The BSF Executive held a conference call meeting on Thursday evening, October 6. Below are highlights of discussions and decisions.
Present: Mike Jennings (Treasurer), Vicky Hall (General Officer), Liz Graham (Tournaments Officer), Julie Calver (Website Officer), Mark Wigington (Marketing Officer).
Apologies: Stella Ackrell (President), Debbie Moores (General Officer), Chris Moon (BASU Representative).
Guests: Bob Fromer (BSUK).
League Heads Forum and NSL Discussion
The annual Softball League Heads Forum will be held on Saturday, November 26 in the Pavilion at Moor Lane Sports Ground in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, and an additional element at this year's meeting will be a workshop/discussion session on the future of the National Softball League and how it fits into co-ed slowpitch competition structures.
To this end, the BSF, in addition to inviting Softball League Heads to attend, will invite a number of team representatives and others who have a particular stake in the NSL.
An online questionnaire on the NSL is in preparation and the BSF will invite responses from selected individuals. These responses will be collated and brought to the discussion at the League Heads Forum.
The BSF will pay travel costs according to an agreed formula for all those invited specifically to attend the NSL discussion, as well as paying travel costs for one representative from each affiliated league.
Slowpitch Exhibition Games in the Netherlands
European Softball Federation President Andre van Overbeek is planning to organise a series of high-level co-ed slowpitch exhibition games in the Netherlands on the last weekend of May 2012. The purpose is to kick-start the development of slowpitch in Europe's leading fastpitch country, and the exhibition games will be played at three leading clubs in the Netherlands in conjunction with major fastpitch events. Slowpitch clinics may also be part of the programme.
Andre would like the GB Slowpitch Team to play these exhibition games against strong teams of Dutch players, and the BSF Executive has pledged to provide some support for the GB Team to take part.
One potential outcome of the project would be the eventual participation by Dutch teams in ESF slowpitch competitions, which would be a major breakthrough for slowpitch in Europe.
BSF President Stella Ackrell and Treasurer Mike Jennings, who will represent British softball at the International Softball Federation Congress in Oklahoma City at the end of October, will meet with Andre van Overbeek there to discuss the slowpitch exhibition games and to offer our help to bring them about.
BSF Development Grants
The BSF Executive has approved the award of two new Development Grants and confirmed an award which was made earlier in the year.
The Executive approved a £250 grant to the Manchester Softball League to help run a two-day BASU Qualification Course next spring for 15 people. The MSL hopes to have a high percentage of league games next year officiated by qualified umpires, and the league also needs more umpires to cope with planned expansion.
Also approved was a £250 grant to David Hurley to attend a high-level Baseball/Softball Coaching Clinic in the Netherlands in December. David, who already has BSUK coaching qualifications, is involved as a player in the Solent Softball League and at the University of Portsmouth, has played and umpired this year in the London Fastpitch Softball League, organised a student team that played in this year's Softball World Series and is an active member of the BSUK Youth Panel. On his return from the course, David will disseminate what he has learned through articles on the BSF website and through contacts with other coaches.
The Executive confirmed a previous award of £200, matching a similar grant from BSUK, for the production of an instructional video on slowpitch pitching. The programme, which was initially requested by the European Softball Federation, will be made by former GB Slowpitch Team Head Coach Mark Saunders and former GB pitcher David Lee. But work on the programme has been put on hold until after the ISF Congress in Oklahoma City later this month, when British representatives Stella Ackrell and Mike Jennings will see if the video might be of interest beyond Europe, and whether the content might change as a result.
BSF Finances
The BSF financial year 2010-2011 came to an end on September 30, and Treasurer Mike Jennings gave the Executive a rough summary of the results.
The BSF had budgeted for a small operating deficit in 2010-2011, but instead has wound up with an operating surplus as a result of underspending in four or five areas. The BSF has therefore ended the year with healthy reserves.
Full accounts for 2010-2011 will be circulated to BSF members early next year in the 2012 AGM Pack.
Motions to the ESF
The BSF has agreed to submit three motions to the European Softball Federation Executive for consideration at the ESF Congress next February in Malta.
The first motion would add to an existing ESF regulation concerning the provision of media facilities at ESF tournaments by requiring that these facilities include the provision of electrical connections to designated media areas and reliable wi-fi coverage on the main competition field.
The second motion concerns the format of ESF tournaments where 10, 11 or 12 teams are entered, as was the case at the European Cadette (Under-16) Girls' Championships this summer, where the GB Cadettes took part. Currently, the format used by the ESF has two initial round-robin groups of five or six, but with only two teams from each group going forward with a chance to compete for medals. The BSF motion, supported by a number of other teams at this year's Cadette Championships, will be for three teams from the initial round-robin groups to go forward.
The third motion concerns large ESF competitions such as this year's Women's Championship (20 teams) and last year's Junior Women's Championship (15 teams), where all teams start in one large seeded pool. At present, after an initial (and often brief) round-robin, a limited number of teams go forward to trophy playoffs and the majority of teams spend most of the week just playing for final places. The BSF motion will suggest that those teams that do not advance after the first round-robin are given, in effect, a Plate competition, with trophies to play for and structured towards a Final.
Website Additions
BSF Website Officer Julie Calver has been asked to create a number of new pages (or add to existing pages) on the BSF website with the following information:
-- Profiles of BSF Executive members.
-- Profile information on new additions to the BSF Hall of Fame inducted in 2010.
-- A list of previous recipients of BSF awards made annually at AGMs such as the Glover Cup, club and league awards, and awards for the coach, tournament umpire and tournament of the year.
-- A list of all previous winners of BSF National Championships.
Transfer Approval
The BSF Executive approved a request from Softball Canada to transfer the registration of former GB Men's Fastpitch Team player Brandon Horn, a dual passport holder, from GB to Canada.