The British Softball Federation Executive held its annual face-to-face weekend meeting on 20 and 21 October in Slough. Below are the highlights of discussions and decisions.
Attendance
Present: Stella Ackrell (President), 
Vicky Hall (Administrative Officer), Mike Jennings (Treasurer), Mark Wigington (Marketing Officer), Beth Perkins (General Officer), Chris Moon (BASU Representative), Liz Graham (Tournaments Officer – by phone).
Apologies: Lesley Morisetti (Tournaments Officer), Julie Calver (Website Officer), Rory Lynch (General Officer).
Guest: Bob Fromer (BSUK).
Governance and BSF Officer roles
A recent change to the BSF Constitution means that the Officer roles on the BSF Executive can now be amended from year to year to adjust to changing circumstances without requiring a Constitutional amendment to do so.
In addition, the BSF (and the BBF) will now be required by Sport England to come into line with with general governance requirements in sport, including the necessity to have a skills-based assessment and appointment/election process for all Executive Board positions and for the appointment of softball and baseball representatives on the BSUK Board.
One implication of this is that people can be elected, appointed or co-opted to the Executive, or to sub-committees of the Executive, to carry out particular tasks or projects without the necessity to become full Board members and Directors of BSF Ltd.
Accordingly, the Executive reviewed the current BSF Officer roles, and decided that the following roles should be filled for 2013 with people who will be full Board members and Directors and who will have relevant skills:
- President
- Administrator (this post combines previous roles of Executive Secretary and Administrative Officer, and will be filled until the AGM by General Officer Vicky Hall).
- Treasurer
- Marketing and Communications Officer (this post now includes the previous role of Website Officer, which was created specifically to work with BSUK on the creation of the new BSF website, and will be filled until the AGM by the current Marketing Officer Mark Wigington).
- Tournaments Officer
- Membership Officer (this function was previously carried out by the Tournaments Officer but has now become a separate role and will need to be filled at the next AGM.
- National Teams Officer (the role was previously unfilled, but will be filled until the next AGM by General Officer Beth Perkins).
- Technical Officer (nominated by BASU).
- General Officer
In addition, the Executive will plan to appoint people to two further positions who will not be BSF Directors and may not need to attend all Board meetings to carry out their roles:
- Welfare Officer (to promote welfare policies and best practice throughout the sport and to liaise with BSUK if and when welfare issues occur).
- London Liaison Officer (this post is necessary because the London Softball Federation will be wound up at the end of 2012 and direct governance of London leagues will revert to the BSF).
Two former BSF Executive positions – Coaching & Development Officer and Youth & Schools Officer – have been deleted on the grounds that these functions are carried out mainly by BSUK.
All current members of the Executive have been tasked with writing job descriptions and people specifications for the positions they now hold. These will be used in future as a basis for recruitment to these positions.
ISF Special Congress
The International Softball Federation is holding a Special Congress in Houston on 30 October to vote on a proposal to merge the ISF and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) into one International Federation for both sports, which seems to be a pre-condition for the International Olympic Committee to consider reinstatement of softball and baseball to the Olympic programme.
Administrator Vicky Hall will represent the BSF at the Congress, and Treasurer Mike Jennings will also be present.
The Executive decided that the BSF will support the proposal to merge the ISF and IBAF into a single Federation, since it seems to be the only possible route at the present time that would give the sports a chance to get back into the Olympic Games, though not before 2020 at the earliest.
And though the two sports would merge at the International Federation level, there does not seem to be a requirement that this change would be extended to National Federations and the administration of the sports on the ground.
However, another IOC condition for considering the sports for reinstatement may be the participation of Major League players in the Olympics, and there have been negotiations with Major League Baseball over this issue which have not yet reached a conclusion. Should Olympic participation by MLB players prove unworkable, this may cast doubt on the advisability of the ISF-IBAF merger, and the BSF may reserve its position in this regard.
