Vivienne Triplett's Involvement in the Sport of Softball Was Lifelong – 46

Vivienne Triplett’s involvement in the sport of softball was lifelong – 46 years – and she maintained her interest until the end. It is a testament to her love of and commitment to the sport. Vivienne came to softball later than most, having first played baseball. She started playing softball in 1964 for the Wingers Club in the Melbourne competition based at Fawkner Park, South Yarra. The Wingers coach at the time was to become the first Australian Softball Federation Chief Umpire, Marj Dwyer. Marj insisted that her players understood the rules of the game and everyone in her team was expected to umpire and attain, at the very least, a State umpire qualification. Vivienne gained her Victorian Badge in 1966 and her All Australian badge in Sydney in 1968. In those days there was only one annual National Championship – the Open Women – and Vivienne umpired at every Championship from 1968 until 1984, including appointments to 11 consecutive Australian Championship Grand finals – 9 of those as the plate, or main, umpire. When the Under 16 and Under 19 Australian Girls Championships were introduced, Vivienne participated as an umpire or in the management role of Tournament Chief Umpire. Vivienne’s international umpiring career included her first Women’s World Championship in Connecticut, USA in 1974. At that time Australia’s umpiring program was not as it is today and the umpiring methods were vastly different than those used at World Championships. Her performance at this world event was extraordinary in that for her to comply with the international umpiring standards of the time she had to study a borrowed umpiring manual prior to each game assignment to know what was required. A significant achievement given the intensity of the competition. Further Women’s World Championships followed where she was better prepared: San Salvador in 1978 and Taiwan in 1982 and the first Junior World Championships – combined U19 Boys and U19 Girls – in Edmonton, Canada, in 1981. Other international experiences were Australia / New Zealand test Series in 1973, 1975 and 1977, Australia /Canada Test Series in 1974 and 1976, the inaugural South Pacific Classic and the Mini World Series in 1980. In an era where Australia only participated in international events in the lead up to the World Championship held every four years, Vivienne umpired more than 100 international games during her career. Vivienne also held many administrative positions within softball at various times – Secretary of the Victorian Softball Umpires Association and Secretary of the Australian Softball Umpires Association, President of the Victorian Softball Association, two terms as Australian Softball Federation Vice President and, for 10 years, Deputy Chief Umpire of the Australian Softball Federation, resigning from these latter two positions in early 1985 to take up a Kodak assignment overseas. Whilst the career move to the US officially ended her umpiring and administrative involvement in softball in Australia for a number of years, Vivienne’s association with the Australian Umpire Program resumed on an ad hoc basis on her return to Australia. She facilitated the annual National Umpiring meeting for many years and played a large part in the success of the four International Umpire Development Seminars between 1990 and 2002. She strongly believed that umpires representing Australia should be better prepared for world tournaments than she was herself. In recognition of her contribution to softball in general, and umpiring in particular, Vivienne received many national and international honours; she was elected to the Victorian and Australian Softball Hall of Fame and is a Life member of the Victorian Softball Association. In 1993 she was elected to the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame, the first Australian umpire to be so honoured, and in 1995, the Vivienne Triplett Award for excellence in umpiring was introduced by Softball Australia in recognition of Vivienne’s outstanding contribution to umpiring. Softball in Australia and the Australian Softball Umpire program owes much to Vivienne and her remarkable leadership skills. STATEMENT OF ACHIEVEMENTS: National Tournaments Umpire: 1968 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield - Sydney 1969 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield - Adelaide 1970 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Perth 1971 – U16 Girls Esther Deason Shield - Melbourne 1971 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Hobart 1972 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Canberra 1973 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Brisbane 1974 – U16 Girls Esther Deason Shield – Perth 1974 – U19 Women Elinor McKenzie Shield – Melbourne 1974 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Melbourne 1975 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Sydney 1976 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Adelaide 1977 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Perth 1978 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Hobart 1979 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Canberra 1980 – U19 Women Elinor McKenzie Shield – Hobart 1980 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Brisbane 1981 – U19 Women Elinor McKenzie Shield – Canberra 1981 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield – Melbourne 1982 – U16 Girls Esther Deason Shield – Hobart 1982 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield - Sydney 1983 – U16 Girls Esther Deason Shield - Canberra 1983 – Open Women Gilley’s Shield - Adelaide 1984 – Open Women Gilley’ Shield - Perth International Tournaments: Umpire: 1973 – New Zealand v Australia Test Series, Australia 1974 – Canada v Australia Test Series, Australia 1974 – III Women’s Softball World Championship – Connecticut, USA 1975 – New Zealand v Australia Test Series, New Zealand 1976 – Canada v Australia Test Series, Adelaide, Australia 1977 – New Zealand v Australia Test Series, Perth, Australia 1980 – Mini World Series, Brisbane 1978 – IV Women’s Softball World Championship – San Salvador, El Salvador 1981 – I Junior Softball World Championship – Edmonton, Canada 1982 – V Women’s Softball World Championship – Taiwan, Taipei 1985 – South Pacific Classic, Melbourne Other notable achievements: 1993 – Inducted in to the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame 1998 – Inducted in to the Softball Australia Hall of Fame .

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