2020 ANNUAL REPORT

1 CONTENTS 4 MEMBERSHIP SNAPSHOT 5 STAFF & BOARD 6 CHAIR REPORT 10 EO REPORT 14 MARKETING REPORT 16 DEVELOPMENT REPORT 18 EVENTS REPORT 22 AWARDS & RESULTS 34 HIGH PERFORMANCE 44 COACHING REPORT 48 SCORING REPORT 51 UMPIRING REPORT 54 FINANCE REPORT

2020 Starz Team 2 attending National 3 Championships BOARD DIRECTORS STAFF MEMBERS Karyn Dale (Chair) Paul Brooking James Harris (EO) SNAPSHOT Don Cameron Kim Evans Kelsey Knuckey Jim Manning Stuart Mossman Mandy Layden Nicole Peterson Ben Lucas STATE COORDINATORS 8 Jacqui Crafter - State Coaching Coordinator 10 Adelaide Clubs Lindy Rattigan - State Scoring Coordinator Associations Steve Wallace-Yarrow - State Umpire in Chief Jacqui Dunn - State Team Coordinator 30 LIFE MEMBERS 161 Australian Squad Members 1950 Miss E Summers* 1976 Miss Ry Adey OAM* 2009 Mrs R Robinson State Representatives 1951 Miss J Irwin* 1977 Miss N Whittingham 2009 Mrs H Baker 1958 Mrs K Correll 1982 Mr L Tyler OAM 2012 Mr N Lawrance 1961 Miss K Sims* 1987 Mrs L Brown OAM 2012 Ms L Rattigan 1962 Mrs O Radloff* 1989 Miss V Scarman* 2014 Mrs T Connolly 1963 Miss M Parslow* 1993 Mr R Coombe* 2017 Mr L Hull 1969 Mrs L Mildren 2002 Mr A McAuliffe 2019 Mrs J Dale 2252 1972 Mrs M Pollard* 2003 Mrs L Birks 2019 Mr D Roberts Total Members 1975 Miss J Cahill 2005 Mrs J Williams 1975 Miss M Laing* 2008 Mr K Sampson (*deceased)

HALL OF FAME 2009 2019 Ms R Adey OAM* Mr A McAuliffe Mrs A Fidge Mrs B Bawden Mr J McAuliffe Mr W Frances Mrs L Brown OAM Ms B Phillips Mrs T Freeman Ms J Cheesman Mrs M Pollard* Mr N Lawrance Mrs T Connolly Mrs K Sims* Mr D McCauley Mrs J Dale Ms J Stevens Ms M McGie Ms M Laing* Ms R Strapps Mrs L Rattigan Ms K Maloney Mrs S Tomlinson Ms L Martin Ms L White Mrs D Mason* Ms N Whittingham (*deceased)

4 5 CHAIR’S REPORT KARYN DALE Chair On behalf of the Softball SA Inc. Board of Directors, I am pleased to present to you the 2020 Annual Report. Over the past 12 months as the Chair, I have been leading the Board to focus on working together to de- liver the Strategic Plan, as set by the previous Board, and building on the work they had already started. In addition to this, we have been focusing on increasing communications with members and providing greater transparency on the work we are doing.

We lost two long-term Board members at last year’s AGM, including our Chair, and welcomed three new Directors to the table. It often takes time for a new Board to find its feet, but I am proud of everything we have achieved over the past year and the headway we have made toward the key initiatives as set out in the strategic plan. Board service is a tough and often thankless volunteer role, so I would personally like to acknowledge the contribution of all Board members. To this end, I would like to thank the following people for their commitment, time and passion: Don Cam- eron, Jim Manning, Kim Evans, Nicole Peterson, Paul Brooking, and Stuart Mossman.

I would like to acknowledge the work of the previous Chair, Uby Fadoul, who left us at last year’s AGM for the five-plus years of service he dedicated to the SSA Board, including two years as Chair. Uby led the or- ganisation through significant change from a strategic perspective and had a dedicated focus on key areas such as governance, finance, risk and strategy. His work and leadership helped bring the Board in line with the recommended approach to governance and, while most of the work Uby did for SSA during his time on the Board was not visible to the members, he had a significant impact on the successful running of this organisation and put us in a good position to move forward.

6 7 Throughout the year, we said goodbye to Andie Collett James and the staff have continued to provide direc- Strategically, being competitive and excelling is im- EVENTS who resigned from the SSA Board of Directors after tion and information to members of their responsibil- portant for softball in the state and we will continue Softball Australia recently announced the 2021-2023 a term of nearly eight years. Her input into key ar- ities in getting competition back up and running and to focus on developing our members and high-per- National Championships schedule and we are ex- eas such as human resources, dispute resolution and will continue to do so. The Board also announced at formance pathways. SSA is committed to improving tremely excited to have won the rights to hold a num- governance, amongst others, was greatly appreciated the recent Club Development Forum that there will be our Pathways Development and High Performance ber of them here in South Australia. Whilst the im- by her fellow Directors. I would like to thank Andie no increase in fees and that this year’s budget will be programs over the coming 12 months and beyond in mediate future of all events is unknown, having won for volunteering her time and professional expertise extremely conservative. Without being able to con- order to provide more opportunities for players and the rights to host these events is especially important to the Board and everything she achieved during her fidently predict what is around the corner means we officials. The aim of these programs is to strengthen for our state. tenure. will remain vigilant and ensure we are able to respond the competition across our state and increase our Aus- quickly if required. tralian representation even further. These events will not only be an excellent chance to COVID-19 RESPONSE showcase our world-class facility at West Beach, it will Our season was cut short due to COVID-19 as some STRATEGIC PLAN SSA STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS also provide opportunities for officials and volunteers competitions were heading into finals and others were We are now one year into the 2019-2022 Strategic Plan I would like to thank James Harris – Executive Officer, to be involved in national tournaments. This can also nearly finished. This was a challenging time to nav- which has an overarching vision to nurture softball as Kelsey Knuckey – Sport and Admin Support Officer, act as a pathway to possible roles with Softball Austra- igate, and I would like to commend all association a game for all, for life, through being a thriving, in- Mandy Layden – Marketing and Partnerships Coor- lia for those who want to go further. Presidents and committees for their understanding novative and inclusive sport for the South Australian dinator, and Ben Lucas – Pathways Development Of- and support and for their leadership to members. community. The key areas of focus are: ficer for all their work and dedication this past year. There is a lot of work to be done in preparation for There is no template for managing a situation like this, 1. One Softball – developing and maintaining a sus- Throughout the year, and in somewhat trying times, these events and we’re going to need plenty of help. but I feel we all made it through safely and remained tainable business through collaboration and effec- your focus on serving our members is greatly appre- A volunteer recruitment program is underway and in support of each other. tive business systems. ciated. I would also like to acknowledge the work of there are many roles available, in both the lead up and 2. Participation – growing and supporting the sport Andrew Scott as the Diamond Sports Grounds and during the events, all requiring various skillsets. If you I would personally like to thank and acknowledge the at grassroots level, Facilities Manager . Andrew has recently decided to would like to register your interest now, please contact work of the staff throughout this time and, in par- 3. High Performance – supporting and developing move on from the role and wish him all the best for James or Kelsey on [email protected]. ticular, James for his over-and-above approach that elite players and officials to be competitive at na- his next venture. ensured each association was kept informed and felt tional and international levels. IN CLOSING supported along the way. Taking the time to call and As I mentioned earlier, I’m pleased to report that sig- In addition to our paid staff, we are fortunate to have a In closing, I would like to announce that I will be step- talk at length with every President on the morning nificant headway has been made toward achieving a dedicated group of volunteers who give up their own ping down from the Board of Softball SA after four we made the recommendation to stop play across the number of key initiatives in each area of focus, details time and provide their skills and professional exper- plus years of service, including one year as Chair and state and to discuss their particular situation was evi- of which I provided at our recent Club Development tise to Softball SA. I would sincerely like to thank these one as Vice Chair. I have been honoured to lead this dence of James’ commitment. On behalf of the Board, Forum. hard-working people who are helping grow our sport. organisation and to work with some amazing people I thank James for everything he did during this time. who are so good at their craft and so dedicated to this HIGH PERFORMANCE I would specifically like to acknowledge Jacqui Dunn sport. Whilst moving through the premature end to our sea- As a state, we had some excellent results at national as the Chair of the State Teams’ Committee, Lindy Rat- son was a challenging time, how we move forward also competitions this past year and many athletes and tigan as the State Scoring Coordinator, Jacqui Crafter Throughout my time on the Board it is the personal has unique challenges of its own. We led a Presidents’ officials were chosen in national teams and squads, as the State Coaching Coordinator, Graham O’Neill relationships I formed with some brilliant and caring forum back in June via zoom to provide information and development teams. I’d like to thank everyone and John McGahey for the dedication to maintaining people that has made it so worthwhile. Seeing first- on the current situation and to collectively discuss any involved in making this happen, including our ded- our grounds , and Steve Wallace-Yarrow as the State hand the time and effort given voluntarily by so many, particular concerns or issues with the aim of work- icated State Teams’ Committee, all players, officials, Umpire in Chief. often under great duress and strong criticism from ing together to support each other moving forward. coaches, and other volunteers – your time and effort is others, has been both humbling and inspiring. James provided clear direction on what was required greatly appreciated, and we thank you for everything BUSINESS PARTNERS AND SPONSORS to proceed with the upcoming season, answered ques- you have given to softball in this state. We are also We cannot continue to grow our sport without the en- If there is one thing I would like to see moving for- tions and offered advice on best practice. Ensuring all proud to have had many South Australians who at- gagement and support of key business partnerships. I ward, it is everyone involved in this great sport work- competitions have a plan to recommence games and tended tournaments in a national capacity as umpires, would like to acknowledge West Beach Parks, the Of- ing together and showing support for one another. We feel confident in doing so was a main priority. scorers, selectors, broadcasters and more. You did us fice of Recreation, Sport and Racing, and Sport SA for don’t always have to agree – debate is healthy – but all proud. their significant support of softball in SA over the past showing empathy and compassion for one another is year. I would also like to acknowledge the generous essential for any organisation to grow and thrive and I support of our commercial partners Easton, Emmsee believe we all have a role to play in this. Sports and Statewide Super. I encourage you to sup- port our partners at every opportunity . Thank you for voting me on to the Board and putting your trust in me – I hope I have served you well.

