by James Clarke
The outdoor season has now started in the Solent Softball League, but before that the league had a very busy April.
Tom Prince Charity Tournament
It started at the end of the Indoor season when the league held its annual Tom Prince Charity Tournament. With eight SSL teams entered, it was a great turnout, with ‘Pav’s Team’ emerging as winners of the day.
A great time was had by all, with £600 raised for the Tom Prince Trust, the league's in-house charity.
Chichester Charity Tournament
Shortly afterwards, the SSL team Chichester Falcons held its first annual Chichester Charity Softball Tournament on 14 April. The event featured four teams, all beginners, taking part in a one-day tournament, and it was great to see over 50 participants show up to learn the sport, have fun and make friends.
The day was a great success, with £500 raised in support of the charity Children on Edge, and a number of community members introduced to the sport of softball.
Umpire training
An Umpire Training Weekend took place on 20-21 April, delivered by BASU and organised by Solent Umpire-in-Chief Liam Riddy. The course was designed for SSL players who want to learn how to umpire, but also gave already-experienced umpires a chance to brush off the cobwebs before the season.
In conjunction with the umpire course, Andrew (Beefy) Burgess hosted a Spring Training Day with over 70 SSL players – both new recruits and seasoned veterans – taking part to get themselves ready for the outdoor season. The players got game-ready while the freshly-trained umpires were able to get some practical experience calling a game.
Solent Mariners
During April, the league's A-grade tournament team the Mariners started their training programme and entered a development team in the Windsor First Ball on 27 April.
The Mariners team took first place in Group 3 and the players are looking forward to competing this season under the watchful eyes of Head Coaches Bryan Barry and Troy Stanley.
SSL Firstball
Finally, there was the league's own SSL Firstball. Ten league teams slugged it out for bragging rights that will last the whole season. Everyone played well and new recruits fitted in well.
The Itchen Knicks stole the day with a first place finish. Matt Cordy (Knicks) earned the male MVP award and Paula Linford (OAPs) was the female MVP.