Softball Ireland Slowpitch National Team Head Coach Peter Mullen has announced an 18 player roster for the COED European Championships in July 2024.

COED Slowpitch Roster
Norma	McIntyre
Hazel	Kilduff
Eimear	Linehan
Jennifer	Ó Buachalla
Abigail	McConnell
Mary Carroll	Smith
Katie	Doyle
Merilin	Neiland
Julie	Trundle
Brian	Hehir
Christopher	Barr
Darryl	Dolan
Ken	McCarthy
Eric	Kelly
Niall	Lavery
Pearse	Newman
Simon	Lewis
Gary	O’Shea

Three squad alternates have also been nominated; Serena Costelloe, Sal Rizo and Phil Wallace. 

Speaking on the announcement of the roster, Peter Mullen said

Over the last four weeks, the 28-player squad has trained together regularly. All the players should be commended for the effort and work they put in, to ensure the coaches had difficult decisions to make. After careful consideration, this panel of 18 players was selected, which the coaches feel will best help them compete as a unit at the championships.

We would like to congratulate all players selected and look forward to working with them over the next 12 weeks.

There are still some indoor tournaments to be played, DIST in DCU on the 24th of Feb, Katie Long in Galway on 2nd of March and The Womens indoors in Belfast on 9th of March but with longer hours and warmer days it means it’s nearly time to move outdoors.

Hippetys Quadrangular will be the first outdoor blitz of the year on the 6th of April followed by the first team Blitz the Brian Walshe Cup in ALSAA on Saturday the 20th of April. This is the best time to get the whole team together and show what you have before the Leagues start.

Registration for the BWC is now open and you can register your team here

https://forms.gle/Y5yQTNfwkJxdEPgt6

Big Thanks goes to Declan Carty who has been arranging this and our other Blitz and keeping track of all tournaments under Softball Ireland.

Softball Ireland are pleased to announce the appointment of Aideen Teo as Slowpitch National Team Manager. Having recently joined the sport in 2022, Aideen is already well known among the community. She is currently on the Castleknock and Packers softball club boards, is a proud Black Panda in the All Girls league, and most recently was part of a team that represented Ireland at the Gay Games in Mexico last year.

As well as an obivous passion for the sport, Aideen brings significant professional skills and experience to the role including people management, organisation and planning. The Slowpitch coaching team are delighted with Aideen’s appointment and look forward to working closely with her to support the national squads.

Ireland’s Slowpitch National Team’s Head Coach has announced three dates for Open Trials for the National Team Programme.

The Slowpitch National Squad coaching team will be hosting three Open Trials for players
interested in joining the Co-Ed, and Men’s National Squads. Both teams will be competing in International tournaments this summer. The details for the trials are:

Saturday, 10 February 2024
1100-1400 in Sean Walsh Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Saturday, 17 February 2024
1430-1730 in University Limerick, Limerick

Sunday, 25 February 2024
1100-1400 in Sean Walsh Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Any players over the age of 18 with a valid Irish Passport are welcome to try out, on any or all of the three dates. In order to register, please complete the registration link or email spcoach@softball.ie
To offset the costs of renting the facilities, players wil be asked to contribute €10 per person on the day.

Irish Slowpitch Softball National Team Manager Position

Softball Ireland are seeking to appoint a Slowpitch National Team Manager for the 2024 international season. The Slowpitch National Softball Team Manager is a member of the voluntary group that includes the Head Coach, Assistant Coaches and team medical personnel. The Team Manager will report to the Slowpitch National Softball Team Head Coach.

Primary Duties Include

• Acting as the centre for communications to and from players and staff of the Slowpitch Softball National Team.

• Organising the logistics of the Slowpitch National Team trials and training in Ireland, in collaboration with the coaching team.

• Setting and managing the Slowpitch Softball National Team’s budget for overseas competitions, signatory on the Slowpitch Softball National Team’s Bank Account and providing post-competition accounts. Both the budget and accounts are to be submitted to the Softball Ireland Treasurer for approval.

• Organising logistics for overseas competitions (flights, accommodation, meals, local transport, laundry etc).

• Organising the Slowpitch Softball National Team’s uniforms, clothing and equipment (with support from the other National Team Managers as appropriate).

• Managing all aspects of the Slowpitch Softball National Team’s logistics for training and competitions in collaboration with the coaching team

• Co-ordinating & managing the Board quarterly update reports & post tournament reports and submitting to Softball Ireland.

If you have any questions on the role, please do not hesitate to contact Peter Mullen at spcoach@softball.ie

Applicants are asked to submit their applications to spcoach@softball.ie by January 31, 2024.

Following a review of Team Ireland’s preparations for and performace at the World Series in September 2023, the Softball Ireland Board unamiously agreed to appoint Peter Mullen (BatPak) as Head Coach for the Slowpitch National Teams (Co-ed & Men’s). Peter has been apponted as Head Coach until the conclusion of the 2025 World Series.

