The BSF Executive held a conference call meeting on the evening of Thursday, 11 July. Below are highlights of discussions and decisions.
Attendance
Present: Stella Ackrell (President), Vicky Hall (Administrator), Mike Jennings (Treasurer), Liz Graham (Tournaments Officer), Beth Perkins (National Teams Officer), Mark Wigington (Marketing & Communications Officer), Chris Moon (BASU Representative), Mark Munnery (General Officer).
Apologies: Fiona Thorley (Tournaments Officer), Claire Waldron (Youth & Schools Officer), Bob Fromer (BSUK).
Guest: Will Lintern (BSUK).
Governance issues
The draft of a proposed new Memorandum & Articles for BSUK has been completed and was circulated to members of the Executive for questions and comments.
BSF Treasurer Mike Jennings will solicit the views of the BBF and will meet with BSF President Stella Ackrell and Marketing & Communications Officer Mark Wigington, who sits on the BSUK Development Subcommittee, for a more detailed review before the next BSUK Board meeting on 22 July.
Welfare Officer
The post of Welfare Officer on the BSF Executive has been vacant since the AGM, and BSF President Stella Ackrell has now proposed the appointment of Jess Casey to the post.
Jess Casey is a community youth worker and softball player in Oxford. Jess and BSUK Welfare Officer Jenny Fromer have discussed the requirements of the role and Jenny is drafting a job description which will be circulated for comments to the Executive. The meeting approved the appointment.
The Welfare Officer will not be a full Executive member and Director of BSF Ltd, but will provide advice to the BSF and liaise with BSUK on any child protection matters.
Stella Ackrell has asked Jess to review the welfare documents currently on the BSF website, and Administrator Vicky Hall and National Teams Officer Beth Perkins will meet Jess to discuss youth work and Under-18 welfare procedures.
Parent Permission Forms for Under-18s
Current documentation states that all club and league Parent Permission Forms for young people under the age of 18 to play adult softball should be copied to BSUK. Jenny Fromer has confirmed this as best practise so that forms are available to Jenny in her role as BSUK Welfare Officer should any child protection matter arise.
The Executive agreed to this as a matter of best practice, but would like individuals completing the forms to be aware that they will be copied to BSUK. The Parent Permission Form on the BSUK website makes this clear, but some leagues have their own forms and so a statement or permission clause may need to be added.
Vicky Hall will liaise with the BSF's new Welfare Officer, Jess Casey, to contact League Heads and independent teams about this matter.
Nationals Working Group
The Nationals Working Group that was proposed at the BSF AGM in February to look at issues such as qualification, grading of teams, eligibility criteria etc for BSF National Championships has yet to meet.
However, BSF President Stella Ackrell is discussing the issues with individuals at all levels of the community, and a face-to-face meeting of people invited to be part of the Working Group is planned for September or October.
It was noted that there still appear to be a few teams playing at tournaments who are not affiliated to the BSF and therefore do not have the BSF's Public Liability insurance. Stella Ackrell and BSF Tournaments Officer Liz Graham will take some ideas for resolving this issue to the Nationals Working Group for further discussion.
Bat and ball specifications
James O’Farrell, ESF Slowpitch Umpire-in-Chief, has confirmed that the new axe-handle bats that have recently appeared are legal according to the ASA and (for the time being) the ISF, though their approval will expire in January 2016. James also cautions that due to their design, these bats may have a short life.
It also appears that there is a new ASA bat stamp for slowpitch-only bats and the Executive will find out more about this.
Ron Radigonda, ASA Executive Director, has written to the BSF's BASU representative, Chris Moon, to recommend that the BSF should switch as soon as practicable to the new .52/300 softball for slowpitch play, as this ball has similar performance characteristics as previous balls but tends to causes less injury if it hits someone. The ASA is still allowing use of the .44/375 softball with the 2013 Certification Mark for the time being, but the ASA feels that this ball is more likely to damage bats in cold temperatures.
Mike Jennings is asking the ASA if there is a women’s ball equivalent to the .52/300.
2012-2013 budget update
Mike Jennings has circulated an update on the BSF's 2012-13 budget to the Executive, with three months remaining in the BSF's current financial year.
Membership income is higher than expected, and the BSF's non-discretionary expenditure (such as insurance, service agreement payments to BSUK etc) is as per budget.