8 9 EO’S REPORT JAMES HARRIS Executive Officer

This year may be remembered for the global pandem- ic, but our 2019/20 season will not be defined by it as we were still able to complete the majority of the season, celebrate great achievements as well as make ground on the first year of a new strategic plan.

2019 marked the organisations 75th birthday and a de- cade since the inaugural Softball SA Hall of Fame in- ductions. These milestones seemed the perfect timing for a celebration and for seven new inductions. Three players, three officials and one for combined service, included the names of Mosley, McGie, Frances, Law- rance, McCauley, Rattigan and Fidge. All names syn- onymous with softball in South Australia. We will cel- ebrate these inductions within this annual report but personally, I give my congratulations to them all for their tremendous careers.

Whilst speaking about events, the 17th Australian Masters Games returned to Adelaide in October with close to 800 competitors, kicking off the new season with a bang. Special thanks to the Hills Softball Asso- ciation for hosting the annual Labour Day Junior Car- nival whilst state HQ hosted the masters.

For the second year running, Softball SA was awarded the Sport SA Community Event of the Year award for the hosting of the 2019 U17 Boys and Girls National Championships.

10 11 We broke new ground with the inaugural Fully Loaded In April this year, Andie Collett retired from the board Our industry was not considered ‘essential’ howev- Softball league. Three franchises owned teams made after 8-years of service, her contributions may be too er the office continued with ‘meaningful’ work and up of State representatives to help in their preparations many to list right here but is worth mentioning that although priorities constantly changed on the fly, for National Championships. These games proved to she retired as the longest serving SSA Director since amending all position descriptions, in new and con- have the best viewership, on social media and free to the Management/Governance change in 2008. tinuously changing work conditions, our team thrived. air TV, over the entire season. Just giving thanks to Kelsey Knuckey, Mandy Layden There was also a change in staff when Morgan Young and Ben for their contribution and commitment to Spacequake Sports continued their support, live moved on from his role as Pathway Development their work this year, would not be enough, they have streaming more games than ever before and once Officer in October. With a major funding contribution all performed above and beyond all expectations. again broadcast across the state on Channel 44 and by the ORSR, Morgan was appointed with their sup- nationally on NITV, where we were the number one port to oversee the Dragons program, which met and My final comments are for what all softball members show on the station each Sunday. exceeded the funding obligations of the ORSR need to consider; learn from and rise above your chal- Development program. lenges in life and for the future of our sport. The world Congratulations to all successful in achieving National is unpredictable and constantly changing, the sport- Representation, once again we had a strong presence. Ben Lucas was appointed to the role in November and ing environment is no different. What we have learned This is testament to our State Team performances, has been able to provide new and innovative ways to from the pandemic is to band together, become a whilst we continue to be a solid competitor, we will deliver the program despite the COVID restrictions. closer community, support one another, get over our continue to develop and invest in our pathway pro- We look forward to seeing what the third year of fund- differences, lead change and be adaptable, thank the gram, the Dragons, until we are the best in the coun- ing for this program will deliver. volunteers for their time and keep them engaged, con- try. Team members, results and reports will tell their tinue to promote a positive and inclusive culture and stories, but we are all proud of each of these teams. Through the uncertainty, the efforts of the Softball SA through the darkness, there will be light, we are soft- staff have been exceptional, as many members (and ball and we have incredible strength when we’re unit- The Dragons camp returned in 2019 and the program the majority of humanity) would have had to endure, ed. was slightly affected by COVID-19, we had to change we weren’t sure if there would be work or jobs waiting the delivery to an online platform before the restric- Steph Trzcinski pitching during SSA’s for us through and at the end of the pandemic. Much It is from those words that we can now look back at the tions allowed us to return to in person sessions. Fully Loaded Competition to my surprise as I already thought we were a close season and year it was to celebrate just how great this team, I was delighted to see the staff work together, sport is, with this summary that is the 2020 Annual Jarryd Farrell during the 2020 Open closer than ever, despite having to work from home Report. Men National Championships for a while. Jordan Lambert using As our sport can only run and survive from the work of volunteers, I always speak genuinely from the heart Easton equipment when I say thank you to all who gave their time for the betterment of our sport, right across the state.

Our State Coordinators of Coaching, Scoring and Um- piring, anyone that helped with field upkeep, repairs, and maintenance across all the facilities, committee members and team officials; you are all the unsung he- roes that make our game great.

Off-field, we had several changes to the Board com- position. Starting at the 2019 AGM, we farewelled Janell Behrendt, Stuart Mossman and our Chairman, Uby Faddoul. Thanks to all three for their service to the sport. We welcomed new Directors Don Cameron, Jim Manning, and Nicole Peterson (all newly elected) and Paul Brooking was re-elected for his second term. A month after the AGM, Stuart Mossman returned as an appointed Director to oversee the Finance portfo- lio.

12 13 MARKETING The reach has had an impressive 1.2 million, a remark- Other events and competitions included: 2020 Partners able engagement of 344 thousand and video views • Fully Loaded, a more exciting, faster format game, hitting a sensational 879 thousand. It was also report- which was played with the Open Women, U23 REPORT ed that Softball SA had the ‘Wow Factor’ and were a and U18 Women. This had a massive digital foot- ‘Chatty Bunch, Highly Reactive, Posting Powerhouse print with a reach of 50 thousand, 1.5 thousand and Most Engaging’ as per Shunt Sports Social Index, engagement and 20 thousand views over a six MANDY LAYDEN placing Softball SA within the top 10 (with some of the weeks period. Marketing and Partnership Coordinator above being the top 5) sports in these titles, across the • Challenge Softball, a five-week live Facebook state. The National and State broadcast has played its campaign. This also hit high with digital statistics, part with the rising audience figures. The icing on the with 45 thousand reach and nearly 17 thousand cake was bieng advised by NITV that softball was the views. The previous year has focused on many areas within most watched program on a Sunday during the prime • Baseball5, a four-week series of live Facebook ep- Marketing and Partnerships, with activity in these time showing. isodes with Softball versus Baseball. This included areas successfully on track or completed in line with juniors, seniors, staff and masters. the relevant strategic objectives for the 2019-22 Oper- Identifying, obtaining and managing commercial ational Plan. partnerships was one of our key focus areas. This in- All of these events as well as State Championships and cluded identifying a pipeline of partnership opportu- the 75th Birthday were all contributing figures to an The main task within marketing was to develop and nities and developing tailored proposals. increase in year-round digital reach and engagement. implement integrated, creative and strategic market- ing plans to meet the key objectives of the Strategic During the first year, current partnerships were suc- Plan, 2019-22. The Marketing Plan was completed ear- cessfully extended with the same terms and conditions Finally, our membership numbers had a reduction in lier this year focusing on current analysis, competitive previously agreed and for the first time, franchises the past year, however, in a comparison to the oth- advantage, challenges, goals, campaigns, marketing were achieved for the Fully Loaded competition. The er states, Softball SA reached the highest percentage strategy with a timeline and measurement provision. upcoming season has recently secured three part- of targeted numbers for the previous season at nine- The research and findings resulted in the development nerships for three-year periods to go in line with the ty-two percent (Sports Development Program, May of three campaigns - source funding, commercial national Championship award period. Two are exten- 2020, Softball Australia). With programs such as the partnerships and membership growth, with the plan sions with new, improved terms and conditions and Dragons and new products (i.e. Fully Loaded), South breaking down the campaigns into different approach- one new partnership. Further partnership opportuni- Australia are producing higher numbers of National es and appropriate steps. This process is underway and ties are currently being developed around upcoming and International players/officials per capita, akey de- as the plan is a working document , the execution will National Championships, Fully Loaded broadcasts, tail to the recruitment process. The staff have worked be measured throughout the year with the overall plan the newly branded SA Softball Premier League, the together to identify key areas for recruitment through being reviewed annually. Dragons Program and all upcoming broadcasts. new products and going forward, utilising volunteers for Sporting Schools; and with warm discussions with To complement the Marketing Plan, a Content Plan Events were a big part of the year. With Australian a childcare provider, a future partnership may develop (in a calendar form) was created. The activity includes Masters, the staff took more control of the organisa- as a key recruitment tool for the three to five year old announcements, livestream broadcast, events, pro- tion with the help of a student placement. This includ- market. grams/pathways, partnership activity, Softball SA so- ed marketing; coordinating the volunteers; organising cial media campaigns, new products and other indus- social events; digital competitions; liaising with Aus- It has been a very busy although successful year within try news. Social media has had another successful year tralian Masters, Diamond Sports, Baseball SA and the role and continuing the hard-working ethos exer- with a highly engaging audience of 10 thousand plus third-party organisations involved during the games; cised to date, the future will experience an increase in followers over the digital platforms. administration for both Softball SA and Australian commercial partnerships and we will grow the oppor- Masters; operational duties during the competitions; tunities for Softball SA. and information. We received excellent feedback from Australian Masters and participants.

