The BSF Executive held its latest monthly meeting on Monday 11th March 2024. Below is a report on the main discussions and decisions.
Attendance
Present: Lesley Morisetti (President), Jessica Hastings (Admin Assistant), Jordan Cooper (General Officer—Marketing), Laura Burkhardt (Treasurer), Liz Graham (Competitions and Membership Officer), Pete Saunders (Technical Officer), Tim Bishop (Athlete Commission).
Apologies: Stella Ackrell (Safeguarding Officer), Alice Hunter (National Teams Officer), Laura Hirai (Fastpitch Development Officer), Matt Tomlin (Athletes Commission), Nicola-Jane Dyson (General Officer – 2026 Euros), Shiraz Mehra (General Officer).
Strategy Plan Reviewed
Jessica Hastings, Shiraz Mehra and Tim Bishop have been reviewing the initial draft strategy document. The general consensus is that it is a good starting point for the group to work from. The document will need to be reviewed by all of the board to ensure it covers all of BSF activity (current and planned). The document reflects the sport and its community, with a focus on utilising our strengths to support one another and develop opportunities for new members to join. Jessica Hastings will share with the full group as a shared editable document. This final document will be reviewed at the next meeting and will be used to draft a public version for future release.
Insurance Fees to be Finalised
Lesley Morisetti has been in regular contact with the BSF insurance broker to finalise the fees for the Public Liability and Personal Accident Insurance for 2024-25. The final quote is expected soon, along with a request for information on the BSF activities expected for this year.
Previous Meetings Summary
The recent meetings, including the League Heads Forum, AGM and the WBSCE Congress were recapped. The Executive were already provided with updates by email following the meetings.
League Heads Forum - 15th February 2024
AGM - 24th February 2024
https://www.britishsoftball.org/news/article/2024-bsf-agm-sets-records-for-attendance-and-brevity
WBSCE Europe Congress (10th February 2024)
New Organisational and Communications Volunteer Needed for the League Nationals
Matt Tebb has stepped down from organising the nationals, we would like to thank Matt for his support to date. To assist with this years nationals, the BSF will be looking for individuals interested to support communications between teams in preparation for the events. Any interested individuals should contact info@britishsoftball.org.
Update on the Registration System
Following the 2024 AGM, the BSF has made a decision on the platform to be used for individual player registration for 2024 and beyond. There was unanimous agreement to use the Teamlinkt platform. As stated at the 2024 AGM there would be no registration fee this year, and any fee going forward would be small and would be dependent on the cost of the registration platform to the BSF. Future development of the system and any planned costs are being investigated now to provide as much notice for the 2025 seasons and any costs associated. Further information will be released soon.
News and Campaign Scheduling
The sub committee met for the first time late last month to discuss the BSF plans and schedule for the year. We agreed to go ahead with the proposed campaigns to create assets for leagues and clubs to use for promoting their activity. The subcommittee requested financial support to cover the costs of creating these assets and subsequent promotion on social media.
A list of domestic events has been drafted, including NSL weekends, a fastpitch league weekend and two single sex tournaments. This list will be shared with BSUK to assist in planned coverage of these events to BSF social media platforms.
The BSF will also be looking for event organisers and attendees to share their experiences of events, by providing a short write up and photographs from events they attend. These experiences will be shared by BSF to promote local events and support leagues and tournaments.
Faspitch Qualifications
No updates were made on behalf of BASU. Planning for the upcoming season is underway and the international allocation has been received from WBSCE.
Lesley Morisetti and Laura Hirai will be working together to look at opportunities for basic fastpitch umpire qualifications and opportunities to utilise trained individuals.