Expenditure on BSF Development Grants and on events and marketing may be more than budgeted, but savings have been made in other areas of discretionary expenditure. The recent ASA coaches' tour came in under budget, and the BSF will not be liable for any umpire penalty payments to the ESF this year.
With the budget in a positive position, Mike Jennings has suggested that an additional £1000-£2000 could be available to enhance BSF Nationals this season, and/or to purchase legacy items for Farnham Park.
Development Grant applications
The BSF is considering two applications for Development Grants – one received previously from the Birmingham Minotaurs Softball Club and from a new application for help with development work from the Greater London Softball Mixed League.
The BSF has asked for further information, and for re-drafting in the case of the Minotaurs' application, before decisions can be made.
ISF rule changes
This year's ISF Congress, to be held in October in Cartagena, Colombia, will include a review of the ISF Rulebook, which takes place every four years.
Mike Jennings has requested that any Executive member who would like to suggest a rule change should complete the appropriate form, which Mike can provide.
The Executive gave Mike the authority to complete and submit rule change forms on its behalf if appropriate proposals arise following planned discussions with the Irish Federation. Possible proposals concern a specific Slowpitch Rulebook and changing to the new .52/300 softball.
National Championships
Tournaments Officer Liz Graham confirmed that 22 teams will take part in the Single-Sex Slowpitch Nationals on 20-21 July and that arrangements for delivery of the tournament are in place.
The Massage Tent at the event will be donating a percentage of takings to the GB National Teams programme. The BSF has also made £200 available as payment for youth national team members raking the dedicated diamonds at Farnham Park during the tournament and retrieving foul balls.
National Teams Officer Beth Perkins has asked Jeremy Thomas, GB Under-16s Head Coach, if his team is interested in doing these jobs during the tournament in return for the £200 donation and the chance to place collecting buckets on the fields.
Farnham Park
The official Opening Ceremony for the new facilities at Farnham Park is scheduled for Saturday 20 July, when the BSF's Single-Sex Slowpitch Nationals will be one of the events taking place.
BSF Tournaments Officer Fiona Thorley and President Stella Ackrell have met with BSUK to run through arrangements for the ceremony and the weekend. GB National Team players have been invited to attend in uniform as part of the Opening Ceremony.
One of the main concerns expressed by the BSF Executive is the limited car parking available at Farnham for an event of this size, and there will be further discussions about this with BSUK Joint CEO John Boyd.
The BSF is also considering a contribution to legacy items at Farnham Park and has asked John Boyd for a “wish list” of potential items that could be purchased.
The Executive has been informed that there are now two containers at Farnham Park which are being used by BSUK and local teams. John Boyd is looking into how a secure area can be provided for BSF and BBF equipment on site.
Men's International Invitational Tournament
Men's slowpitch teams from Austria and Ireland, plus a team from the GB Slowpitch Squad and Godzillas had been due to compete on 28 September in an International Invitational Tournament at Finsbury Park, supported by the BSF.
However, Austria – who requested the tournament in the first place – has now dropped out.
Mike Jennings will ask the Irish if they have spent money yet on flight or hotel bookings, and if not, will ask them to hold off for the time being . If the Irish have already made bookings, the BSF will try to find a fourth team so the tournament can go ahead. But if no additional team can play, the tournament will be cancelled until next year.
European Slowpitch Cup 2014
The European Slowpitch Cup is to be held bi-annually rather than annually, with countries able to enter more than one team in the competition. This has raised the question of which teams will be selected to represent Great Britain in the next European Slowpitch Cup in 2014.
The Executive agreed that the winners of the two Premier Nationals held between European Cups will be given the places. If the two Premier Nationals winners are the same team or the previous Slowpitch Cup winner (who will get an automatic place at the tournament), the previous season’s NSL winner will be next in line to qualify.
Therefore, GB's representatives at the 2014 European Slowpitch Cup will be the 2012 Premier Nationals winners Chromies, and the 2013 Premier Nationals winners. If Chromies win the Premier Nationals again in 2013, the second place will go to the 2013 NSL winner.
Accident and incident reporting
BSF Administrator Vicky Hall explained to the Executive that Health & Safety legislation requires an organisation to record all accidents that take place under its jurisdiction. Accident reports are used to identify improvements where applicable, as evidence in claims cases and for notification to the Health & Safety Executive in the event of serious injuries that result in death, hospitalisation or fractures.
