The BSF Executive held its monthly conference call meeting on the evening of Thursday 8 May. Below are the highlights of discussions and decisions.
Attendance
Present: Stella Ackrell (President), Darren Prouty (Administrator), Mike Jennings (Treasurer), Liz Graham and Fiona Thorley (Tournaments Officers), Claire Waldron (Youth & Schools Officer).
Apologies: Beth Perkins (National Teams Officer), Mark Wigington (Marketing Officer), Mark Munnery (General Officer), Chris Moon (BASU Representative).
Guest: Bob Fromer (BSUK).
Action Points
The meeting began with a consideration of ongoing issues and actions.
- Video analysis system. The BSF has set aside £500 this year towards the acquisition of hardware and software for video analysis that can be used by GB Softball teams. BSUK has been approached to match this amount, with the idea that the equipment can also be used by the Softball Academy and High Performance Academy. BSUK is potentially interested, but wants more discussion on equipment specifications and use.
- National Team staff. All staff for GB National Teams in 2014 is now in place, but the Executive is awaiting a formal list from National Teams Officer Beth Perkins so they have a chance to raise questions before formal approval.
- Storage at Farnham Park. The BSF is waiting to hear from BSUK on the possibility of additional containers or other storage space at Farnham Park, needed in the first instance for the Great Britain Fastpitch League and national fastpitch teams.
- Fastpitch Development Plan. The BSF and the GB Management Committee (GBMC) are waiting for a response from BSUK on a Fastpitch Development Plan submitted by the GBMC to BSUK's Development Strategy Committee on 9 April. The BSF is particularly keen to work with BSUK on a schools strategy within the overall Plan.
- New players from development initiatives. The BSF has asked BSUK National Development Manager Chris Rawlings if the number of players progressing from BSUK development initiatives to BSF league teams can be quantified, but Chris has said that BSUK is unable to do so at this time.
- Diamond Series. Tournaments Officer Fiona Thorley reported that BSUK and the Diamond Softball Series had reached agreement on the use and cost of pitches at Farnham Park for this year's tournaments. However, there were two issues for the BSF to discuss with Diamonds organisers. The first was that Diamonds had failed to circulate the BSF Regulations on Under-18 players to teams that have entered, though they have now done so. All teams will be required to comply with these regulations. The second issue is insurance: neither Diamonds as an organisation, or any teams playing at the tournaments that are not registered as BSF members, will be covered by the BSF's Civil and Public Liability insurance.
- More insurance questions. It is also the case that teams coming from outside the UK to play in British tournaments are not covered by the BSF's Civil and Public Liability insurance, and such teams will need to be advised that they will require this kind of cover (in addition to any travel insurance they might be carrying). Finally, individual players (or coaches) who are only in the UK on a transient basis would not be covered by the BSF's insurance as they would not be regarded as residents. The rule of thumb for residency appears to be six months and registration with a GP.
- Code of Conduct. BSF President Stella Ackrell plans to present a draft Code of Conduct for softball players, officials and organisers at the next BSF Executive meeting in June.
- Communications Strategy. A BSF Communications Strategy, focusing particularly on the use of social media, is being developed by Communications Officer James Clarke, working with Marketing Officer Mark Wigington.
Finance
The BSF pays travel expenses at the rate of 25p a mile, and has suggested to the GB Management Committee that the same rate should be applied to GB Team staff members who need to be reimbursed for travel to training sessions in the UK.
The GBMC, which pays such expenses out a fund created by fundraising and the payment of GB Affiliation Fees by national team players, has agreed to this rate.
BSF Development Grant
The Executive has agreed to award a development grant to Cotswold Softball, the organisation that runs the annual Cotswold Tournaments, for youth development work in the area.
Cotswold Softball will be required to buy safety equipment (helmets, catcher's mask and mouthguards) in the first instance and will be advised to consult with BSUK on support for its proposed work with area schools.
Online registration
The deadline for teams in BSF leagues to register and roster their players online through the BSF website expired on 30 April.
BSF Treasurer Mike Jennings will now work with Trevor Clissold at BSUK to establish how many teams have registered and rostered players, and will arrange to contact those that haven't.
The deadline for team affiliation fees to be paid by leagues and independent teams remains 31 May.
World Slowpitch Cup
BSF Treasurer Mike Jennings reported that the International Softball Federation intends to hold the next Co-ed Slowpitch World Cup in November 2015 in Plant City, Florida, in conjunction with a local festival held on the grounds that will involve lots of beer and BBQ.
Mike will discuss the event in more detail with ISF Tournaments Director Laurie Gouthro when they meet at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Congress in Tunisia in May. Meanwhile, the BSF can promote the tournament to national and club teams throughout Europe.
In conjunction with the GB Slowpitch Team, the BSF will need to decide, if the Slowpitch World Cup is held on an annual basis, whether the British representative will always be the national team, or whether this can be alternated with club teams.
BSUK Committee meetings
Part of each BSF Executive meeting is devoted to reports from the various BSUK Committees on which BSF Executive members sit.
The only Committee which has met since the last BSF Executive meeting is the Governance Committee, and BSF President Stella Ackrell attended the meeting by phone.
Stella reported that the main items discussed were:
- A review of the current BSUK Risk Register.
- The Structural Review on current and future relationships between BSUK and the Federations. This is on hold pending the expected receipt of funding from Sport England in June, after which consultants will be appointed to help with the process.
- An evaluation of BSUK Board members in relation to a skills matrix designed to ensure that each Board member brings relevant skills to his or her role. This will come into play later this year as two Independent Board members will be stepping down.
- Safeguarding courses to be offered for BSUK Board members and employees and Federation Board members by BSUK.
- The Sport England requirement for the BSF and BBF to demonstrate a process of skills-based recruitment for Board positions by October of this year. Failure to do so could result in a loss of funding by BSUK.
Nationals appeal
The Executive accepted an appeal by the GLSML Division 1 team Mescalitos to be allowed to play in the Co-ed National Championships despite not fulfilling the requirement to attend the AGM prior to the tournament.
The grounds of the appeal, which the Executive accepted, was that before the AGM, the BSF had stated its intention to hold all Co-ed National Championships – including the NSL or Premier Nationals – on the same weekend. In those circumstances, Mescalitos, which has a large number of NSL players on its roster, would not have been able to field a team. But after the AGM, the BSF decided that the Premier Nationals would again be a separate tournament in 2014, which, for the Mescalitos, amounted to moving the goalposts.
In light of this appeal, the BSF may look again at its rules for AGM attendance. At the moment, A-grade and B-grade teams that wish to play in National Championships are required to have a representative at the AGM while C-grade and D-grade teams can be represented through their league. An unintended consequence of this is that the majority of those who attend the AGM represent the higher-grade teams, and their voices tend to be dominant. The Executive will consider this issue at future meetings.
Uniform rules for National Championships
After consideration, the BSF has decided that uniform rules for all National Championships will remain as they are already – namely, that teams are required to wear identical shirts but that trousers can be long or short as long as they are the same colour and style (but they do not have to all be the same brand).
Next meeting
The next BSF Executive conference call meeting will be on Thursday 12 June.
Anyone with items to raise at this meeting should contact BSF Administrator Darren Prouty.