14 15 During COVID-19 we were unable to hold our an- Unfortunately, Little League International was unable The environment and culture we are still trying to de- nual camp and endured a delayed start to our skills to go ahead as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. velop through the Dragons Program is something that PATHWAY training sessions. This presented us with the unique The Little League program is still a key component of we hope will filter into the wider community. We be- opportunity to deliver the program online. We were the Dragons Program in the future as it provides our lieve that the Dragons Program helps create a culture able to run the online component for a month before players and with greater opportunities internationally. for our younger players to be successful at state or club transitioning into practical sessions. These practical We hope that we can attend the Little League Interna- level. We also hope that the inclusive and sharing cul- REPORT sessions have been undertaken in three different lo- tional again in the future as their underpinning value ture between coaches is something we can continue to cations (Hills, CDSA, and West Beach). Sessions con- of development aligns with our Dragons Program. grow as time goes on. By sharing our knowledge we sisted of smaller groups to allow more one on one in- are not only improving the quality of our coaches but BEN LUCAS teractions and we aim to grow the numbers involved we are also raising the bar for our players in compari- Pathway Development Officer again next year. We also looked to increase the reach PLAYERS: 79 son to the rest of Australia. We will continue to review of the program by setting up more satellite sessions in and evaluate all aspects of the program as well as our COACHES: 10 our associations and affiliates. coaching methods as we strive to provide the best ser- TOTAL PARTICIPANTS: 89 vice and opportunities to our community. In addition, we have identified coaching education The Pathway Development Officer role was again as a major developmental area across our state. Ma- funded through the Office of Recreation, Sport and jor research suggests that coaches are highly influen- Group Dragons session Racing (ORSR) grant. Morgan Young previously held tial in player satisfaction and well-being in sporting the role until June 2019, and I was then appointed in environments. These studies suggest that our coach- November. The role of the Pathway Development Of- es are amongst the most influential people in players’ ficer is to support the delivery of the agreed upon ob- lives and therefore should command our focus. With ligations set with the ORSR. In short, these obligations this in mind, quality coaches were targeted for their are centred on our Dragons Program. involvement in the program which aligned with our state wide approach of “best practice”. The previous program coordinators laid a great foun- dation in setting up the Dragons Program and making This year we had a large number of state team and it what it is today. However, as always there was room senior coaches involved in the program who were for improvement. It was decided that the program be available to work with and mentor up and coming offered to everyone and that it had a holistic approach coaches. Fostering these working relationships has to developing participants. The objective was to im- been paramount with all coaches gaining experience prove the standard of competition in each age group by interacting with different individuals and leading so we see improved skills across the board and better sessions. Jacqui Crafter (State Coordinator of Coach- quality games of softball. Playing against better op- ing) has been a key catalyst in developing coach rela- ponents more often would then transfer to our state tionships within the state. There is still work to do in teams and have a positive impact on our results at na- this space but we have started the process of develop- tional championships. In order for this approach to ing high-quality coaches and people within our sport. be successful, we need to start involving players at a An online database has been created for these coaches younger age group and continue their development in where we are beginning the process of uploading vid- the program for multiple years. eos of skills and drills for coaches. The best way coach- es as a collective group can improve is through the honest and open sharing of knowledge as a commu- nity. We are creating a culture of grassroots coaches being able to learn from the state’s best in a “best prac- tice” approach. Moving forward, in conjunction with Jacqui Crafter we will look to implement a formalised coaching mentorship where we can further develop the skills and expertise of our coaches across the state.

16 17 EVENTS REPORT

2019/20 was a busy year for Softball SA with many events on the calendar. We started the year off with our new Life Members and Hall of Fame inductees at our 75th Birthday celebration.

A week later we were hosting the 17th Australian Mas- ters Games at West Beach and our annual October Long Weekend Tournament held by the Hills Softball Association. Both events saw 77 teams compete for their respective titles.

Our annual Senior and Junior State Championships were once again great events with 44 teams fighting it out to be state championships in their division. The 2020 Junior State Championships was held by Gawler & Districts Softball Association and we thank them for their work on producing a great weekend.

Softball SA was once again finalists in the Sport SA Sports Awards in four categories coming away with the Community Event of the Year for our 2019 U17 Boys & Girls National Championships.

Port Pirie participating in 18 the 2020 Senior State 19 Championships AWARDS NIGHT The 2019/20 Softball SA & Adelaide Competition Awards Night was presented online due to restrictions put in place from the Coronavirus pandemic. A full list of award winners are presented in later under Awards and Results but there were some highlights through- out the year. Jailyn Ford won her second consecutive Lorraine Brown medal for the Open Women’s State Team for her pitching performance taking the team to the grand final. In the Open Mens Jarryd Farrell had a tournament not to forget. He won the tournament MVP, tournament best batter award and the SA Open Mens MVP.

SPORT SA AWARDS Softball SA was once again finalists in the Sport SA Sports Awards in four categories, Community Event of the Year, Country Athlete of the Year, Administra- tor of the Year and Reconciliation Sport Award for the 75th BIRTHDAY, LIFE MEMBER & 17th AUSTRALIAN MASTERS GAMES contribution to softball in the APY Lands. We came HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS October saw Softball SA host the 17th Australian Mas- away with the Community Event of the Year for our 2019 was a big milestone for Softball SA, reaching ters Games for the seventh time. This year we saw 714 2019 Under 17 Boys and Girls National Champion- our 75th year. We celebrated by inducting two new competitors across 56 teams compete throughout the ship held at West Beach. This is the second year we Life Members and seven members into our Hall of week. Player numbers come from across Australia have come away with this award with the hope for Fame. This was only the second time members have with a couple of international players filling teams. To many more to come. been added to the Hall of Fame since the inaugural in- reach these team numbers we run a registration com- Gemma Letton participating in the 2020 duction in 2009. The Beachouse was a fantastic venue petition with prizes from local business and people for the celebration with induction held upstairs and from the community, Softball SA would like to thank Senior State Championships a birthday party downstairs afterwards with everyone those business and individuals who donated prizes. able to enjoy the arcade games. Congratulations to James Harris accepting the 2019 Sport SA those that were inducted on the night and for what Softball SA would like to thank all the volunteers and SENIOR STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS staff that worked throughout the week to make sure it Community Event of the Year Award on you have done for the sport in South Australia. West Beach once again hosted the 64th Senior State all ran smoothly. A special thank you to Jill Williams, behalf of Softball SA Full details on those inducted are in the Awards & Re- Championships. 18 teams competed in their respec- Lindy Rattigan and Neville Lawrance for all of their sults section of the document. tive divisions. A Grade woman returned in 2020 with help prior and during the tournament. Adelaide winning over Port Pirie. In the Mens division OCTOBER LONG WEEKEND Allsorts receiving their medal at the Hills came through with the win over NAMSA. 17th Australian Masters Games A Grade woman, Kathleen Correll MVP was awarded TOURNAMENT to Cara Venning from Riverland. The mens MVP was Due to the Australian Masters Games being hosted at awarded to Nathan Humphrys from NAMSA. West Beach, the Hills Softball Association hosted the 24th October Long Weekend Tournament. 21 teams attended with eight teams being from interstate. Over JUNIOR STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS the five divisions Hills Softball Association won three The Junior State Championships headed out to Gawler of them (U14 Girls, U14 mixed and U16 Girls). Sturt and District Softball Association for the first time in were the winner of the U18 Women and the U18 Mens ten years. 25 teams over five divisions competed with winners came from Softball Victoria. Congratulations Hills coming away with three wins (U16 Girls, U16 to all winners and thank you to the Hills Softball As- Boys and U14 Boys). Sturt won the U18 Women and sociation for hosting the tournament. West Torrens won the U14 Girls. We would like to thank Gawler for hosting this tour- nament and pass on the wonderful feedback we re- ceived from our members.

20 21 2019 October Long Weekend 2020 Senior State Championships 2020 Junior State Championships U18 Women A Grade Men U18 Girls Premiers Sturt Falcons Premiers Hills Premiers Sturt AWARDS & Runner Up Victoria Diamonds Runner Up Seacombe B Grade Men U18 Men Premiers NAMSA B U16 Girls Premiers Victoria Vipers Division 1 A Grade Women RESULTS Premiers Hills U16 Girls Premiers Adelaide Softball SA End Of Season Awards Runner Up Port Adelaide Premiers Hills Heat Division 1 B Grade Women Umpire Awards Runner Up Sturt Falcons Premiers GDSA U14 Girls Marg Abbott Trophy Jordan Taylor U14 Mixed Rookie Umpire of the Year Division 2 Women Premiers West Torrens Premiers Hills Dragons Lyle Tyler Trophy Michael Bendall Premiers Adelaide Runner Up Hills Director of Umpiring Runner Up Hills Heat McAuliffe Trophy Damien U14 Girls 2020 Men’s Team of The Year U16 Boys ACC Umpire of the Year McCauley Premiers Hills Heat Pitcher Jarryd Farrell Hills Premiers Hills Softball SA Deb Hopgood Runner Up Sturt Navy Pitcher Nathan Humphries NAMSA Runner Up Riverland Umpire of the Year Catcher Riley Karayiannis Hill First Base James Goslett Hills U14 Boys Softball SA Awards Second Base Pat Fraser Hills Premiers Hills Robert ‘Roo’ Weaver Jesse Dreswick Third Base Jo Harvey Hills Runner Up CDSA 1 Volunteer of the Year Short Stop Pete Atkinson Hills Chairman’s Award Lindy Rattigan NAMSA vs NAMSA at the 2020 Left Field Sam Paturis NAMSA Outstanding Achievement Jarryd Farrell Senior State Championship Awards Belinda White Centre Field Darryl Elliot Hills West Beach Parks Junior Girls: Neve Adams Right Field Damien Boxer NAMSA Athlete of the Year Boys: Kaleb Zakelj Utility Axel Westren-Schapel Hills Utility Dennis Williamson MFSA 2020 State Team MVPs Coach Jarome Vernocchi Hills

2020 Women’s Team of The Year Pitcher Harper Bridley Pt Pirie Pitcher Mikayla Jankovic Adelaide Catcher Sally Green GDSA Hills Softball Association attending First Base Hantie Pretorius Falcons Junior State Championships Second Base Taiya Venning Falcons Third Base Kahla Williams Pt Pirie MVP - Starz MVP - Open Men Short Stop Kimberly Storton GDSA Jailyn Ford Jarryd Farrell Left Field Emilia Dolphin Adelaide MVP - U23 Women MVP - U18 Girls Centre Field Jad Pech Riverland Madi Scott Millie Fidge Right Field Tayla Scarman Pt Pirie Utility Cara Venning Riverland MVP - U16 Girls MVP - Open Men Utility Eunice Abdulla Riverland Neve Adams Axel Westren-Schapel Coach Mandy Bridley Pt Pirie and Riley Binns