While at the ISF Special Congress, Vicky and Mike will make inquiries about any progress at ISF level on the possibility of a World Slowpitch Championship in 2014 and will also ask ESF representatives about progress on the initiative to twin European countries with a US state softball association. Great Britain is keen to develop ties with a US state association, but no details have been forthcoming.
Motion to the ESF Congress
Over the years, the British Softball Federation has been known for submitting numerous Constitutional and operational motions to the annual European Softball Federation (ESF) Congress.
For the next ESF Congress in February 2013, however, the BSF will submit only a single motion, and will work hard to get it passed, since the issue has important financial implications for the BSF (and other European Federations).
It is standard practice in the ESF that for every team sent by a country to an ESF Championship or Cup competition, an umpire has to be supplied, though not necessarily for the tournaments in which our teams play. Traditionally, failure to supply an umpire was punished by the loss of an “umpire deposit” of 375 euros, on the grounds that this money would be used to pay for the flight costs of a replacement umpire from another country.
Over the past couple of years, however, without any announced change in policy, the ESF has been charging not just the 375 euro umpire deposit in these circumstances but an additional 375 euro fine, or 750 euros in total. The BSF feels that this amount is too high, and it is a particular issue for us because we currently have only one qualified umpire to send to ESF fastpitch competitions, while annually sending between three and six teams to such competitions.
Motions for the 2013 Congress have to be submitted by November 5, and Mike Jennings will draft a motion proposing that the penalty for failure to supply an umpire reverts to 375 euros – though the BSF may be prepared to compromise on the amount.
Meanwhile, the BSF would like to see another Fastpitch Umpire Course run in the UK in the spring of 2013 so that we can gain more candidates to put forward for ESF qualification. A course run in April 2012 in Milton Keynes did produce one and possibly two candidates to go forward to an ESF Fastpitch Umpire course in June – but then the ESF cancelled the course!
Coaching support for Slowpitch Teams
The BSF is keen to revive a project that was announced at the 2012 AGM, whereby coaching from GB Slowpitch Team coaches and players is offered to a limited number of interested B-grade and C-grade teams, with the BSF absorbing the costs.
The coaching would consist of one pre-season day where the coach and the team work on skills and strategy, and then a second day at a tournament where the coach would work with the team captain and players on game management.
After the 2012 AGM, a number of potential coaches were identified by GB Slowpitch Team Manager Sara Vertigan and seven or eight teams indicated interest, but the project failed to get off the ground.
The BSF is determined to make it happen in 2013, and will start by going back to the teams that expressed interest in 2012 before advertising the opportunity more widely if places are available.
Finances
BSF Treasurer Mike Jennings is currently finalising BSF accounts for the financial year 2011-12, which ended on 30 September 2012, and putting together a proposed budget for 2012-13. This budget will be reviewed and agreed by the BSF Executive before the end of the year and will then be presented for approval at the AGM in February 2013.
Mike gave the Executive a brief overview which suggested that income and expenditure actuals for 2011-12 were roughly in line with budgeted amounts, providing that money is received, as expected, from a small number of leagues that have yet to pay 2012 affiliation fees. The BSF operated at a planned loss in 2011-12, putting money into various development projects, but reserves remain healthy.
New expenditures planned for 2013 will include fees for team website registrations, which were paid by BSUK in 2012 but will be BSF's responsibility going forward; an investment in upgrading the BSF's Co-ed National Championships; and investment in a new BSUK development staff post whose costs will be shared between the BSF and BSUK. The BSF is not forecasting a major increase in affiliated teams in 2013, so income projections will be set, conservatively, at just below this year's levels.
The BSF will be consulting with BSUK and the website provider Spawtz to ensure that teams that play in summer and winter leagues or in multiple competition structures are not double-charged for their website registration and presence.
While Sport England generally requires team affiliation fees to rise at least in line with inflation, the BSF does not plan to raise fees in 2013. However, while fees will remain at present levels for teams or leagues that pay by the announced deadline, any fees paid after that deadline will incur a surcharge of £10 per team.