When appointing Peter to the role, the Board were impressed by the postive post tournament player feedback together with Peter’s committment to the development of our National Slowpitch Programme and determination to raise the standard and quality of Slowpitch Softball throughout the country.

Ireland will compete in Co-ed and Men’s European Championship Slowpitch tournaments during 2024 , and Peter plans to hold training sessions and open trials during January and February 2024 as part of the squad selection process.

Further information on the Slowpitch National Team assistant coaches and team manager will be shared in early 2024.

A new name was placed on the historic IOST trophy in 2023 as Belfast Softball Club (BSC) won the IOST for its first time. BSC won out in the final against the Ori-Ginals having gone unebeaten for the whole tournament.

FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW

After a very successful IOST in MTU cork last year in amazing weather, with sprinklers in great demand, IOST is returning to Cork for 2023 and will be held on the 12th and 13th of August. Once again the venue is MTU.

Team entry fee is €375 with registration closing on Friday the 4th of August at 5pm. Team entry is done using the form IOST Registration.

Accommodation is available for either 2 or 3 nights at Melbourne point at a cost of €80 per room per night. This can be booked online, with the link available on the IOST Registration form. Rooms are not held just for Softball, so it is advised to book early.

Any questions email tournaments@softball.ie

We are full!

We are delighted to confirm that registration for the BWC is now full! Any team wishing to be placed on the waiting list should complete the registration form and should a place become open it will be offered the slot in order.

Full tournament details will be issued to Captains early next week and on the Softball Ireland Website!

The format for the the Women’s Softball World Cup (Group A) which will be hosted in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin between July 11 – July 15, 2023 has been confirmed.

Under the new two-stage format, the World Cups are played over two consecutive years, with the Group Stage the first year with the Finals following the year after.

Two-Stage Softball World Cups: Group Stage Competition Format

• 18 teams feature in the Group Stage spread across three groups
• The top two teams from each group in the Group Stage advance to the Finals
• Each group in the Group Stage will start with a single round robin.
• The best four teams from the round robin will advance to play-offs where the top two sides play each other with a ticket to the Finals at stake.
• The loser of the first play-off game will then play against the third v fourth winner for the second spot in the Finals

Full article on the format is available here

About – The Women’s Softball World Cup is being hosted at a 2,500 seater temporary stadium in Balbriggan Co. Dublin between July 11 – July 15, 2023. The tournament is being jointly hosted by Softball Ireland (Fastpitch) and Fingal County Council – for all media/sponsoship queries please email: softballwcireland@gmail.com

The 2023 Softball Tournaments Calendar has been updated on the Softball Ireland website. As tournaments and events are approved by Softball Ireland the calendar will be updated regularly. If you wish to add an event to the calendar please let us know! The calendar may be found using the link below or under the events menu bar. Click on the event for more details as they become available.

Softball Ireland Events Calendar

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

OF

SOFTBALL IRELAND

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an Annual General Meeting of Softball Ireland will be held at ALSAA Sports Centre, Old Airport Rd, Toberbunny, Co. Dublin, K67 YV06 on Sunday January 29, 2023 at 12.00pm (1200) for the purposes of transacting the following business in accordance with the Softball Ireland Constitution: –

1. Adoption of Standing Orders

2. Minutes of the 2021 AGM and Matters Arising

3. Presidents Report

3a. Softball World Cup Update

3b. Baseball Softball Ireland Update

4. Financial

4a. Accounts and Balance Sheet of SI for year ended September 30, 2022

4b. Confirmation of Audit & Compliance Committee Membership

4c. Note the 2023 Draft Softball Ireland Budget

5. Election of Softball Ireland Board

5a. Consider Nominations for Secretary (3-year term)

5b. Consider Nominations for Treasurer (3-year term)

5c. Ratify Appointment of Softball Leinster Representative

5d. Ratify Appointment of Softball Ulster Representative

5e. Ratify Appointment of Softball Connaught / Muster

5f. Ratify Appointment of Fastpitch Discipline Representative

6. Any Other Business

Dated this January 8, 2023

By order of Softball Ireland

Note:

i. The Quorum for a General Meeting shall be 50% of the fully paid up Teams in accordance with Article 7 entitled to attend and vote at a General Meeting.

ii. Each fully paid up Player in Good Standing of SI may attend and speak, subject to the standing orders, at the General Meeting

iii. Unless designated as Representative of a Team at a meeting, the Player shall not have a vote.

iv. Proxy votes will be accepted, by the Secretary General up to 24 hours in advance of the scheduled meeting, from teams based in regions other than that hosting the AGM. Such teams will count towards the quorum of the meeting. A proxy vote may only be cast by a designated Representative of a team.

Nominations: Nominations for the position of Treasurer of Softball Ireland must be submitted noting the proposer and seconder by 1700 on January 22, 2023 to secretary@softball.ie