Category: Galway Softball

by Colum Lavery

Softball Ireland Launches Slow Pitch Softball Development Plan

Softball Ireland has today launched the Slow Pitch Softball Development Plan 2022-2026.

The Development Plan will be the key policy document that sets out the overall strategy for the sustainable development and growth of Slow Pitch Softball in Ireland for the period 2022-2026 and beyond.

The Plan clearly sets out Softball Ireland’s vision for the sport going forward and will include toolkits designed to provide practical support to Teams and Regional Associations to recruit, develop and retain players in slow pitch Softball.

Commenting on the release of the Plan, President of Softball Ireland, Colum Lavery commented; “The launch of the Slowpitch Development Plan is both an exciting and defining moment for our sport. As we move into a post pandemic world, Softball Ireland has set itself the target that by 2026, Slow Pitch Softball will be a co-ed sport of choice in Ireland providing social, recreational, and high-performance sporting opportunities throughout all provinces and communities.“

Colum Lavery added that “Sport relies on strong governance, leaders and decision makers to create a pathway and to develop an environment in which Teams and Regional Associations can grow our sport. Softball in Ireland will rely on the leaders in ours Teams and Regional Associations to drive change in their organisations to ensure we get better governance, better coaching and better development pathways to support the growth and effectiveness of this plan. Sodtball Ireland are already starting the work to implement the Slowpitch Development Plan but if we’re to truly see a step change in the growth and retention of Softball Teams and Players across the sport, then the implementation of the content of this Development Plan is central to that.”

Softball Ireland will now commence the process of co-ordinating with Regional Associations to implement the plan. The plan is available on the Softball Ireland website at the below link:

Softball Ireland Slowpitch Development Plan 2022 – 2026

Acknowledgements

Softball Ireland would like to thank the members of the Development Plan Working Group; Andrew Craven (Chair), Will Gilpin, Vinny McGrane and Amanda Ní Ghabhann for their time and dedication in developing the plan.

Softball Ireland further wish to thank the Development Vision Working Group; Ruth Brady, Declan Carty, Jay Slevin, Eoin Wood, and our external facilitators Katie Sadleir and Myra McGlynn, for creating the vision and principles that underpin the Plan.

by Colum Lavery

Galway to launch inaugral Co-ed Slowpitch Softball League

Softball Ireland wish to congratulate the Committee of Galway Softball Club on the creation of the Galway League which will commence on Monday June 21, 2021. The efforts of the Committee has seen huge growth in the Galway area with membership doubling as Galway exited lockdown.

The four team league will be played at St Marys College between 6 pm and 8 pm on Mondays through to September 6, 2021. Galway Softball Club have also secured local sponsorship for the inaugral league with An Púcán, Kennys Bookshop, Irishscores.com & Megadale Automation agreeing to naming sponsorship of each of the league teams.

Speaking on Galway Softball Clubs announcement, Softball Ireland President Colum Lavery said “We are delighted to welcome the Galway Softball League to the Softball Ireland family. The growth of Softball in Galway has been a joy to watch over the last number of years and the efforts of the club members during the lockdown has been phenomenal.”

Lavery added “Galway have shown that there is a need for and demand for social, co-ed sporting activites post COVID, and we believe Softball offers the perfect mix of social interaction together with both recreational and competitive sport depending on the level you wish to play at. Today is about celebrating the succes of Galway Softball Club and celebrating the inaugral league which launches this Monday.“

Speaking about the inaugral Galway League, Vinny McGrane Galway Softball Chairman said “It’s a great day for Galway Softball to be able to announce the inaugural Galway League.

Without our sponsors we would have really struggled to get this off the floor so a big thank you to An Púcán, Kennys Bookshop, Irishscores.com & Megadale Automation. The fact that Galway Softball can attract the support of such impressive companies is a great measure of our current success.

There has been huge efforts to make this happen and I would like thank Softball Ireland for their support over the years, the Galway Softball Committee and all the people that kept the club going since 1998. But most of all the players who have made this possible.”

Details on teams and fixtures for the inaugral Galway League are available on the club website and if you are interested in playing details are available here.

by Colum Lavery

Brian Walshe Cup – June 12, 2021 – Registration Open

The Brian Walshe Cup is scheduled to be held June 12th in ALSAA. Unfortunately due to the current government advice on cross border travel, teams from Northern Ireland may not register for this tournament. Softball Ireland are continuing to work with Softball Ulster on the format for an Ulster team to qualify for the BWC Finals Day.

The cost of entering the tournament on the day is €150 per team.

Register for the Brian Walshe Cup 2021

To comply with the advice of the SI Medical Committee the following will be adhered to:

1. There will be no “borrowing” of players from other teams on the day, i.e. players may play with one team only to limit their number of contacts and exposures.
2. The competition will be divided into groups containing a maximum of 4 teams again to limit the amount of exposures. As a result we cannot guarantee entry for all teams that register so please register as early as possible.
3. All players must be registered with SI before playing and team rosters must be submitted for contact tracing purposes.