Co-ed National Championships
The BSF is proposing to change the way its Co-ed Slowpitch National Championships are run in 2013. The proposal is that all five levels of competition – Premier, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze – are run in one location on the same weekend, with a maximum of eight teams competing at each level. This will create a single large event of up to 40 teams in which the BSF can invest time and money to make sure that the Co-ed Nationals are, as they should be, the pinnacle tournament weekend of the season.
The Executive is aware that while BSF National Championships have always run efficiently on the field since Liz Graham and Lesley Morisetti have been Tournaments Officers, they have fallen behind other major tournaments in terms of atmosphere and amenities. And it's hard to provide atmosphere and amenities for a small tournament like the Premier Nationals if run in isolation.
The BSF has received a proposal from a member of the softball community with a work background in event organisation for enhancing a Co-ed Nationals run as one large weekend event, and the Executive will explore this proposal further.
However, the BSF is also conscious that running the Premier Nationals – a competition for weekend tournament teams that play in the NSL – alongside the Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze competitions, which are essentially for league teams, means that some players will have to choose between playing for their NSL team or their league team, with repercussions for those teams. Before making a final decision on how the Co-ed Nationals will work next season, the Executive wants more information on the scale of dislocation that running all five levels together would cause for teams, and what the softball community thinks about this issue.
A brief questionnaire will shortly be sent to all teams that play in Nationals and to all League Heads, inviting them to pick one of two options for 2013 and then add comments with regard to any impact that these options would have on their team or league. The options are:
Option 1: The BSF Co-ed Nationals are played as one large weekend event encompassing all levels of play at the same venue.
Option 2: As now, the Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Nationals for league teams are played together on one weekend and the Premier Nationals (for the eight top-ranked teams in that season’s NSL play) are played on a separate weekend.
One of the aims behind Option 1 is to reduce the number of National Championship tournaments that the BSF runs each season. If Option 1 is adopted, and with the BSF already having decided to drop the League All-Star Nationals competition in 2013, the BSF would only be running two large National Championship tournaments each year: the Single-Sex Slowpitch Nationals and the Co-ed Slowpitch Nationals.
National Softball League
After a successful season in 2011, the National Softball League – designed to give more opportunities to A-grade co-ed slowpitch teams and encourage more teams to develop to that level – barely operated in 2012. Thanks to a combination of factors, including appalling weather for part of the summer, only one NSL event was played prior to the Premier Nationals in September.
As a result, all NSL teams were given a berth in the Premier Nationals, which made NSL competition during the season irrelevant, and the number of NSL teams declined by almost 30%.
The BSF would like to revive the NSL in 2013 by guaranteeing NSL competition with a balanced schedule at no less than three and preferably up to five tournaments during the season, with only the top eight teams in the NSL standings qualifying for the Premier Nationals. The balanced schedule means that over the course of the summer, NSL teams would play every other NSL team the same number of times; but all tournaments with NSL sections would still be played to a conclusion with winners and trophies.
The Executive will be contacting a number of major tournaments shortly to discuss the inclusion of NSL play, and will also be contacting all teams that played in the NSL over its history to see how many will be interested in competing in a re-invigorated league. New entrants to the NSL for 2013 will also be welcome.
Guidance on young people playing softball
The BSF has received a number of queries over the past season asking at what age and under what circumstances young people can play in adult slowpitch or fastpitch competitions.
While the BSF generally sees 14 as the minimum age for young people to play with adult teams, this is not being proposed as a hard-and-fast rule. There may well be circumstances where children even younger than 14 have the skills and temperament to cope with adult play, just as there may be 15, 16 or 17-year-olds who would be in danger in such an environment. Nor does the insurance that covers BSF teams impose any age restrictions.
From a welfare and safeguarding point of view, the BSF believes that there are a number of conditions with regard to parental consent, safety equipment and sometimes fielding positions that need to be fulfilled for young people to take part in adult competition. Beyond that, careful judgements need to be made by team coaches or captains regarding the capability of the young people concerned, and every team should have a Responsible Adult whose role is to look out for the welfare of any young players involved with the team.
