground and competing in our Open competition. This season we also introduced a second competition - the Challenge Cup - which meant that double headers were played most afternoons and therefore each senior player got more games to play during the season. Congratulations to Cheetahs White for their grand final win against Monarchs in the Open competition and also on their first placement in the Challenge Cup. Season highlights: Congratulations to the NDSA Under 15 girls team on the Cup win at the Under 15 State Championships. It was a great effort and a real team win. Well done girls. The NDSA Under 15 boys came back runners up for the Plate. This was a very young team and the future is bright for all the players. Well done boys. Representative honours for our players have similarly been impressive. The large number of players that represented Victoria under the SV, SSV and Baseball Victoria banner together with one of our own being included in the Australian Under 17 Squad shows the strength of our players and we look forward to watching these players for many years to come. We would also like to congratulate our junior umpires, Josh and Alexis on achieving their Level 1 and also our other junior umpires that attended at the Under 12 Spectacular to show their skills. Thank you to all the players, officials, off-diamond personnel and supporters for making the 2017/18 season a success.

45 Sunbury Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Karen Wallace President Cath Kelly Secretary Hayden Barnes Treasurer Natasha DiVito Registrar Aﬃliated Clubs: Jackson Panthers softball club, Sherwood Knights softball club, Sunbury Storm softball club, Goonawarriors softball club Junior program: We are excited to see more of our juniors starting to develop and reach the level to represent Sunbury Softball Association at state championship level. This year we had a rise in representation from 2 to 8 juniors competing at state. Senior program: Our men's rep team attended the state championships in Albury and enjoyed some great competition. We hope to send both men's and women's teams next year. Season highlights: We have had an increase in members again. The growth and development of our juniors continues to be a major highlight. Our juniors are developing a real passion for the sport, which shows in their willingness to learn new skills, and to help others do the same. With continued recruitment and fostering our junior members, our future looks bright.

46 Sunshine Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Esther Lightowler President Jo Ingram Secretary Lynda Otimi Treasurer Rob McMahon Grounds Manager Belinda Rae Media Jodie Lightowler Board Meaghan Rae Board Debbie Greene Board

Aﬃliated Clubs: Deer Park, Cowboys, Hiway, Kotuku ,GSD, Pirates Junior program: Clubs competed in the Brimbank League including 15 junior teams from Sunshine. Teams entered in T Ball, U 12, U15, U17 and U19. Deer Park dominated the season winning the premiership in 12s, U15s and U19s and runners up in U12s and U17. State Championships U19 Men were Champions and U19 Women Runners Up U15 Boys 3rd place. 5 Teams entered the U12 Spectacular with Deer Park being successful as grand ﬁnal winners. Senior program: Brimbank League :- 5 Womens and 6 Mens teams Deer Park Premiers in A Womens and Men- sHiway Runners Up A Women Kotuku Runners Up Mens Cowboys Premiers B Women Season highlights: Softball Victoria representatives were Tai and Shay Crean, Marlie Hurinui, Katarina Hetera- ka-Kelly, Janie Pari, Lachlan Caplin, Jack Hotere-Moana, Robbie McMahon (Assistant coach U15s) Belinda Ainslie, Jack, Troy and Lillia U13 Development. Charelle Ainslie (S.A. Nationals) 3 members obtained Level 2 Scoring Accreditation :- Jodie Lightowler, Belinda Ainslie, Michael Kronk Leigh Evans World Championships Umpire Canada Merle Short Awards :- Jodie Lightowl- er and Lynda Otimi Congratulations to all!

47 Waverley Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role Cheryl Waye President Neil Hamilton Vice President Ashley Irvine Acting Treasurer Leanna Thomas Acting Assistant Treasurer Allison Pendlebury Acting Registrar Cheryl-Anne Olley Committee Greg Brown Committee Darren Kruger Committee Simon Ross Committee

Aﬃliated Clubs: Eastern Raiders, Northvale, Northwood Falcons, Glen Waverley, Syndal, Monash Magic Masters, Brandon Heights, Springvale Junior program: Primary Schools Cup - Friday 15th September, The Waverley Primary Schools Cup was met with a beautiful sunny day, completely diﬀerent to last year. One of our new schools to join the tournament this year Jells Park Primary took out both the Boys and girls competition. A big thank you goes to all the helpers that came along to help out on the day and leading up to the tournament - Moira Teichert, Zoë Carolan, Rob Cunningham, Bernie McDonald, and all the umpires that gave up their time. Thank you to Lyn Clarkson and her students from Hallam Secondary School who helped us out with scoring and line umpiring, we look forward to their continued support next year.Thank you to Cassie Liddy and Sharon Scallion for helping with marketing of this tournament and with promotion of the Come and Try Day. We have already had interest for it to be run again in 2018 Come and Try Day -Saturday 16th September A great job was done by all Waverley Committee and Clubs. This year continued with the station cards and every club was assigned a softball skill station to look after eg – throwing, base running, catching etc. Every child that came along was given a card and they had to go around and participate at each station and have it stamped, once the card was full they ran excitedly up to the pavilion to get their goodies bag. A fun day was had by all and we were able to recruit some new junior players into our sport. All children that registered their interest were then given to clubs that expressed their interest in needing new players for a certain age group. Sporting Schools Sporting Schools is a $100 million Australian Government initiative designed to help schools to increase children’s participation in sport, and to connect children with community sport. We have been fortunate to have many coaches get on board with this program, so a big thank you goes to Steph Krocos, Michelle Panza, Nicole Irvine, for helping run softball clinics over the past twelve months.