22 23 ACC Awards A Grade Rookie of Charlize Callaghan the Year Most Successful Club Port Adelaide Junior Division Most Successful Club Sturt Senior Division Team of the Year Pitcher Steph Trzcinski WTSC Pitcher Johanna Grauer Pt. Adel Catcher Sarah Tonkin Sturt First Base Kelsey Knuckey WTSC Second Base Jordan Lambert WTSC Third Base Lana Kaesler WTSC Short Stop Belinda White Sturt Outfield Ada Caruana Sturt Outfield Jenny Dunn Seacombe West Torrens U12 team during the ADELAIDE COMPETITION Outfield Maddie Cameron Sturt 2019/20 Adelaide Competition Season Utility Chelsea Robinson Walk. A Grade Women Utility Taurie Pogue Glenelg Premiers Sturt Coach Morgan Young Sturt Runner Up West Torrens Port Adelaide during the 2019/20 B&F Johanna Grauer Adelaide Competition Season B Grade Women U16 Division 1 CENTRAL DISTRICTS Premiers Hills Premiers Port Adelaide Runner Up Sturt Runner Up Hills A Grade D Grade B&F Jas Strandlund U16 Division 2 Premiers Central United & Premiers CU Tigers & C Grade Women Premiers Port Adelaide Roadrunners Playford Phantoms Premiers Walkerville Runner Up Sturt B&F Nicole Gaskin & B&F Naomi James Jennifer Quinlan Runner Up Sturt B&F Runner Up Emma Carter U14 Division 1 B&F Runner Up Bronwyn Pendleton B&F Naoko Waugh Premiers Sturt Under 16 B Grade D Grade Women Runner Up Glenelg Premiers Roadrunners Premiers USC Bears Premiers Sturt B&F Amber Edwards U14 Division 2 B&F Emily Cattuzzo Runner Up Walkerville B&F Runner Up Elijah Roberts Premiers West Torrens B&F Runner Up Alix Hitchcock Martha Wood B&F Erica Wadham Runner Up Sturt Abbie Pengilly C Grade U18 Division 1 U12 Division 1 Premiers Valley View Eagles & Under 14 Premiers Seacombe Premiers Walkerville USC Bear Premiers Roadrunners & CU Tigers Runner Up Port Adelaide Runner Up Sturt B&F Rebecca Cordes B&F Elijah Roberts U18 Division 2 U12 Division 2 B&F Runner Up Meagan Rogers & B&F Runner Up Nikolas Dawe Emma Watson Premiers Port Adelaide Premiers Seacombe Runner Up Walkerville Runner Up Port Adelaide Under 12 Premiers USC Cubs 24 25 Association Awards Ten Year Playing Awards MENS FASTPITCH ASSOCIATION Person of the Year Kay Anagba & Melissa Alcorn Key Anagba Linda Thornton Hall of Famers honoured Jude Barker Rebecca Brooksby Lindy Rattigan was amongst six others named Softball Player of the Year Elijah Roberts Erin Lukas Emma Price SA Hall of Fame class of 2019. A former state u16 rep- Senior Umpire of the Bronwyn Pendleton Krystal Sawyer Belinda Yard resentative, it was her ability to colour in the circles Year Ebony Yard and count good that led her to a career spanning close Junior Umpire of the Jeremy Mortimer to four decades. Lindy has held statistician positions Year with both mens and womens teams at club, state, na- HILLS SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION Best First Year Sue Haldane tional and international level. Arguably the best statis- Umpire Div 1 Mens tician the state has ever produced. Premiers Mt. Barker Redsox Also amongst those inducted was our favourite um- MVP Jarryd Farrell GAWLER AND DISTRICTS pire, Damien McCauley. Damien started his softball Div 1 MVP Runner-Up Cooper Goodman journey as a State Men’s player and soon turned to of- Premiers Kangas Div 2 Men ficiating. Calling ‘balls and strikes’ has taken Damien across the world at several international events, not to GF - Best on Ground Kimberly Storton Premiers Torrens Valley mention 25 years of umpiring at Australian National B&F Annabel Unger MVP Kaleb Zakelj Championships. Nicely done Damo. B&F Runner-UP Carlijn Hill MVP Runner-Up Paul Scott Australian Masters Games undefeated run ends at Div 2 A Grade Women Grand Final Premiers Kangas Premiers Torrens Valley Back to defend their title from 2015, The Nairne An- Millie Fidge pitching for the Angles FLS team GF - Best on Ground Kelly Varcoe MVP Tahlia Larossa gels from the MFSA made it all the way to the Grand Franchise in inaugural Fully Loaded Softball B&F Brooke Storton MVP Runner-Up Alex Mackay & Tessa Norris Final, beating all teams along the way. However, a competition MFSA Nairne Angels were the first franchise team in B&F Runner-UP Brooke Skewes stumble at the finish line left the Angels with a tough B Grade Women loss against a team from WA. Still a great result for the the inaugural FLS competition run in South Australia. Under 17 Premiers Hahndorf Black Angels winning a silver medal. Players from the U18, U23 and Open Womens teams Premiers Trinity College MVP Rachel Thompson were selected at random over the franchises. MFSA GF - Best on Ground Brodie Smith MVP Runner-Up Holly Snooks Mark Cramp during the 2020 Senior once again showed their visionary, forward thinking State Championships and gender equality by supporting the female compe- B&F Jack Ruediger C Grade Women tition (as they did by running the 5-a-side league a few B&F Runner-UP Tahlia Sutton Premiers Echunga years prior). Under 14 MVP Bobby Jean Taylor Association Representatives at Nationals Premiers Kangas MVP Runner-Up Eliza Lovelock Well done to the MFSA members that represented SA GF - Best on Ground Tara Lloyd U16 Mixed at National Championships in 2020: B&F Jalanie Goss Premiers Torrens Valley Open Mens – James Harris, Lindy Rattigan and San- dra Dummond (Laurie Peters withdrew due to injury). B&F Runner-UP Bailey Peel MVP Harry Hopkins Association Awards MVP Runner-Up Ruby Ballard State Championships Presidents Trophy Amanda Stuart U13 Mixed The true spirit of Men’s softball was shown once again by the collaboration between NAMSA, Hills Senior Umpire Kyla Whiting Premiers Mt Barker Redsox and MFSA allowing more teams to play at the annu- Junior Umpire Natalie Wik MVP Eddie Howe al championship. Although fancied and starting the Scorers Trophy Alison Holt MVP Runner-Up Harry Lovelock tournament with some good form, it was NAMSA that knocked out the MFSA in the preliminary final to Association Awards face off against eventual winners, the Hills. Congrat- Umpire of the Year Deb Hopgood (Senior) ulations to all that were selected in the State Cham- Kaleb Zakelj (Junior) pionships Men’s Team of the Year including our own Dennis Williamson (Utility).

26 27 MOUNT GAMBIER SOFTBALL NORTHERN AREA MENS SOFTBALL PORT PIRIE SOFTBALL A1 Due to COVID 19 restrictions the Mount Gambier Association Awards Minor Premiers Solly Cats Softball League was unable to play the very last game Best & Fairest Cooper Goodman of the season, the grand final between Demons and B&F Ann Russack Warriors Blue. In view of this the Premiership was the Runner-Up Bodie Williams & Runner Up B&F Callie Siwak Nathan Humphrys awarded to Demons as the highest ranked team. A2 McAuliffe Rising Star Jaye Carson & Nick Dawe Minor Premiers Checkmates League Award Winners NAMSA Blue MVP Cooper Goodman B&F Kristy O’Neill Best & Fairest Sarah Polderman NAMSA Red MVP Nathan Humphrys Runner Up B&F Sam Youngman Runner Up Best & Billie Vause Fairest A3 Team of the Year Best Batting Average Nicole Vause Minor Premiers Cougars Pitcher Rod McGregor Hillbillies Magee Cooke Award Johanna Hopgood B&F Karen Bowering Pitcher Josh Goodman Demons Season Contribution Runner Up B&F Jodie Langsford Catcher Bodie Williams Demons Life Membership Di Humphries Under 17 Pam Wesolowski First Base Dennis Williamson Demons Minor Premiers Checkmates Second Base Jaye Carson Hillbillies B&F Jerry-Lee Brown Third Base Dylan Child Hillbillies Runner Up B&F Jessie Skipworth-Taylor & Short Stop Bill Benedictson Falcons Jordan Ganley Port Pirie and Riverland attending the Outfield Cooper Goodman Demons 2020 Senior State Championships Under 13 Outfield Zak Heitze-Unger Hillbillies Minor Premiers Checkmates Outfield Travis Ashman Tigers Gold B&F Bridie Ellis Nunn Utility Nate Humphrys Tigers Gold Runner Up B&F Kyarn Beazley Association Award Utility Jake Rodda Gold Gloves NAMSA B Grade Senior State Lorretta Rafferty Sam Youngman Championships Premiers Memorial Trophy Port Pirie attending the 2020 Senior State Championships Team of the Year Pitcher Ann Russack Cougars Catcher Sam Burt Solly Cats First Base Sonia Mansfield Solly Cats Second Base Emily Gonsalves Courgars Third Base Alexis Hill Courgars Short Stop Jacqui Beazley Courgars Outfield Brooke Waldhuter Cougars Outfield Chloey Dunstall Tigers Outfield Kayla Williams Solly Cats Utility Callie Siwak Solly Cats Utility Penny Lynch Solly Cats Utility Jacque Bateson Checkmates Coach Mandy Bridley Solly Cats

