Softball Victoria Annual Report 2018 vic.softball.org.au Contents President’s Report.............................................................................................................. 01 CEO’s Report........................................................................................................................ 03 High Performance.............................................................................................................. 05 Scoring.................................................................................................................................... 08 Umpiring................................................................................................................................. 10 Championships.................................................................................................................... 13 Memorials............................................................................................................................. 15 2018 Life Members....................................................................................................................... 17 Hall of Fame......................................................................................................................... 18 Board....................................................................................................................................... 19 Awards................................................................................................................................... 20 Financial Statements........................................................................................................ 22 Association Reports......................................................................................................... 33 Past Presidents.................................................................................................................... 53 President’s Report I am honoured to be have been appointed President of Softball Victoria in April this year. I understand that I’m a new face to most of you in the softball community, so I thought it prudent to provide you with a snapshot of my softball connections. I grew up in Sale where I loved playing and coaching softball. Some of my fondest memories were traveling to State Championships with my teammates. University studies brought me to Melbourne where I continued to play and coach softball. There was a hiatus when I started working full time, but I came back to softball when I started playing socially at Fawkner Park with Melbourne Softball Association’s slow pitch competition. I stopped playing again when I had my daughter. But once again I was drawn back to a sport that I love when I played in my first Softball Victoria Masters Championships this year hosted by Werribee Softball Association, and am now looking forward to a summer back on the diamond playing regularly. Now, down to business! With the end of the 2017-18 financial year comes the completion of the Softball Victoria Strategic Plan for the past 4 years. There has been an great amount achieved in softball in Victoria over the period, one of the most important being a growth of over 10% in membership. A key factor in this growth has been an increase in one-off event memberships including record participation at the Softball Victoria Masters Championships and the Memorial Shield. It is vital that as a sport we capitalise on the desire of Australians to consume their sport in different, more flexible ways – including short-term, often once-off engagements. The Softball Victoria Board, along with CEO Nick Frayne, have already started theprocess of developing a new, bold Strategic Plan that will take Victorian softball in to the future, and through the dedicated engagement with our customers and members we will look to release this document in the latter stages of 2018. 01 The time to implement change is now and the Softball Victoria Board is committed to instilling change in the sport to take us in to the future. We need to embrace this change and apply it to our everyday decision making at all levels. I would like to thank Softball Victoria staff, operational committee members and volunteers for their hard work and commitment over the past 12 months to achieve operational objectives and continue to drive softball in Victoria forward. The passion that you display and commitment to the cause is to be commended and we will continue to embrace that passion. Under the leadership of CEO Nick Frayne, we are pleased to have consistency in our operational approach that will no doubt have an impact on the achievement of key outcomes of the new Strategic Plan. We have a highly skilled Board with new leadership, joining me is our Chair Ruth Caldwell, that is committed to building on the legacy of previous generations, and whilst it is vital that we respect the past of our wonderful sport; it is equally important to embrace the changes we need to make to ensure softball is relevant in Victoria in the future. My role as President came about following the resignation of one of the most influential figures in Victorian Softball – Jenny Holliday. I would like to personally thank Jenny for her dedication and commitment to softball, and of course for her wise counsel. Jenny’s impact on softball is profound, and many of the initiatives implemented by Jenny and the Board will continue to strengthen Victorian softball for many years to come. Former Softball Australia CEO Sue Noble also recently resigned, and thanks must go to Sue orf her many years of volunteering on the Softball Victoria Board. We will miss Jenny and Sue’s extensive knowledge of the softball landscape; however we know that we can call on them when required as passionate softball people. Finally, I would like to thank our members for supporting our great game and the direction that we are taking it. I am looking forward to being on this journey with you all. Bron Madigan 02 02 CEO’s Report In many ways, 2017-18 has been a transition year for Softball Victoria. I was appointed in the role of CEO in April 2017 and throughout the first 12 months of my tenure there has been significant change at Board level, and whilst it is with a hint of sadness to lose the skill, experience and profound influence of Jenny Holliday, Sue Noble and others, it has ensured that a new, vibrant Board has been instilled to lead our sport into the future. The Strategic Plan for the past four years now comes to a close with some significant achievements to not only celebrate, but build upon as we work to set a new, bold strategic plan for 2018 to 2022. Since 2014 there has been a growth in membership of over 10%, bucking the trend of softball across Australia and clearly outlining the continued desire and interest of Victorians to participate in softball at various levels. The Victorian Titans continued their promising development under the leadership of Head Coach Mark Rigg, securing a place in the finals of the National Championships in over a decade, and while this is a terrific achievement I know Mark and his team are dedicated to improving that position again next year. Our Victorian Open Men’s team also had some positive results and will be looking to build on these performances in 2018-19 with a strong culture driven by Head Coach Nigel Aiken and his team of experienced staff. 03 From an organisational perspective I have already seen improvements in our State team program through a dedicated strategy, led by Athlete and Coach Performance Manager Simon Blundell, to improve what was an already strong culture within the State program to new, elite levels and the feedback from our athletes has been very positive. The continued growth of the Softball Victoria Development Program has been extremely positive and our many thanks must go to Belinda Ainslie and Tony Black who have driven this program, their passion and selflessness to volunteer time for Victorian softball is an outstanding example of the fantastic people that Victorian softball have involved. The continued support of Sport and Recreation Victoria is vital to the future growth of Victorian softball and it is important that as a sport we continue to build on this support through delivering sustainable programs and projects for the betterment of softball. I would also like to acknowledge the support received omfr VicHealth, the Australian Sports Commission and School Sport Victoria that is vital to our growth. Finally I would like to thank our Member Associations and the hundreds of volunteers that dedicate their lives to the growth of softball in Victoria. Without your commitment we would not be in a position to now launch positively into the future via a new and exciting Strategic Plan and it is a credit to the vast history of softball in Victoria that our sport continues to thrive. I will leave you with a quote from ‘The future of Australian sport’ report conducted by the Australian Sports Commission that provides us with some food for thought as we move forward: “Some sports may experience a decline (in future) in audience numbers and participation rates unless they connect to wider audiences. This may require a rethink of the products offered, marketing strategies and/or the structure and format of the game to better meet the consumers’ needs.” We need to embrace change and champion the cause, speak strongly and proudly about softball to everyone that will listen! Nick Frayne 04 High Performance Report The Victorian teams had a consistent set of results