Please see the Covid hub of the SI website for the latest Medical Committee advice:
http://www.softball.ie/covid-19-hub/

If you have any questions please email tournaments@softball.ie

Registration closes Monday 7th June @ 5pm.

Register for Brian Walshe Cup
by Colum Lavery

Game ON! Return to Play Dates Confirmed

Further to the confirmation of the Government that sports clubs in the Republic of Ireland may return to training in groups of up to 15 from May 10, 2021. We are delighted to confirm that having considered the recommendation of the Medical Committee, the Softball Ireland Board have confirmed that softball training may return in Republic of Ireland from May 10, 2021 subject to the following conditions:


(I) The Government continue to permit sports teams to partake in training sessions; and
(II) All teams in the Republic of Ireland to continue to train in accordance with Government advice and restrictions; and
(III) All training sessions are held in accordance with the updated Softball Ireland Return to Play Protocol set out on the Softball Ireland website; and
(IV) Players are only permitted to attend and train with teams (clubs) they are registered with.


To further assist Teams return to play, a COVID-19 Risk Assessment Guidance and a downloadable COVID-19 Risk Assessment Template have been prepared by the Softball Ireland Medical Committee and are available on the Softball Ireland website.


To assist the Medical Committee with its constant review of Protocols and Guidelines, we would be appreciative of feedback on these from all Teams to allow us to improve and support the return to softball further.


We can confirm, that subject to Government restrictions remaining unchanged, the Softball Ireland insurance policy will be re-activated with effect from May 10, 2021 for Republic of Ireland Team for training only.

Based on the Government announcement, competition/leagues may be permitted to commence from June 7, 2021 and Softball Ireland will continue to liaise with Sport Ireland on the matter.

by Colum Lavery

2021 Registration & Team Fees Announced

As the outlook for the 2021 season continues to look on the up, Softball Ireland are inviting teams wishing to play in leagues or tournaments in 2021 to register with Softball Ireland.

Membership of Softball Ireland provides players with insurance to play in leagues and tournaments as well as opening up access to training and educational courses provided to Softball Ireland throughout the season. The Softball Ireland membership fee (paid through your team) allows Softball Ireland cover its ongoing operational and development costs.

Teams participating in the Softball Ulster league or the Softball Leinster mid-week league should register through their region, all other teams wishing to register with Softball Ireland should email the Softball Ireland Secretary.

FEES

The Softball Ireland Board had confirmed the 2021 teams fees as follows:

Team Fee (which includes insurance) – €350

Development Levy* – €30 per team

The development levy will be ringfenced for investment in coaching and umpiring courses and the implementation of the Sofbtall Ireland Slowpitch Development Plan.

An overview of the Softball Ireland 2021 budget and the allocation of members funds may be accessed here

by Andrew Craven

Updated COVID-19 Hub

Softball Ireland is pleased to announce that the COVID-19 Hub has now been updated for the 2021 season. The COVID-19 Hub is accessible from the ‘Resources’ tab above or by clicking here.

The latest updates to the COVID-19 Hub include:

  • Updated Return to Play Policy for 2021
  • A Risk Assessment Template that can be used and modified by the teams
  • A Risk Assessment Guidance Document to explain how to risk assess your team’s activities / venues
  • A status table outlining what events can happen where

The COVID-19 Hub will be updated regularly throughout the season, including document updates and FAQs. If there is anything you would like to see on the hub, please get in touch with us.

Due to government restrictions, please note that teams in the Republic of Ireland continue to be restricted from training or playing games and the insurance policy remains suspended.

For all COVID-19 enquiries, Softball Ireland continue to have a dedicated email: covid@softball.ie.

Calendar
by Andrew Craven

Softball Ireland Provisional 2021 Calendar

Softball Ireland are pleased to announce the provisional calendar for the 2021 season. You can use the interactive calendar below to view the dates for Softball Ireland, Softball Leinster, Softball Ulster and European Championships. Please note that although tournaments are being scheduled for 2021, these are subject to COVID-19 restrictions and may not go ahead given the restrictions in place at the time.

by Colum Lavery

COVID-19 Upate – February 2021

Island of Ireland Restrictions

In accordance with the restrictions as set out by the Northern Ireland Executive and the decision of the Irish Government set the Republic of Ireland to Level 5, all Softball activities inclusive of training continue to be suspended to at least March 5, 2021.

Please note that during this period no softball activities are covered by the Softball Ireland insurance policy. Please note that the suspension of activities inludes but is not limited to leagues, tournament, inter-team games, practices and training in any sized grouping.

Softball Ireland woud encourage our members to follow all public health guidelines and continue to work together to reduce the spread of the virus.

Softball Ireland continues to liase with Softball Leinster, Softball Ulster and Galway Tribes to plan and prepare for international tournaments, leagues and club tournaments in 2021. Updates will be issued to Club contacts in the coming weeks.

The Board wishes continued good health to all our members and their families.