28 29 RIVERLAND SOFTBALL HALL OF FAME AND LIFE MEMBERSHIP INDUCTIONS

The 2019/20 season was cut short due to COVID-19. Senior All Stars The decision was to award the premierships to the Kathy Johnson Loxton minor premiers. Amy Selfe Renmark Di Passmore Cobdogla After waiting 65 years of softball in South Australia before an inaugural Hall of Fame induction, a A Grade Hayden Johns Lyrup decade has now passed and this year we honour a new batch, the class of 2019. Names synonymous Premiers Loxton Minna Adbulla Berri to the sport across the last four decades, trail blazers and once in a lifetime talent. Three players B&F Kathy Johnson that dominated on field, three officials that uphold the essence of the game and another of -com Ali Stokes Loxton R/UP B&F Amy Selfe bined service have been immortalised as greats of the game in South Australia. Brenna Smith Renmark B Grade Isaac Edwards Loxton Premiers Loxton Isabella Edwards Loxton B&F Noah Paull Kale Karpany Berri R/UP B&F Hayden Johns Iris Kameta Lyrup C Grade Noah Paull Loxton Premiers Cobdogla Annette Fidge Wess Frances Tracey Freeman Combined Service - Player Player B&F Eleni Tzanos Riverland had three teams in each grade this season player and official. R/UP B&F Rachel Humble and they combined the A/B grade for the first half of the season and split after the new year’s break, Wess is the first Mens Tracey represented Individual Awards As a player, Annie Player in the Softball South Australia for Rising Star Delta Venning (Loxton) Monica Haaja earned her level 1 umpiring badge after represented the Open SA Hall of Fame. 16 years between Women’s for eight On the National 1988 and 2004. Baserunning - Female Minna Abdulla 25 years of umpiring. years as well as the U16 stage, he was a South Starting her State Baserunning - Male Noah Paull team in 1985 and 1986. Australian Open representative career Baserunning - Team Loxton SUNRAYSIA SOFTBALL Annie’s state coaching record includes: Mens player for 11 years from 1990 – with two years in the U16, MVP in 88 Our Association’s season finished abruptly due to seven years with the Open Women’s 2004, five of those years as the Captain and Captain in 89, then U19’s for three COVID-19 and as such the Association Committee team and another six years with the and a 3-time Open Mens Most Valu- years and in 1992 was Co-Capt., State decided that there will be no premiership awarded. junior state women’s teams including able Player. MVP and National MVP. U19 and U23. This gives her a com- Wess was a member of the National Open Level from 1990-1996 and 1998- The main reason for this is because our three teams bined service of 21 years. program for a few years, playing for the 2004 and captained for six years and Riverland participating at the were all pretty much of the same standard and each Annie’s greatest success came in 2006 Australian team in a series against New was a four-time winner of the Open 2020 Senior State Championships had a chance of winning. as Head Coach of the SA U19 Women’s Zealand in Perth, WA in1991. Women’s MVP award. National Championship winning team. Wess’s representative coaching includ- Received her 10-Year State Rep plaque Annie has been involved in National ed, four Years with Open Mens, one in 1999. programs as a coach for over a decade, year with the U19 Mens and three years Tracey had a distinguished interna- starting with youth Aussie Squads at- with the U17 Girls. tional softball career spanning 20 years. tending multiple Friendship Series Internationally, he attended two Junior During her playing career, Tracey accu- and on to Two Junior Women’s World World Championships as Australian mulated 288 international playing caps, Championships in 2013 and 2015 (in- U19 Mens Assistant Coach, winning a placing her in the top-20 Aussie Spirit cluding a Bronze in 2013). Bronze medal. player list. She moved on to the Australian Wom- Wess is also Softball SA’s only 3-time She is a two-time Olympian, winning en’s senior team, the Aussie Spirit, as an Chairman’s Award winner; in 1999 for Silver (2004) and Bronze (2008), At- Assistant Coach soon after including work his work on softball in Cooper tended five World Championships; tours to USA and Canada in 2017, and Pedy, in 2014 as State Coordinator of four Senior World Championships in 2018 the DENSO series here in Ade- Coaching and in 2018 for his work on 1994, 2002, 2006 & 2010 winning two laide, NSW and Kochi City Japan. the Dragons Program. Bronze and a Junior World Champion- ship 1991.

30 31 As voted by the membership at the AGM. Two new life memberships were awarded. Life Mem- bership is the highest honour a member can be bestowed and for services to softball in the State in an administrative capacity, Julie Dale and Derek Roberts have become the latest Life Members of Softball SA.

2019 Softball SA Hall of Fame and Life Member Inductees

Neville Lawrance Damien Melissa McGie Lindy Rattigan Julie Dale Derek Roberts Australian Umpire McCauley Player Official Life Member Life Member #104 and Australian Umpire WBSC Umpire # 772 #113 and Mel began her State Lindy has amassed 22 Julie’s softball journey Derek started his soft- WBSC Umpire #869 career as a player in years of combined ser- has spanned seven de- ball journey at Ingle At the national level, U16 in 1992 and 93, vice for South Austra- cades since the 1950s. Farm Softball Club in Neville has attended Damien has a rep- Captaining the team lian State Teams, with Her club involvement the 1979/80 and was over 30 junior na- resentative career in 93 and then on to the majority of service includes Kilburn, awarded Life Member- tional championships, spanning 25 years at the national level the U19 in 1994 and as a Statistician. Lindy Brown Owls, Rebels, ship. His softball ca- seven as the TCU and seven as an As- and 20 years at an international level. 95. was also a Junior Player in U16 and East Torrens and now Walkerville. reer continued as a statistician with the sessor and Examiner. At the open level, Nationally, Damien has attended 16 Ju- Mel competed as a State Open Women’s occasionally held the team manager Both Glenelg and Walkerville have Glenelg for five years before moving Neville attended over 22 open national nior National Championships, 10 as an player for 10 years, starting in 1995 to role. awarded Julie Life Membership. to Seacombe, where he became a Life championships, two as a TCU and six umpire and six as either a TCU, asses- 2002, returning in 2004 and one final 16 of those 22 years were at Open Lev- Member for his 18 years of service. as an assessor and examiner. In total sor or candidate. And at the open level time in 2006. el – 13 years with the Open Men State Walkerville’s President, Sally Colquist Derek is now with Walkerville and has Neville has 28 years of state representa- Damien has attended 22 Open Nation- She was the SA Women’s MVP in 2001, team. Lindy is in the top-10 for years said; “Julie is a life member of Walk- been for the past nine years. tion at over 50 national championships. al Championships. Vice-Captain of the team in 2002. The representing SA but has held a signif- erville and has held many roles over He was presented his 10-year State He also represented the Men State team love of the game kept her involved with icant number of appointments at Na- the course of 30 years, including Team Derek has also held many adminis- Representative plaque in 2000 and has as a player at two Open Men National many roles as a team official with the tional Championships as an official Manager, Scorer, Records Officer, -Um trative positions within Softball SA the individual record for years of State Championships. Starz in 2004, 07, 08, 11-15 and most statistician and 10 times the Tourna- pire, Committee Member and longest throughout his time involved in softball representation for Softball SA (at 28). Internationally, his first event was in recently in 2018. ment Chief Statistician. serving role as treasurer”. including: Senior Records & Clearance Since 1997, Neville has attended 14 the United States in 1998 and overall In total, she has amassed 22 years as a Officer 1986-91 and 1993-95, Board international events, including the has attended 14 International events in- State representative (17 of them in the Lindy has been a representative of the Julie’s contribution to Softball SA dates Member 1989/90, Scoring Committee 1998 Women’s World Championship cluding a Junior and two Senior World Open Women’s Team) placing her in Australian Men team as a Statistician back to the early 1960 where she was on Member– two years, Director of Scor- in Japan and the 2004 Athens Olympic Championships with the most recent in the top-10 for years representing SA. in 2006 and 2007. She has also attend- the Country Carnival Committee for ing – 9 ½ years, Awards and Recogni- Games. June 2019 in the Czech Republic. Locally, Mel is the only player to have ed two Junior Mens World Champion- one year, as well as and Social/Fund- tion Committee – 2016-2018. In 2012 Neville was awarded Softball Damien has been awarded the McAu- won the Kath Correll Medal four times ships with the U19 Men, Junior Steelers raising Committee secretary (61-67), SA Life Membership. liffe Trophy – for the Softball SA Um- Internationally, Mel was in the Aus- team in 2012 and 2016. Permit Committee and Score Recorder Derek is one of only two South Austra- In 2013 he was inducted into the Soft- pire of the Year for the last five seasons tralian U19 Women’s team in 1994 Lindy was awarded Softball SA Life (78-83), Records Officer (2016-pres- lians with two National titles, a part of ball Australia Hall of Fame and in 2015 (two being joint with fellow Hall of and 1995, attending the Junior World Membership for her administrative ent). the 2006 and 2015 SA Under 19 Wom- inducted to the WBSC Hall of Fame. Fame inductee, Neville Lawrance). Championships in ’95 and was capped contribution in 2012. en’s National Champion teams. as an Aussie Spirit in 2002.

32 33 HIGH PERFORMANCE

In a summer that was to be the dawn of sport’s return to the Olympic Games, our nation was rep- resented in China to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Games. South Australia’s finest, Belinda White, had the honour to Vice-Captain the side.

Perhaps inspired by this performance and off the back of the efforts for SA to be a force, our rep- resentative teams and high performing individu- als once again showed that we are not to be taken lightly and we continue to surge towards greater things.

34 Jordan Lambert at the 2020 APC 35 Tournament, Sydney HIGH PERFORMANCE HIGH PERFORMANCE Open Women - Starz - Mirrabooka, WA Open Men - Blacktown, NSW