The BSF Executive will shortly circulate a policy document setting out its recommendations for the circumstances in which young people can take part in adult play.
National Team Matters
Hayley Scott, who has fulfilled the role of GB Programmes Director for the BSF for the last five years, returned to South Africa in August. The meeting expressed its thanks to Hayley for all her hard work, acknowledging the growth and success of the National Team programme, particularly the Women's and Youth Fastpitch Teams, during that time.
Hayley will return to UK in April to spend some time handing over the role to the new GB Programmes Team.
At a meeting on 29 September, the GB Management Committee reviewed the requirements for a new GB Programmes Director and Team and has been considering different options. The Committee's preferred option is a proposal by BSUK for a new post where costs would be shared between the BSF and BSUK.
The postholder would spend about half the time working for BSF as GB Programmes Director, covering all softball national teams. The other half of the role would be working for BSUK on the management of Farnham Park and on development work.
The GB Management Committee brought this option to the BSF meeting, where it was agreed in principle. Mark Wigington and Mike Jennings will liaise with BSUK to discuss the details of such a contract.
Marketing and Merchandising
The original brief for BSF Marketing Officer Mark Wigington when he took on the role a couple of years ago was to professionalise the image of the BSF and to raise awareness of what the governing body does, making sure that the BSF's role in the sport is differentiated from that of BSUK.
The Executive considers that this has been accomplished to some extent, but much remains to be done. Among the immediate tasks in 2013 are to raise the profile of BSF National Championships by providing participating teams with a high-quality experience, and to increase the level of BSF merchandising activities to raise awareness and create additional income streams for the Federation and particularly for national teams.
With regard to merchandising, BSUK is currently working with a consultancy firm through funds provided by Sport England to identify the various assets held by British baseball and softball and analyse how these can be marketed to achieve additional income for all three organisations. The BSF will wait for the outcome of that exercise to inform its own marketing and merchandising plans, though at a minimum the BSF would like to create and sell a line of Federation clothing, including items related to GB teams.
This year, the BSF introduced Federation banners inside tournament grounds; a next step will be to create signs and banners that can be put in place outside grounds to advertise the sport to the general public. Such banners can be sold to leagues around the country.
Another possibility is to print and sell attractive posters with the year's Softball Calendar.
And the BSF has plans to create a purpose-built booth that can be set up at tournaments to provide information and sell BSF merchandise.
Finally, a resource to help leagues and teams gain publicity and profile through local media is on the way. BSUK plans to publish a Local & Social Media Guide during the closed season to help clubs and leagues attract more attention and market their activities to their local communities.
Game Endings
A motion was passed at the 2012 AGM that in all time-limited tournament games, the final inning, once started, should be played to a conclusion to avoid unpopular and controversial reversion decisions – though of course the home team has no need to bat in that final inning if ahead after the visitors have batted.
BASU Representative Chris Moon told the Executive that some tournament organisers have been unwilling to play to this rule in 2012, citing the need to keep their tournament schedules on time.
The Executive reiterated that the motion passed at the 2012 AGM should be observed.
Miscellaneous
Manchester's 20th birthday. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Manchester Softball League, and the BSF has created a special trophy to mark the occasion. This will be presented at the league's 20th Anniversary Ball on 27 October.
ESF trophy. There is currently no perpetual trophy for the winners of the European Slowpitch Cup. The BSF is therefore proposing to sponsor the purchase of such a trophy for the European Softball Federation, and to have it engraved with the winners of the first six competitions.
Teams playing overseas. The number of British club or composite teams going abroad to play in both slowpitch and fastpitch competitions in Europe and further afield is increasing, a trend which the BSF applauds. But the Executive would like to reiterate that it is accepted practice throughout world softball for teams that have been invited to tournaments overseas to inform their governing body and provide details of the trip. The BSF has no intention of vetting such trips, but any team going abroad is the responsibility of the British Softball Federation and the BSF needs to know when and where its teams are playing outside the UK.