Some BSF leagues have Incident Report Forms and there is an Incident Notification Advice Form on the BSUK website. However, it appears that not all incidents are currently being reported and some are not being submitted to the BSF and BSUK.
The Incident Notification Advice Form on the BSUK website is a Perkins Slade insurance document emphasising claim information, and it has been suggested that this might put off people who aren’t claiming and that a simpler form may be better as an initial submission, with the insurance form only filled out if applicable.
Vicky Hall will speak to Tim Stride at BSUK to see if Perkins Slade require the use of their form as a condition of insurance. It was suggested that an on-line Incident Report Form on the BSF website could be created, which would submit to a database and trigger a notification email to relevant people.
Pregnant players
The Executive discussed a report by BSF Administrator Vicky Hall on women playing while pregnant, and requested further information on the position of Sport England and the ESF, ISF and the ASA regarding pregnant players. Vicky has been unable to obtain a response on this issue from Women in Sport.
Although the risk of abdominal injury in softball is low and most likely to occur during base collisions and tagging, concern was expressed about whether injury to other parts of the player’s body could be detrimental to the baby. Vicky will consult on this point with doctors in the softball community.
There is still a concern that the opposing team will feel they cannot play competitively for fear of injury a pregnant player or her baby.
Softball Talent Development programme
Mark Wigington and Bob Fromer from the GB Management Committee met recently with BSUK National Development Manager Will Lintern to discuss options for carrying out softball talent development work which has been funded, primarily for the 14-19 age group, in the 2013-17 Whole Sport Plan.
Ideas are still being considered, but Will Lintern, who was attending the meeting on behalf of BSUK, explained some of the current proposals:
- Monthly National Academy softball sessions in the off-season.
- Regional mid-week Academy sessions for fastpitch players at a location feasible for the greatest number of players to attend.
- Self-funding pitching/catching residential camps for younger players in school holidays.
- Attaching elite players to clubs and to the Great Britain Fastpitch League.
European Women’s Championships
The Executive considered a situation that arose at the just-concluded European Women's Fastpitch Championships, where GB, Italy and the Czech Republic finished the first playoff round with identical 2-1 records.
The Tournament Regulations dated 2011, which are the Regulations provided on the ESF website, state that in this situation, the teams finishing second and third in each playoff pool should play an “extra game” across groups to decide the two teams who will progress in second place. However, the Technical Commissioner at the tournament advised that the Regulations were changed in 2012 to eliminate the “extra game”, leaving runs conceded among the games played between the three tied teams to decide progression. This meant that Italy and the Czech Republic went through and GB did not qualify for the Page Playoff (and the World Championships in 2014). The GB Team appealed the decision on the grounds that they had been expecting the Regulations as published on the ESF website to be in effect, but the appeal was rejected.
Mike Jennings and Stella Ackrell, who attended the ESF Congress in 2012 on behalf of the BSF, will look at their Congress packs from that year to see if this change to the Tournament Regulations was voted in, and will take the issue up with the ESF.
Requirements for Under-18s playing adult softball
BSF President Stella Ackrell expressed concern that most tournaments do not appear to be following the mandatory requirements agreed at the 2013 AGM and issued earlier this year by the BSF for Under-18s playing with adults.
Tournaments Officer Liz Graham will email tournament organisers regarding these requirements and will confirm that they apply to all tournaments that are listed on the BSF website.
B-grade teams playing at C-grade
Some BSF Executive members have been receiving complaints about teams playing below their ‘real’ grade.
It was agreed to advise those complaining to speak to the tournament organiser about this issue. BSF Tournaments Officer Liz Graham monitors teams' performance over each season and has been asked to publish placings from all tournaments on a Facebook page which can be provided to tournament organisers to help them assign teams to the correct level.
WGT Sport
National Teams Officer Beth Perkins mentioned that the GB Under-13 fastpitch programme has been trialling WGT Sport, a company that arranges travel for British teams and athletes to competitions abroad. If this arrangement proves successful, other GB Teams can choose to use this company, which may save money but will certainly make the job of Team Managers easier.
In addition, WGT Sport has already donated hotel rooms in the UK or in Europe that GB Teams can use as prizes for fundraising activities.
The GB Management Committee will review the arrangement after the two Under-13 teams have toured to Italy in August for the ESF's Massimo Romeo Youth Cup.
Next Meeting
The next conference call meeting held by the BSF Executive will be on Thursday evening, September 12.
Anyone with items for the agenda should contact BSF Administrator .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).