It was a very big year for the Starz with a lot on The infield and their commitment to each other Best Performance Thwarted By The Rain ACT took no chances against SA and pitched Kirkpat- the line, both at a state level, winning the Gilley’s along with infield coach Sue Tomlinson. The in- rick who pitched 16 K’s and the win, but in a funny old game, Harris and Farrell (8-game streak) contributed Shield and the opportunity for players to repre- credible work the outfield team displayed to the For the first time in our history, the SA Men’s team with four hits (two each) along with May to give SA a very end 100% pro’s all the time. was sitting in 4th place and with one and a half games sent our country in the upcoming Olympics. respectable 3-7 score line. With a finals birth looming, to go, poised for a finals birth, the heavens opened up and washed away our chances. SA were looking to put it beyond doubt when we faced With an extra round added to the National Cham- Everybody contributed with the bat when need- QLD. The game was a little topsy-turvy with a number pionships it created an unknown for all. One thing ed and it showed because we almost caused the In his first year as Head Coach, Jarryd Farrell led from of lead changes and one would argue SA had the mo- is for sure, it was all or nothing every game. greatest upset in softball history. Unfortunately, it the front from the outset, getting two hits and going mentum with hits to Farrell (9-game streak), Harris was not our night in the end and an opportunity the distance tied in the 7th with favourites, ACT. It (6-game streak) and a spark form Jayden Lach but… The Starz players were an incredible force to get better against the best in our country is still was the great Andrew Kirkpatrick that broke our the rain ended the Redz chances with play being aban- throughout the week and the continual progres- ahead of us. backs, hitting in a run and then shutting us out. Harry doned for 24 hours. With no time to reschedule, the sion over the last couple of years is self-evident, May and Dallas Kipfer contributed well with the bat. decision was made to revert back to the end of round giving up the least amount of runs of all teams. Momentum is a funny thing in sport and we cer- In game 2, the Redz jumped QLD scoring five in the 1, that saw SA drop from 4th to 5th and out of finals contention. The opposition states all did their homework on tainly had it in the final – we just didn’t capitalise first five innings to roll QLD 5-3. Farrell had another us as we did surprise all last year – (not the Starz on it as best we could when it was there for us. two hits with three RBIs and Canadian Kirk Santala pitched 6-Innings and 10 Ks for the win. In SA’s best ever finish in the Open Men’s division, we or coaching staff though). A concentrated effort had some great performances, May and Farrell named was seen on closing down our short play and par- The Starz and the team’s coaching staff are all look- Day 2 was one to forget, Victoria were unstoppable, in the Steeler’s squad and Farrell’s display earned him ticularly tactically. ing forward to 2021 being the year SA will bring scoring eight in the first inning, SA managed three a first for SA, winning the hitting award and to top it home the Gilley’s Shield. (Kipfer with a two-run homer) but it was over in the off, also a first for SA (Men’s or Women’s), he did the We didn’t score big runs early in the week but 5th. double and was awarded the tournament’s Most Valu- scored good wins. Having faith in our hitting pro- Open Women - Starz (Mirrabooka, WA) able Player! gram that has developed over the year, it was great The SA rollercoaster continued with an historic win Players to see our Starz make more consistent stronger against WA 8-4. It was the first win against WA since Open Men (Blacktown, NSW) contact at the gritty end of the week. Pippa Adkins Hayley Bonython the 1980’s. Farrell and Santala combining again for the Players Maddie Cameron Ada Caruana win, six batters combining for 9-hits and each with an Jordan Baumber (CAN) Jarryd Farrell RBI as well. NSW spoiled the party, jumping the Redz Softball is a funny game – good hits going to the Jesse Dreswick (USA) Jailyn Ford (USA) James Harris Daniel Harrison (NSW) opposition early in the week was the story for us, and scoring nine in the first two innings. Farrell con- Amber Hood Georgia Hood tinued his red-hot form with the bat and continued his Blake Jackson (NSW) Dallas Kipler (CAN) this made for some very tight and exciting games. Lana Kaesler Jordan Lambert 5-game hitting streak, Harris also with a hit. The players never doubted where they were head- Jayden Lach (NSW) Harry May Jess Neves Sophie Roberts ed and there was a strong feeling throughout the Sam Paturis Dan Peterson Chelsea Robinson Sarah Tonkin WA came out for retribution and got out to an early week that we were in a good place even though lead, SA did fight back but eventually went down 6-4. Mason Pollack (ACT) Kirk Santala (CAN) it was even more challenging than the previous Steph Trzcinski Belinda White Harris had a couple of hits, Farrell bobbed up again Kaleb Zakelj year. Officials (6-game streak) and they were joined by young-guns Officials

Morgan Young (HC) Tanya Hood (Asst.) May and Kaleb Zakelj all with hits. In the late game, Jarryd Farrell (HC) James Harris (Asst.) Stand out performances from the tournament Sue Tomlinson (Asst.) Natalie Lilburn (Man) Harris blasted one off the first pitch and Farrell also were the battery. The way they worked with each homered (7-game streak) in the first and SA didn’t Don Peters (Asst.) Sandra Drummond Sue Norris (Stats.) other and battery coach Tanya Hood was excel- look back from then. Victoria did close the gap later in (Man) lent – Jailyn Ford in particularly, winning the the game but it was SA 5-4 winners. Harris had multi- Lindy Rattigan (Stats.) pitcher of the tournament. Morgan Young ple hits and Farrell pitched a beauty for the win. Starz Head Coach Jarryd Farrell Open Men Head Coach

36 37 HIGH PERFORMANCE HIGH PERFORMANCE Under 23 Women - Redlands, QLD Under 18 Women - Blacktown, NSW

Rising Starz finish 3rd! Day four belonged to SA with two big wins, 12-1 SA continues to be a force at under 18 Nationals. The Even more promising is many of the current team against ACT and another tight win against WA, 1-0. team had a very successful week, winning 7 out of the players remain eligible next year. The U23 Women’s team had only ever been to the Na- On day 5 NSW got on top scoring three in the first 10 minor round games, notching up wins against all tional Championships twice before, last year being but SA showed they weren’t giving up without a fight, teams except for NSW who went on to win the Cham- only the second time. holding NSW but couldn’t manage to score going pionships. U18 Women (Blacktown, NSW) down 1-3. The bats caught fire in the late game against Players Victoria, 13 hits in all, spread throughout the line-up. A great mix of youth and experience took the diamond Finishing 3rd after the minor rounds, we just missed Neve Adams Zali Adams for SA and boasting: Lee pitched the win. the double chance by five runs, and lost the elimina- - Three College scholarship holders tion final against a highly competitive WA who then Indigo Beck de Silva Chloe Charlton - Five current/former Junior Spirit players Finishing 3rd after the minor round with an impressive played in the Grand Final v NSW. Michaela Collins Peyton Daniels 7-3 record, we played Victoria in the minor semi-final. - And every player with previous state repre- Harsimrat Dhaliwal Millie Fidge sentation. Scott pitched a 3 hit shutout and the bats backed her The team and its players were highly professional and up in a 7-0 5-inning mercy win. Although scoring first competitive for the year and were likely to be the only Ellie Georgaris Jenny Gray The week got off to a tough start going down to even- in the Preliminary final courtesy of Hayley Bonython team that may have knocked on a strong NSW. Becky Havis Jesse Keech tual winners, Queensland 14-5 but not before we put and Chelsea Robinson combining to score the former, Abbie Mossman Aroha Munroe NSW outhit SA to go on to the grand final. a scare through the maroon camp with some terrific Following the tournament, 7 of SA’s players were Karah Schultz Zoe Young team hitting in the 4th inning. With no time to rest, we named in National Squads and teams - that’s half the had a back to back double header and full credit to the Overall, we were the best team to watch and a 3rd team nearly! Officials girls, fired straight back with a convincing 9-4 victory place finish probably didn’t do the team justice, having Annie Fidge (HC) Justina Adams (Asst.) over the ACT. Jamie Mead leading the team with six said that, it was our best finish at the event and we’re Four players selected on the under 18 National team Steph Trzcinski (Asst.) Carla Munroe (Man) hits for the day! so proud of their performance… The Starz future cer- to play in the Junior World Championships in August Jill Williams (Stats) tainly looks bright. - Jessie Keech, Karah Schultz, Millie Fidge and Neve Day two was one to remember with two very close Adams. games resulting in two amazing finishes, both in ex- Annie Fidge tra innings. Game 1 was a 9-inning epic against WA; U23 Women (Redlands, QLD) Three players were also selected in the National under U18 Women Head Coach Madi Scott pitched all nine and crossed the plate for Players 18 squad - Indigo Beck De Silva, Zali Adams and Aro- the winning run in a 3-2 win. Game 2 was against ha Munroe (who has been subsequently named in the the highly fancied NSW team, Jordyn Lee pitched a Pippa Adkins Kelsea Barker NZ national team for the Junior Worlds). blinder going 7 innings with no earned runs but it was Jacqui Beal Hayley Bonython Steph Collett the hero in the 8th inning tie-breaker, Steph Collett Regan Lambert (Withdrawn) Indigo Beck de smashing a double to score Pippa Adkins and then Jordyn Lee Jamie Mead Silva attending U18 scored by Scott for the win. Sophie Roberts Chelsea Robinson Women Nationals It was QLD that dealt another blow easily winning 8-0 Karah Schultz Madi Scott for the first game in day 3. The girls responded with a McKenzie Ween come from behind victory over Victoria in yet another Officials tie-breaker. Karah Schultz and Sophie Roberts com- bined and then Mead scored Schultz for the win. Scott Andie Collett (HC) Tim Mead (Asst.) pitched the entire game for her 4th win. Sue Tomlinson (Asst.) Natalie Lilburn (Man) Jill Williams (Stats)

Andie Collett U23 Women Head Coach

38 39 HIGH PERFORMANCE HIGH PERFORMANCE Under 16 Girls - Waverley, VIC

We finished equal points with Qld and second only on Under 16 Girls (Waverley, VIC) runs against after the two rounds of play, to eventually finish the Championships as the 3rd place team. We Players were able to beat both Qld and NSW on the first day Neve Adams Georgia Ballard of the tournament, which demonstrated that we were Zoe Benedictson Harper Bridley a team that could win. Georgia Burr Charlize Callaghan We arguably had the best batting side, as two of our Poppy Carmen Taylor Chillingworth players were awarded the Best Batter (Georgia Burr) Ruby De Broughe Emilia Dolphin and Tournament MVP (Neve Adams), Charlize Cal- Ruby Fidge Jorja Hooper laghan and Taylor Chillingworth also batted around SA Under 16 Boys team at the the .450 mark for the tournament. In addition, our Abi Jorgensen Abby Kennedy Under 16 Boys - Waverley, VIC pitching and defence kept the runs against very low Georgia King Raine Menzies recent National Championship and never allowed a home run against. Officials It was evident to all Officials and players how great the skills gap is between SA and the other states. Bill Benedictson (HC) Jacqui Crafter (Asst.) I am very happy that in every aspect the team repre- Amanda Fairley (Asst.) Kelsey Knuckey(Man) sented SA in an excellent manner, both on the field At Association level, clubs appear to be moving play- Under 16 Boys (Waverley, VIC) and off and they carried themselves like champions. Marcie Trzcinski (Stats.) ers around the diamond. Although this does have positives, it decreases the specialist defensive skills re- Players Looking forward to next year, Harper Bridley and quired, particularly against the short game. Riley Binns (Draft) Cameron Bottroff Ruby Fidge will still be eligible as starting pitchers Seth Charter-Smith Isaac Edwards along with four others that will be top age and sev- Although numbers seem to be increasing at U14 age (Draft) Bill Benedictson eral of the development players moving into the 16’s level, more emphasis needs to be put into Associations Jivarhn Hill (Draft) Michael Jaeger age bracket had excellent performances in Perth and U16 Girls Head Coach providing Junior competitions at U16 level and above. should be key players in the 2021 team. Hayden Johns Seth Johns The 2020 U16 Boys squad remained in high spirits Luke Kipensteyn Nicholas Noonan Emilia Dolphin and Abi throughout the Championships, despite being beat- (Draft) en in all ten games. They were commended for their Jorgensen at the 2020 U16 Christain Rothall Laaclan Rudd sportsmanship, respect and never say die attitudes by Kyle Smith Theoden Stirling National Championships officials and spectators outside of SA. The individual improvements in each player on and off the diamond Axel Westren-Schapel was tremendous. Softball SA should be immensely Officials proud of the U16 Boys squad, despite the results. Justin Baker (HC) Mandy Bottroff(Asst.) Amanda Brown (Man) Matt Schapel (Man) On a personal level, the Championships was a huge learning curve, not only about the game of softball Ross Mattingly (Stats.) but about life in general. At times, I was required to be a teacher, big brother, friend and, unfortunately, a disciplinarian. The squad’s enthusiasm and attitude increased my passion for the game. If allowed, I look Justin ‘Chook’ Baker forward to working with this age group and further U16 Boys Head Coach developing their skills and knowledge of the game.