48 We have been able to provide over 100 hours of clinics and with the change in procedure recently, which means we have been able to give back approximately $1000 to Waverley to be used for Junior Development in Softball at Waverley. We saw that clinic numbers were low in terms 2&3 however they picked up again in terms 4&1 this is mainly due to the weather and the lack of indoor facilities schools have. A big thank you goes out to Tony Black, Steph Krocos, Nicole Irvine, Jenny Cassidy and Jo Paez for running the clinics I had booked in, in term one this year. It’s great to know that our softball community can come together to help each other out. We look forward to this program getting bigger and better each year. Gail Irvine – Sporting Schools Co-ordinator. Our junior competition started with one less team and lost another after Christmas. This decline in numbers needs to be reversed. With an initiative from Simon Ross we have a Recruitment Group that has started work on recruiting in Primary Schools for the upcoming season. Junior Award Winners - Chas Holland-King Award (Under 17) - Chloe Goodfellow Arthur Allsopp Award (Under 15) - Tamania Graham Junior Grand Final Winners - Under 17 Brandon Heights Under 15 Eastern Raiders Under 13 Glen Waverley Under 11 Glen Waver- ley The U17 State Champs was another successful event hosted by Waverley due to the volunteers who helped over the two day tournament. Special mention to the grounds staff that had to deal with teams that decided they could remove pitching plates without any discussion with the appropriate State Championship committee. Waverley successfully brought the title of U17 State Champions back to Waverley. For the U15 State Champi- onship team there was no time as they prepared for their tournament at the end of January. The weather was extremely hot and our young team played hard against strong opposition falling one run short of making finals. Senior program: The 2017-18 season hosted 35 senior teams and 14 junior teams. Our senior competition was bolstered when Knox District Softball Association approached Waverley re a joint Open 4 competition which resulted in 14 teams in our Open 4 competition. Games were played at Waverley and Knox grounds during the season with a 7 team split after Christmas to give more teams the opportunity to play finals. Feedback from Clubs suggest that this was a successful relationship with proposals for a few changes should this continue in 2018-19 season. Award Winners for 2017-18 Peta Edebone Medal (Open 1) - Dale Stocker Des Smith Medal (Open 2) - Tamar Hutchinson Peter Phillips Award (Open 3) - Jessica Carter Senior Grand Final Results - Open 1 Syndal (2) def Northwood Falcons (0) Open 2 Northwood Falcons (6) def Syndal Spartans (3) Open 3 Syndal (9) def Glen Waverley (3) Open 4 CUP Brandon Heights Black (18) def Brandon Heights Gold (7) Open 4 PLATE Springvale (11) def Lilydale Ejays (5) Our Open State Championship teams travelled to Albury in March with our Women returning with Gold and our Men finding the competition stronger than the previous year. U19 State Champi- onships at Dandenong. Having lost of few of our team to illness and injury in the lead up to the tournament we had fingers crossed that we would get through the tournament unscathed. A player went done in the first game and was not able to play the rest of the weekend, but the team stood strong and brought home the trophy.

49 Season highlights:

Waverley hosted the Softball Victoria Forum and AGM in August when four of our members were honoured with acknowledgement of their contribution to Victorian softball. Congratulations to Softball Victoria Life Member recipients Mary Walkinshaw and Kerrie Maddern and Merle Short Service Awards recipients Allison Pendlebury and Angela Forgan. After a season of many late afternoon washouts Grand Final Day loomedas another washout. The U11 and U15 junior teams tried their best to play in the wind and rain, but the weather won out. The U13 and U17 teams waited for a break, but again the weather prevailed and the score was Weather 2, Waverley 0. Fortunately we were able to get three diamonds playable for Open 2 and both Open 4 games and then the weather cleared with Open 1 and 3 completing their games. Our Premier Junior Tournament held over Easter hosted 20 teams from around the country and 1 from New Zealand. A huge thank you to all volunteers who gave some time before, during and after to help make this another great event. Congratulations to all players, coaches, managers, statisticians and families who turned up every day to represent our great Associationth wi pride and passion. Your spirit and enthusiasm is what makes us come back year after year. Thank you toour Easter supporter’s Fielder’s Choice, Coﬀee A La Cart and Steﬃkakes.

