The British Softball Federation Executive held its first conference call meeting of 2012 on Thursday evening, January 5. Below are highlights of discussions and decisions.
Attendance
Present: Stella Ackrell (President), Mike Jennings (Treasurer), Liz Graham (Tournaments Officer), Julie Calver (Website Officer), Mark Wigington (Marketing Officer), Vicky Hall (General Officer), Chris Moon (BASU Representative).
Apologies: Lesley Morisetti (Tournaments Officer), Richard Hanby (Youth & Schools Officer), Debbie Moores (General Officer).
Guest: Bob Fromer (BSUK).
AGM preparations
Preparations for the 2012 BSF AGM, scheduled for Saturday, February 18 in Manchester, were discussed.
The deadline for motions to the AGM and nominations for Executive Officers, BSF annual awards and the BSF Hall of Fame was December 31, 2011. No motions or nominations for Executive Officers were received, but there were a number of nominations for the annual awards and the Hall of Fame.
In the end, the Executive voted to give out five annual awards at the AGM, and elected 13 new members to be inducted into the BSF Hall of Fame. All will be announced at the AGM, which will include a Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
The BSF will present two Constitutional amendments to the AGM. One will extend the term of office allowed by the Constitution for all members of the Executive and the other will make the composition of offices on the Executive part of the Standing Orders of the Federation rather than the Constitution. This will give the Executive more flexibility to re-define its posts in response to changing circumstances without the need for a change to the Constitution.
The 2012 AGM Pack, containing the proposed amendments, BSF Officer and National Team reports, fee proposals for 2012, an AGM agenda and more, will be circulated to all BSF member teams by the end of January.
The formal AGM session will take place in the afternoon on February 18, but two workshop/discussion sessions will be held in the morning. A session on the structure and operation of the National Softball League (NSL) in 2012 will run from 11.00 am to noon, and a 30-minute workshop for regional leagues and clubs on running corporate softball events will begin when the NSL session finishes.
The BSF will invite representatives from all teams that played in the NSL in 2011 and all teams interested in joining an NSL2 in 2012 to the NSL session, along with the organisers of tournaments that have traditionally hosted NSL play.
BSF iPhone app
The Executive considered a proposal for a BSF iPhone app that would allow iPhone users access to a range of information about their BSF user profile and team activities.
However, a decision was made to undertake further research into what the BSF would like such an app to do and how much take-up it would be likely to have. Marketing Officer Mark Wigington will lead the research effort, including a look at what other sports have done, and the Executive will consider the idea again at its annual weekend meeting in October, with a view to possible launch in 2013.
Mark Wigington told the Executive, "It's a logical extension to what we want to do with the website, as most IT-based organisations are moving towards mobile apps. But it's worth thinking it through a bit more in terms of what the app will cost and what it will do."
BSF budget
The Executive will agree a budget proposal for 2012 before the end of January and the budget will be included in the AGM Pack, to be voted on by members at the AGM.
Because the BSF had a better-than-forecast financial result in 2011, and significantly increased its reserves, BSF Treasurer Mike Jennings will propose a deficit budget for 2012 that will include spending on a number of development projects.
Calendar
Tournaments Officer Liz Graham reported that some final uncertainties on the 2012 Tournament Calendar appear to have been resolved.
The Bristol Main Tournament will be played on the weekend of July 7-8, but on a less comprehensive basis than usual, with NSL2 and C-grade providing the main competition groups.
Meanwhile, on the same weekend, the BSF will run an NSL 1 Competition, plus possibly a C or D-grade League All-Star Nationals at its newly-discovered venue in Loughborough.
This clash of events, resolved through discussion between the BSF and the Bristol Softball Association, was brought about because the Pioneers Tournament was forced to move a week later in 2012 by the University of Kent, impinging on the usual Bristol date.
National Softball League
Many issues remain to be resolved regarding the structure and operation of the National Softball League (NSL) in 2012, which is why the BSF Executive has scheduled a special discussion session on this topic at the AGM Day on February 18.
Among issues still to be finally decided are:
- Will there be an NSL1 and NSL2 in 2012?
- If there is an NSL2 in 2012, which National Championship will NSL2 teams qualify for through the competition, and will NSL be the only qualification route to that particular Championship?
- Which existing tournaments will host NSL competition in 2012?
- Will the BSF host NSL tournaments as separate events -- and if so, how many?
- Should NSL competition be structured so that every team plays every other team an equal number of times (which has not been the case in the past), thus creating a more level playing field for Nationals qualification?
Softball kit award
During the 2011 season, the BSF ran a campaign called "Bring a Bat, Give a Glove," in which teams were requested to donate used equipment that could be refurbished and given out for development purposes.
In the end, the bulk of the campaign donations were put together to make up a well-furnished Starter Kit, and bids for the kit were invited at the League Heads Forum in November.
The BSF Executive has now decided to award the Starter Kit to the bid from Birmingham Bobcats and the developing West Midlands League.
BSF Development Grants
The BSF maintains a rolling programme of development grants, usually up to a maximum of £250, that leagues, clubs and other softball groups can apply for to help with development projects.
The application form for these grants, along with explanatory information, will shortly be posted in the Resource section on the BSF website.
Corporate development targets
BSF Treasurer Mike Jennings asked the Executive to note that targets for the development of new corporate teams and leagues in the Whole Sport Plan (WSP) currently being assembled by BSUK for purposes of Sport England funding in 2013-17 were particularly important to the BSF.
These targets should be realistic, Mike suggested, and progress against them should be carefully monitored during the next WSP period.
Next Meeting
The next BSF conference call meeting will be on Wednesday, February 1.
Anyone with a topic they would like the BSF to consider should email BSF General Officer .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).