40 41 HIGH PERFORMANCE HIGH PERFORMANCE Under 14 teams Australian Squads

Under 14 Girls Red (Mirrabooka, WA) Under 14 Boys (Hawker, ACT) Open Women Open Men Players Players Maddie Cameron Georgia Hood Jarryd Farrell Harry May Erin Adams-McDonald Ruby Ballard Seb Ahlburg Jaye Carson Jordan Lambert Chelsea Robinson Isabella Benedictson Lily Byfield Tom Galgey Evan Hooper Stephanie Trzcinski Belinda White Charlotte Dobroszczyk Zoe Doudle Harry Hopkins Eddison How U18 Women Chloe Lockwood Ashlyn Mensforth Zayne How James Jorgensen Neve Adams Millie Fidge Caitlin Mensforth Charlie Nash Archie King Thomas King Jessie Keech Karah Schultz Lara Tamke Zoe Thomson Fyn Langford Harry Lovelock Zali Adams (Res) Indigo Beck De Silva (Res) Holly Tolja Will Trevorrow Ajax Westren-Schael Officials Officials Aroha Munroe (NZ) Alex Mackay (HC) McKenzie Ween (Asst.) Mandy Hopkins (HC) Alex Mackay (Asst.) Under 16 Girls Under 16 Boys Jo Liddell (Man) Leanne Sims (Stats.) Hamish Hooper (Asst.) Jody Fisher (Man) Georgia Ballard Georgia Burr Axel Westren-Shapel Catriona King (Stats.) Charlize Callaghan Taylor Chillingworth Under 14 Girls Blue (Mirrabooka, WA) Emilia Dolphin Players Harper Bridley (Res) Jorja Hooper (Res) Isabella Boyd Ava Byas Jaye Carson attending U14 Under 14 Girls Under 14 Boys Saskia Charter-Harris Ruby Jenkin Boys Regional Championships Ruby Ballard Charlotte Dobroszczyk Evan Hooper Harry Hopkins Eliza McNeil Claire Mohan-Ram Hayden Johns Seth Johns Olivia Rigby Issy Simpson Australian Events James Jorgensen Archi King Marli Szulawa Emma Walters Abbey Wehr 2020 Australia Pacific Cup 2020 Summer Slam Officials Maddie Cameron Georgia Hood Pippa Adkins Hayley Bonython Jenny Dunn (HC) Naliah Rigby (Asst.) Jordan Lambert Chelsea Robinson Maddie Cameron Johanna Grauer Jason Saunders (Asst.) Kylie Rigby (Man) Stephanie Trzcinski Belinda White Georgia Hood Lana Kaesler Meredith Goodman Jordan Lambert Taurie Pogue (Stats.) Charlotte Dobroszczyk Chelsea Robinson participating Sophie Roberts Chelsea Robinson at U14 Girls Regionals at Australia Pacific Cup 2020 Sarah Tonkin Stephanie Trzcinski Belinda White Belinda White catching at the 2020 Summer Slam

42 43 COACHING REPORT JACQUI CRAFTER State Coaching Coordinator

2019/20 softball year has seen an excellent take up of coaching courses and accreditations both via face to face training programs (pre-Covid) and also that of the newly developed and released online training of- fered directly through Softball Australia.

Of our face to face training, we utilised the gathering of like minded coaches at the October Long Weekend Tournament hosted by the Hills Association to facili- tate a Softball Batter Up and Level 1 coaching course which was well attended with 15 new coaches from various coaching backgrounds and softball knowledge participating.

Additionally the Seacombe Softball Club hosted the same training program over weeknights which was taken up by local club members and coaches from other Adelaide Competition Clubs. The diversity of age, gender and experience made for excellent learn- ing opportunities for all involved.

Once again, the Dragons development program, lead by Ben Lucas, has provided an excellent opportunity for coaches to share, develop and reinforce their cur- rent coaches’ skills working with players and other coaches from across the Metro and Affiliate regions. Although restricted at times to online review and face- time conversations, the development and expanding of new ways to deliver and receive information outside of the traditional was certainly one of growth.

We thank all of our volunteer coaches who have giv- en up their valuable time to support and facilitate this program.

44 Bill Benedictson coaching in the Fully 45 Loaded Competition for Scootz Vespas Changes in Coaching Levels Performance Coaching Levels (replacing Levels 4-6) Softball SA is currently working with Chet Gray – Development of the new coaching accreditation pro- Training to Win (Level 4) High Performance from Softball Australia to facilitate gram by Softball Australia has been in the planning Training to Win provides the coach with the knowl- a combined Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and stages for a period of time, with the application of edge and skills to manage state teams and programs formal learning program to advance a number of our Justin ‘Chook’ Baker these changes now at hand. and to help state level players develop more advanced state team coaches to gain Training to Win (Level 4). individual softball position-specific and strategic These coaches have initially been identified through attending 2020 U16 The naming convention of the coaching accreditations skills. Focus is on optimising all aspects of preparation their current involvement in state teams and also due Boys National will be changing as follows replacing old Levels 1-3: (physical, mental, technical, tactical, nutritional, re- to already holding the required formal learning qual- Championships Foundation Skills covery) through individualised programs maximising ifications through their professional workplace envi- performance, peaking for national competition, and ronments. There are four courses that make up the Foundation managing people and resources. Level of Coaching: All current coaching information can be found on the Softball Batter Up Coaching Induction is the first step Advanced Performance (Level 5) Softball Australia website - https://www.softball.org. in the coaching pathway. If your new to the sport, Advanced Performance is designed to assist coaches to au/coaching/ or ready to make a move to coaching, this course is develop the competencies necessary to work with state where to start. The course is a great resource for new senior and national junior (U19) level players. Coach- Looking forward into the 2020/21 season, the focus coaches but also parents of players and teachers con- es develop expertise in program, resource and people for the Coaching group will be the continued devel- ducting Softball Batter Up programs through Sporting management; advanced skill development and analy- opment of our new and developing coaches by way of Schools. sis, positional play and game strategies, basic anatomy accredited, non-accredited and soon to be released, biomechanics and physiology, and advanced planning Mentor program. A key pathway to grow and share The Softball Fundamental Skills course is ideal for and training methods. the knowledge of these programs is through the de- someone who wants to learn more about specific soft- velopment of a Coaching Committee, to which we are ball skills. The course helps to develop greater under- Training to Win and Advanced Performance pro- pleased to have initiated with Michele Bonnar set to standing of core skills that coaches need to understand grams are divided into 2 specific areas of learning be- take a lead role in the Mentor program space. in order to teach players the basics at club or school ing Team Coach and Battery Coach at their respective level. levels. We look forward to growing knowledge of this com- mittee and look forward to working with all in the SA Softball Training and Practice introduces how to run High Performance (Level 6) Softball community into the future. practice sessions to maximise the development of High Performance is designed to assist coaches to players. This is still in development and will be re- develop the competencies necessary to work with na- Thank you for your positivity and support leased soon. tional senior team level players in international com- petition. Coaches complete a tertiary graduate Degree Softball Managing Games covers everything you need or Diploma of elite sports coaching through either one to understand about coaching a softball team on game year full-time (or the equivalent part-time) study with days. It covers how to prepare for games, game strat- the University of Queensland. egies and how to observe players during a game and feed learnings into practice plans for player develop- The Level 6 program is designed to assist coaches to ment. augment their proven elite coaching abilities. The pro- gram prepares coaches with the most advanced train- ing and planning methods; tactics and sport science are applied specifically to softball coaching. The pro- gram aims to produce coaches who are successful at coaching the highest level of softball and who will be competent to act as leaders in the field of high perfor- mance coaching. Amanda Fairley attending 2020 U16 Grils National Championships