50 Werribee Softball Association

Member Association Committee Members: Name Role John Ballestrino President Stephen Ballestrino Vice President Floyd Holliday Vice President/Junior Development Val Baxter Secretary Fay Walsh Assistant Secretary Michele Kingsford Treasurer Michael Morse Registrar

Affiliated Clubs: Altona Softball Club, City Raiders Softball Club, Giants Softball Club, Hobson Bay Piratesoftball S Club,Iramoo Softball Club, Laverton Softball Club, Newcomb Softball Club, Renegades Softball Club, Vipers Softball Club, Western United Softball Club Junior program: WSA junior development was again run by Will Tangaroa, and held every Wednesday evening 6 pm to 8:30 pm during winter. These sessions provided a great opportunity to learn new skills and reinforce basic softball skills, with high levels of participation. WSA re implemented a T lBal program for children aged four to ten. We had just on 40 individual participants trying their hand at softball many for the first time. As the older players became more confident they moved into the under 13 competition, with several doing very well under the watchful eye of our Junior Development Coordinator. WSA entered both boys and girls in all age groups as well as Open Men and Women in State Championships. WSA U/15 boys took out the U/15 boys State Champi- onships undefeated.

Senior program: WSA continue to support senior development opportunities, for players and oﬃcials to achieve and represent at both national and international levels.

51 Season highlights: The WSA season kicked oﬀ with Memorial Shield in September 2017, which once again proved to be a great success showcasing all levels of the game and the friendship of Softball. The number of teams entered again increased to 46 with teams from all over Victoria and interstate. WSA successfully hosted the Victorian Masters in June 2018. WSA continued with the successful Green Shirt program for trainee umpires which supported by SV Umpires Association and man- aged by Trevor Murphy WSA Umpiring Coordinator. Talia McDonald attended ﬁrst National this year, while Jason Carter won the Viv Triplett National Umpire of the year award. Congratulations to Trevor Murphy who represented Australia umpiring at the Junior Men’s. Softball World Championship in Canada and Jason Carter has also been selected to attend the Women’s World Championships.

52 Past Presidents & Secretaries

1942-45 Irene Burrowes 1963-70 Esther Deason M.B.E. 1942-46 Betty Turner 1967-76 Lorraine Cadman 1946-47 Jack Franklin 1971-76 Midge Nelson B.E.M. 1947 Dorothy Lumsden 1977-80 Val Allpress 1948-54 Irene Burrowes 1977-81 Vivienne Triplett 1948 Maria Hemsworth 1981-82 Glory Bain 1955 Esther Deason 1982 Esther Deason M.B.E. 1949-52 Merle Short 1983 Paul Gale 1956 Glory Bain 1983-87 Aubrey Kotz 1953-57 Coral Thomson 1984 Margo Koskelainen O.A.M. 1957 Merle Short 1988-89 Ed Chatwin 1985-89 Gail Bowen 1958-61 Merle Short 1990-1999 Bill Gobbart 1958-61 Esther Deason M.B.E. 1999-2000 Ron Pilkington 1962 Barbara Stapleton 2000-2011 Bryan Edwards 1962 Barbara Stapleton 2011-2018 Jenny Holliday A.M. 1963-66 Merle Short 2018 – Bron Madigan

53 53 1942-45 Irene Burrowes 1963-70 Esther Deason M.B.E. 1942-46 Betty Turner 1967-76 Lorraine Cadman 1946-47 Jack Franklin 1971-76 Midge Nelson B.E.M. 1947 Dorothy Lumsden 1977-80 Val Allpress 1948-54 Irene Burrowes 1977-81 Vivienne Triplett 1948 Maria Hemsworth 1981-82 Glory Bain 1955 Esther Deason 1982 Esther Deason M.B.E. 1949-52 Merle Short 1983 Paul Gale 1956 Glory Bain 1983-87 Aubrey Kotz 1953-57 Coral Thomson 1984 Margo Koskelainen O.A.M. 1957 Merle Short 1988-89 Ed Chatwin 1985-89 Gail Bowen 1958-61 Merle Short 1990-1999 Bill Gobbart 1958-61 Esther Deason M.B.E. 1999-2000 Ron Pilkington 1962 Barbara Stapleton 2000-2011 Bryan Edwards 1962 Barbara Stapleton 2011-2018 Jenny Holliday A.M. 1963-66 Merle Short 2018 – Bron Madigan