There was no snow this year to interrupt the second running of the Not Jingle Balls Charity tournament on 9 December at the Royal Masonic School in Rickmansworth, and the 10 teams that competed didn’t disappoint as they got into the spirit of the event, dressing in a variety of Christmas-based outfits and generously taking part in the tombola.
Because snow had caused the 2017 event to be moved to early this year, this was the first time the NJB Tournament was run with its intended Christmas theme.
The idea behind NJB, run by the Maidenhead Softball Club, is to get everyone into the Christmas mood, play some ball and raise money for good causes. The first NJB raised £1,082 that went to helping children at Hope Mosjoen Skole school in Gambia, and while no targets were set, the club was aiming to at least match that total this time.
Format and results
The competition began with a two-group round-robin played by a mix of six local Windsor and Maidenhead League teams from Bracknell, Thames Valley, Reading and an MSC team, plus teams from Swindon, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth and London.
The results from the two groups fed into the Bauble Competition and the Tinsel competition. There were some extremely close games, with great hitting and fielding on display, and the following teams took the prizes:
Bauble Competition Winner: Mad Batters
Bauble Competition Runner-up: Maidenhead
Tinsel Competition Winner: Bracknell Yellow
Tinsel Competition Runner-up: Portsmouth Dodgers
While the Mad Batters and Bracknell Yellow may have walked off with the winners’ awards, it will be good causes that will benefit from over £1100 that was raised during the day.
Thanks!
Everyone at Maidenhead Softball Club would like to thank those from the softball community who made the tournament a success and provided items to send to the Hope Mosjoen Skole school. Special thanks go to the Nuffield Gym, who run the Royal Masonic School for Girls Sports Hall and who have continued to be very generous in their support.
Of course, the tournament itself is not the end: outside the NJB event, the club continues to support the school through donations. If you are reading this and have any children’s clothes, games, books or other items you would like to donate, please contact maidenheadsoftballclub@outlook.com and the club will arrange collection.