At the 2024 BSF AGM, held as a remote meeting on the afternoon of Saturday 24 February, annual BSF Awards were announced for seven recipients, eight new members were inducted into the BSF Hall of Fame, and the BSF presented its second-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
Below are the award winners and a summary of why the awards were given.
Annual Awards
Glover Cup – Keith Jamson
Keith has been a fixture in British softball for decades as a brilliant organiser and a friend to everyone, leading teams from Thames Valley and Richings Park and uniting players at international tournaments. Although rarely in the national spotlight, he has been a tremendous servant to the game in many capacities for a very long time.
League Glover Cup – Bristol Softball Association
Bristol has won a very overdue League Glover Cup for continued excellence and innovation. The league began in 1989, one of the first leagues in the country outside London, and now, with three divisions of eight teams playing on different nights, accommodates beginners to experienced players. The Bristol League has had many players in GB squads over the years, and these players will often coach newer players to help them improve quickly. Bristol has also provided many umpires for national and international play and prides itself on its umpire training programme, which includes mentoring for new umpires. The league runs four tournaments a year, which are so popular they sell out within hours of entry being opened. In addition to all that, the Bristol Indoor League is now in its 27th year of play.
President’s Club Award – The Mob
This award is for really quick and steady progress on the part of a team. The Mob was promoted from NSL3 in 2018, fought like crazy to stay in NSL2 in 2019 (which they did by the skin of their teeth), played its first-ever NSL2 Nationals in 2021, came third in both Nationals and NSL league play in 2022, and in 2023 won all three NSL weekends, won the league, won the NSL2 Nationals (going undefeated with only one draw), won Majors Division 2 in the London Softball League, and has been promoted to NSL1. That journey deserves the President’s Club Award.
Tournament of the Year – The Codebreakers Cup
The Milton Keynes Codebreakers Cup, in its fourth year, stepped up its game once again in 2023. It sold out in less than three minutes, and the 16 lucky teams that took part were treated to a day of ‘40s themed delights based around the nearby Bletchley Park Codebreakers site, from an informative and imaginative 'Sergeant Majors' Manual' (aka the Captains' Pack!) to codebreaking quizzes, World War II-themed trophies, delicious catering, merchandise, and the now much-anticipated 'flight competition' (instead of a coin toss to decide home team), plus retro fancy dress and music. Players could access BSUK Slowpitch Academy sessions in their breaks, and the final was streamed for the first time on BSUK TV. An innovative tournament keeps getting better, and credit should go to Hedley Bevan, who led the team of volunteers that deliver this tournament, which is sure to sell out again in 2024.
Youth Team of the Year – MK Dinky Diamonds
This award goes to a slightly unusual team this year. The Dinky Diamonds, launched in the summer of 2023, is a group of 4-7-year-olds that has grown from the children of Milton Keynes softball parents to now include new little Dinkys from the surrounding community. Sessions took place monthly through last summer -- featuring over-the-fence home runs (courtesy of a ball tied to a stick), learning to slide on a slip and slide, and the very popular throwing water bombs at the coaches (thankfully during the heat wave!) -- and proved so popular they have carried on monthly through the winter in the local Community Centre. British softball’s youngest ever team deserves this year’s Youth Team award.
Young Fastpitch Player of the Year – Edan Lord
Edan Lord only started playing fastpitch in 2021 at the age of 16, but showed great ability and enthusiasm for the sport from the start. After taking part in trials in March 2022, he was selected to be part of the GB Under-23 squad for the 2022 European Championship, where he more than held his own. In 2023, he was a top player for the GB Under-18 Men at their European Championship as he continues his progress through the GB programme.
Betsy Holden Award – Megan Longman
Megan took up softball as a new sport in 2017 and did several tours with the GB Under-13 programme before continuing her journey in the U-15s. She attended Academies and joined the GBFL as soon as she was able, and continues to attend both. Two years ago, Megan began helping a teacher at her school with their lunchtime softball club and continued to help whilst she sat her GCSEs. Last year, as she went into Year 12, Megan took over the running of the lunchtime softball club, helping the girls develop their softball skills. When she talks about this club and how she is able to help others, she speaks from the heart and you can clearly see that she loves what she does. At Academies, she looks out for the younger athletes and helps them when they need it. All in all, a great ambassador for the sport.
Lifetime Achievement Award – Mike Jennings
It would take a huge amount of space to detail all the things that Mike Jennings has done for British, European, and world softball as an umpire, umpire trainer, Umpire-in-Chief, Financial Officer, Administrator in various roles for various organisations, Tournament Controller, Competitions and Technical Director, and a particular advocate for slowpitch softball at a world level as a member of the WBSC’s Slowpitch Working Group and the 2018-21 Rules Revision team, including editing that first-ever separate WBSC Slowpitch Rulebook.
A full list of Mike’s history and achievements in softball can be found here:
Hall of Fame Inductees
Below are brief summaries of why these awards were made; more details can be found on the BSF website here. https://www.britishsoftball.org/resources/hall/2024.
PLAYERS
Georgina Corrick
From the time that Georgina joined the GB Women’s programme as a teenager, she has taken the programme to new heights. In 2016, her pitching was the main factor as the GB Under-19s won Britain’s first-ever European fastpitch gold medal, with Georgina beating Italy 1-0 in the final, and she has since led the Senior Women’s Team to medals in three European Championships, to the final of the Olympic Qualifier for Tokyo, and pitched memorable shutout wins over Australia and Chinese Taipei at the WBSC Women’s World Cup Group Stage tournament in Dublin in 2023 as well as a perfect no-hitter against Ireland. Georgina’s maturity, intelligence, and leadership have also been key contributors to the programme’s success. Although we hope Georgina will help us to get even further on our Olympic quest, she has done more than enough already to qualify for the Hall of Fame.