46 47 Level 2 A new softball format was delivered this year – with As is the norm for softball, we suffered some pretty tor- Kaylene Anagba Toula Connolly Fully Loaded. Now that was a challenge to score…. rid conditions and a number of very complex games in SCORING and with a few revisions to the scoresheet – we think the journey for accreditation – but I am confident that Sandra Drummond Melissa Mellen we nailed it! Thanks to the team who worked so hard, the many opportunities for games is resulting in high- Jodie Smith with some scorers willingly moving to the benches to er quality scorers joining the ranks. assist the teams – when it became very obvious that As is standard, a number of scorers lapsed their scor- REPORT you needed to have someone monitoring the play- I am hopeful that within a season or two, South Aus- ing accreditation within the accreditation program in er movements! Special thanks to Jill Williams, Julee tralia will further develop the competency to support 2019/2020. Those wishing to regain validity to their Preiss, Marcie Trzcinski, Meredith Goodman and Kay SSA’s applications to host tournaments. last held level need to work through the Scoring Co-or- LINDY RATTIGAN Bendall who assisted delivering the goods. dinator to progress their updating requirements. All State Scoring Coordinator Congratulations to our new and upgraded scorers: scorers are required to demonstrate ongoing compe- Accreditation Summary tency of their level, in addition to undertaking a rules South Australia currently has 102 accredited Scorers. Level 1 examination. (Statisticians who have not updated are Whilst a number of new scorers were accredited – we recorded as expired at their last level held and do not Chanetell Alomes Lesley Andriessen lost the same number expiring. It is concerning that appear in the statistics provided. There is a 12 month Following on from a mammoth 2018-2019, this year Nicole Binder Paul Brooking was a much slower pace – and the impact of the end of 53 are due to expire by the end of next season. Sea- amnesty period from expiry date for updating to be Darren Childs Danielle Childs the season being taken away – removed the opportu- son 2020/2021 will see an intensive updating phase undertaken prior to losing their accreditation level nity for a number of planned assessments and updat- undertaken in an endeavour to ensure we don’t lose Sandra Drummond Robyn Fromene fully.) ing opportunities. too many of our scorers. Updating books are available Rachael Harvey Sophie Hull online at the Softball Australia website, or hard copies It is important that, in particular, regional affiliates en- Deborah Jones Kelsey Knuckey through the office or State Coordinator. deavour to identify a “scoring” champion - someone We continued to see new scorers become accredited, Amada Layden Sarah McMillan and that momentum needs to continue, with the new who knows about scoring; is accredited themselves; allocations for Australian National Championships. It Whilst increasing, the low numbers of Level 4+ com- Kylie Rigby Naliah Rigby and is interested in promoting and facilitating the is pleasing to see so many scorers who have under- petency still remains a financial risk to Softball SA, Pamela Rosser Khala Sainsbury scoring program within their own regions. Where a taken accreditation putting their new found skills to and jeopardises our ability to be self-sufficient at Soft- Suzie Tok suitable candidate is located in regions, it may be pos- use – and supporting their clubs in providing a full ball Australia National events - and will continue to sible to accredit them to lecture the Level 1 scoring complement of officials at games. require limited resources to be appointed from other programs, and to assist in encourage affiliates to work states at a significant cost to Softball SA. with SSA to ensure that your scoring resources remain Sue Norris scoring during the 2020 Following on from the televised games being scored current. to provide a range of statistics across every A grade Three Level 1 courses, and two Level 2 courses were Adelaide Competition season game, a number of our higher accredited scorers took conducted during the year – noting two further cours- the opportunity to further refine their skills, whilst be- es did not progress with nil enrolments. Thanks to coming a key component of this important role. We CDSA who facilitated a Level 1 and Level 2 – seeing also saw a few new faces “sit-in” on games to enable 13 new Level 1’s join their ranks; and 6 work towards feedback in realtime. A particularly special thanks their Level 2. Feedback noted the big step in skills to Julee Preiss, Jill Williams, and Meredith Goodman from Level 1 to Level 2 – and this is an area that the who made themselves available every week, and sup- mentoring of the more seniors on game day would ported by Marcie Trzcinski and to Leanne Sims when benefit. time allowed. Thanks to the “Stats Team” - your will- ing assistance was most appreciated – and this pro- Overall - We welcomed 24 new Level 1 scorers; 5 up- vided an outstanding opportunity to advancement of graded to Level 2; with a further 5 still needing to skills. An open invitation continues to be extended to complete L2 practical submission). join some of our seniors at the desk for some practical assistance, on non-televised games – just let us know in advance so we can make sure we have room and a willing mentor.

48 49 Recognition We had a smaller number of umpires gain their Level And finally, recognition and congratulations to the 1 this year. This was in part due to the lack of partici- appointed scorers and statisticians for 2019 – this UMPIRING pants from our Adelaide Clubs who need to do more year saw applications across all teams, and pleasing- to work with us to promote umpiring at a club level. ly, from mainly accredited scorers. I thank Softball SA Of the 7 Level 1s, only one of these came from our for support in the appointment of Accredited Scorers/ Adelaide competition. Statisticians to each State Team. It is important that REPORT State Team scorers are seen as ambassadors working A second significant factor was the change of timing actively in the development of the scoring fraternity for the SAPSASA tournament. The decision to move it and the strategic direction of SA, to increase our num- STEVE WALLACE-YARROW State Umpire in Chief from April to November was made by the Education bers. The benefits of experienced scorers/statisticians Department pre-COVID, which probably worked out to a coaching team cannot be underestimated. quite well. Unfortunately, the SACE/ SAPSASA ar- rangement that we had last year which brought anoth- National Appointments The 2019-20 season provided quite a mixed bag. There er 9 Level 1s into our fold, was not able to be held. We • Jill Williams – Official Statistician – Australian U16’s were some highs and lows for us as an umpiring com- have already begun the process of working with School Girls & Boys Tournament, Waverley munity and it will be a season that will long live in Sports to hold this Level 1 development program in Clinics Held Attendees Advanced/New level our memories as the season that COVID arrived. The late September ready for SAPSASA in November. x3 Level 1 16+ 14 + 4 23 State Team Scoring Appointments down side in terms of our season meant that we didn’t • Sue Norris – Open Women x2 level 2 6 + 4 7 get to complete our finals series nor recognize and cel- • Lindy Rattigan – Open Men When COVID restrictions came into effect we had be- ebrate our achievements at the Awards Night. I would gun a program with Seaton High to piggy back their • Jill Williams – SA U18 Women like to make note of some of these. Current Accredited Scorers in SA • Marcie Trzcinski – SA U16 Women Softball Development initiatives. We had done the Level 1 71 • Jill Williams – SA U23 Women Greenshirt training with 9 students that we had hoped Firstly, what a great honour that Damien McCau- to get through to Level 1 but this was cut short. The Level 2 20 • Rose Mattingly – U16 Boys ley was selected to officiate at the Open Men’s World good part is that we have negotiated to continue this Level 3 8 • Meredith Goodman – U14 Development Championship held in Praque in 2019. We are enor- • Leanne Sims – U14 Development work into the SAPSASA week so I should be able to Level 4 3 mously proud of this recognition of his skills and ex- report on this next year. perience. I would also like to acknowledge Mike Ben- Total 102 Scorers seeking to find pathway directions should dall gaining his Level 5 last January. He has put in a I want to thank our Affiliates for their support in de- contact the State Scoring Co-ordinator, Lindy Ratti- great deal to achieve this goal and is already looking Promotion and Resources veloping umpires in their regions and ask that they gan ([email protected] or phone after hours: forward to further advance within the National Pro- Scoring Manuals are available electronically - these are continue this good work with our support. I also en- 0412 255 189) to assist in determining a local develop- gram. On a personal level, I would like to say what a a great resource to assist the scoring fraternity – from courage our Adelaide Clubs to take up the challenge ment plan. great privilege it was to again umpire at the Australian grassroots to experienced. In addition, there has been set last year. Our clubs well know how many players Pacific Cup and the Summer Slam. some progression to the use of online learning (partic- reach elite level compared to the number that begin ular within the current COVID environment). How- their careers in the junior ranks. Umpiring is the same September 2019 saw three of our umpires answer a call ever, as noted, all resources remain under review by and if we wish to have quality umpiring for our elite from Softball NT to assist at their State Champs held the National Scoring Committee, including the much players, we need to support getting a large number of in Alice Springs. A few umpires from Victoria also at- awaited Level 4 and module development. entries into the program. tended and the event was a lot of fun. In October, we started the season with the Australian Masters which As season 2020/2021 draws closer, South Australia will was a terrific event well managed by Neville Lawrance. look to trial some online accreditation, and updating There was a clash with the October Long Weekend sessions. A further initiative will see a Scoring Panel tournament scheduled for the same time which saw established with the key task of assisting in increasing the latter adopted by the Hills Association. Both of the and retaining numbers across the State. State championships went smoothly with the Juniors heading to Gawler for the first time in many years. Rose Mattingly Once again, many thanks to all the volunteers and of- ficials for making these events work. attending 2020 U16 Boys National Championships

50 51 On a somber note, we were deeply saddened by the Softball SA Award Recipients tragic passing of one of our most promising junior um- Marg Abbott Rookie Jordan Taylor pires. This was deeply felt within the umpiring com- munity and provided a reminder about perspective Lyle Tyler UIC Michael Bendall and priorities. The care and support that was shown McAuliffe - ACC Damien McCauley throughout our softball community at this time was SSA Umpire of the year Deb Hopgood outstanding and highlighted for me one of the reasons that I enjoy being involved. Level Advancements Level 1 6 Softball SA Umpiring Committee Level 2 2 Umpire in Chief (UIC) Steve Wallace-Yarrow Level 3 1 Deputy UIC Mike Bendall Level 5 1 Secretary Ian Gray Looking forward: Treasurer Karen Wood We are continuing with our successful Green Shirt Examining Steve Wallace-Yarrow program. There will be sessions offered at West Beach Rosters & ACC Rep Mike Bendall and once again we will be available to attend affiliates. Training Kevin Tannebring We will be running specific Level 2 training and also providing Level 3/4 training. Our goal is to have at Clinics Conducted least 3 representatives at the U14 Nationals in the Type Date Attendees 2021-22 season. Level 1/Greenshirt Sept ‘19 15 Steve Wallace-Yarrow attending 2020 Level 1 (Hills) Nov-Dec ‘19 30 U18 Women National Championships APY Lands 8 trips 10 Level 2 Sept-Oct ‘19 5 Level 1 (GDSA) Feb-Mar ‘20 15 CDSA Dec ‘19 5 Damien McCauley attending the We would like to once again work closely with our Se- Open Mens World Cup Greenshirt Seaton HS April ‘20 9 nior Coaches to ensure that we can provide a service that is to the benefit of our game. International Appointments Our challenge is for Clubs and Affiliates, with our sup- Damien McCauley Open Men’s World Champs We will once again work with School Sports to ensure port, to develop their role in Umpire Development. As Steve Wallace-Yarrow Asia Pacific Cup that another successful SACE- SAPSASA partnership an umpire group we continue to be committed to our is in place. game and want to work with all sectors of our sport for We look to further develop our links with Seaton High its continued growth. National Appointments and their player development program Mike Bendal U16 Boy/Girl We will work within our umpire ranks to hold some I would like to thank all umpires for their outstanding Ian Gray U18 Women training sessions to ensure consistency of knowledge work, their good humour and their flexibility. This was Neville Lawrance U16 Boy/Girl and procedures. highlighted once again at the State Junior Champion- U18 Men/Women ships in February – you are all a pleasure to work with. Challenges: Damien McCauley Open Men Once again, I have continued to appreciate the support • Personnel to deliver training and services to our extended to me by the committee and look forward to Kevin Tannebring U14 Boy/Girl Clubs and Affiliates. the returning to the diamonds in the coming months. Steve Wallace-Yarrow Open Women • Training for our umpires to develop their skills re- U18 Men/Women gardless of whether they want to progress within As we continue to put our people first, I urge you all to Summer Slam the National Program keep well and safe. Fully Loaded Softball

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