Richard Haldane
Richard Haldane has been a part of the GB men’s fastpitch programme since 2001 when he announced his arrival by leading GB to its first European medal. Richard was a world class fastpitch player who competed at the top level for many years, playing for the best club teams in North America, and was a constant force as both a pitcher and hitter. Without his presence, the GB Men’s Team would not have achieved the eighth place they attained at one point in the ISF world rankings. At the 2008 Europeans in Copenhagen, Richard received the award for Best Pitcher in the Tournament and the trophy as Tournament MVP. He also helped organise GB tours, uniforms, and equipment for the team over many years, making the life of the Team Manager a whole lot easier.
Chiya Louie
Chiya Louie has been probably the leading female player in British softball since she first came to this country, both in NSL play, as a mainstay of several European Champion GB Slowpitch Teams, and as an impact player over half a dozen years with the GB Women’s Fastpitch Team. As a power hitter and a very talented third base player in both formats, and a player with great softball intelligence, Chiya has more than earned her place in the Hall.
Steph Pearce
Steph Pearce is one of the very few homegrown British female fastpitch players to start out in a local schools programme and club in West London, work her way up through the GB age-group national teams, follow her softball dreams to a successful four years in US college softball, and gain a starting place as a catcher and outfielder on a number of GB Senior Women’s Teams at European and World Championships. On the way, Steph won the Best Batter award at the 2008 European Under-19 Women’s Championship and a number of honours while playing at the University of Bridgeport in the NCAA Division II East Coast Conference in the United States. To make sure that she could continue to play at a high level after college, she moved to the Netherlands to play in the Dutch League. Steph showed a huge amount of dedication and willpower over many years to make herself into an impact player at international level, and she is currently the only fastpitch player in the Hall of Fame who is purely British in origin, with no connections to any other country.
COACH
John Lehmann
John Lehmann was a player in the first-ever GB Slowpitch Team – and though he didn’t play for GB after that, he never left the programme! Although he was rarely listed as anything official, John was a constant from 2000-2022 as kit man, scorer, base coach, batting coach, and scout, and provided a huge amount of support to a succession of GB Slowpitch Head Coaches. John threw himself into any role where he could be helpful: he was always the first to GB training days, always coming up with new ways to help individuals and the team as a whole. He gave of his time, money, and experience generously, and he fulfilled this same catch-all role for Chromies both in the NSL and at the many European events they competed in. After John sadly died in 2022, a huge collection of softball and GB memorabilia was left behind in his storage unit. Unsung hero doesn't begin to encapsulate everything John meant to the individual players who improved exponentially on the back of his time and coaching skills, and to the GB programme as whole. The continued success of both the Chromies and GB Slowpitch teams over the years were due in no small part to John's generous assistance.
TEAM MANAGER
Steve Fullan
Steve Fullan played for the GB Men’s Team from 2003-2012 and was Team Manager from 2008-2015, after which he continued to give advice to Team Managers and still assists the GB Men when he can. Assembling a British men’s team in those days was not an easy job: it required relentless hours communicating and networking with players and staff and making sure that foreign-based British players had their travel arrangements organised and all the information they needed. Steve was also heavily involved with Meteors Softball Club, which was used to help develop the GB Men’s programme over many years through entering tournaments across Europe and providing home-based players with access to higher levels of softball. Steve’s heart has always been in the development of local talent and the success of the Great Britain Men’s Fastpitch programme, and he is a worthy addition to the Hall of Fame.
UMPIRE
Pete Saunders
Pete Saunders has been an exemplary umpire for many years, with a great rapport with players, and he has provided mentoring and training for new and experienced umpires in the UK and across Europe. He started umpiring in Bristol in 1997, qualified at national level in 1998, and was BASU Secretary from 2015-2020, BASU Training Officer from 2021-2022, and Technical Officer on the BSF Executive since 2021. Pete qualified as a European umpire in 2006, officiating at European Co-ed Slowpitch Championships and Cups, and qualified as a WBSC umpire in 2013, calling at four ISF Co-ed Slowpitch World Cups in Plant City, Florida. Altogether, Pete has officiated at 19 international tournaments in eight different countries, including the Canadian Men’s Championship in 2015, and after he called his last WBSC Europe game during the European Co-ed Slowpitch Super Cup in 2021 in Sofia, Bulgaria, he became the lead Umpire-in-Chief for slowpitch in Europe in 2022. During the Covid break, Pete led the team that converted the BASU qualification course to the online course that has become so popular with the softball community.
ADMINISTRATOR/ORGANISER
Alan Le Marquand
Alan le Marquand has served the Windsor & Maidenhead Softball League with great enthusiasm and expertise for 15 years as the league’s Results and Fixtures Officer. He is the backbone behind the summer outdoor league, often the first point of contact for any query within the league, and a voice of reason throughout the year. He is integral to every Windsor & Maidenhead tournament including the Windsor Invitational Tournament, the Windsor First and Last Balls, and the indoor series and indoor league. Alan also manages Maidenhead Softball Club, which currently has three adult teams plus a thriving youth programme, and runs a series of single-sex tournaments (Chicks with Sticks and Let the Boys Play) which have three outdoor events in summer and two indoor days of play in winter. In addition, he runs Not Jingle Balls, a winter indoor tournament raising money for charity. Alan is also an Assistant Coach for the GB Under-18 Men’s Fastpitch Team and assists with Academy Softball. Very few people have made such a consistent contribution as a softball organiser over so many years.