Jersey Softball Association - News

Thundercats roar to Cardiff victory

18/6/2022

Two local softball teams saw success at the Cardiff Diffodil softball tournament played out over the jubilee celebrations, with one venturing on to take the overall title of Diffodil Cup 2022 Champions.

Both travelling teams, the Transformers and the Thundercats are formed predominantly from players from the Corefocus Sunday softball league in Jersey, with a total of 5 teams represented within the 2 squads. The players do not compete in the same squad, and each took a little time to find their rhythm as a result, with both having a mixed first day of competition. Transformers won 2 of their 6 matches, and Thundercats taking 3 out of 5 matches played on day 1.

Thundercats Softball Team

The second day of tournament play saw much improvement, with Transformers making it to the plate semi-finals after their round robin, only narrowly missing out on a final spot. Thundercats had an early loss on day 2, but from there on looked unstoppable, winning all 5 subsequent games and storming into the cup competition.

Whilst the weather certainly was not in the teams favour, with heavy showers making grounds tricky to maintain any momentum at bat or in defence, the Thundercats had really found their groove, winning both the semis and the final convincingly, and taking the title with innings to spare having built up a 15 run lead in the 5th. Final score 20 - 5 to see the Thundercats crowned Cardiff Diffodil Cup Champions 2022.

Transformers Softball Team

Tournament Captain Robin Tadier said “I am so proud of the way both teams performed across the weekend. We’ve competed here in Cardiff before (pre-COVID), and we know how fierce the competition is. Most if not all of the other teams play together the year round so have a bit of a head start on their cohesiveness. The results for both teams really exceeded our expectations, particularly after a bit of a rocky first day. Speaking on behalf of both myself and Stuart (Emmanuel, Captain of Transformers) it was wonderful to once again compete against teams that we have come to know and respect over the years. Each and every one of the players gave it their all. We hope to be back to defend next year”.

Thundercats - Diffodil Cup Champions 2022!

_SystemLabs Jersey Softball are Slowpitch Cup Runners-up!

24/5/2022

The _SystemLabs’ Jersey Softball team recently returned home from the recreational slowpitch cup in England as runners up. The Tournament was held over two days at Farnham Park the home of Baseball Softball UK.

A team made up of various Jersey Softball Association players and coached by Phil Bouchard travelled to Farnham Park with high hopes of putting Jersey Softball back on the map after an enforced break from tournament play due to Covid.

Drawn in a group of seven including Teams from Reading, Coventry, Bracknell, Chichester, Portsmouth and Maidenhead the Jersey squad finished the first day of the tournament with four wins from five games, losing narrowly to Maidenhead 26-24.

The second day of play saw the final game of the group stage play out with another win for Jersey leaving the island team in second position going into the semifinals.

One last hurdle meant a re-match against Maidenhead for the BSUK Recreational Slowpitch Cup title would be on the cards. Jersey delivered another win against Coventry Blitz who had also made the semifinals.

Having completed a closely contested first fixture against Maidenhead, meeting then again in the final was always going to be a tight tussle.

Despite a few tired and bruised bodies from seven consecutive games to get to this point, the Jersey squad entered into the final with plenty to play for and a renewed strategic plan. Coach Bouchard along with assistant Claudine Snape made adjustments to the defensive setup and rotated the batting lineup to give Jersey the best chance of victory. Despite valiant efforts across the park including some heroic fielding and well timed pinch-hitting sadly the hoped-for win did not emerge and Maidenhead Spartans walked off in the bottom of the seventh with a victory by one run.

On collecting the runners up trophy Bouchard said, “It’s been an amazing weekend with a brand-new Jersey squad who have never played competitively as a unit before now. I’m really proud of how everybody trained and prepared to get to this point. Our younger players and our older ones all showed what could be done and stepped up and performed well under pressure in the final. The Jersey Softball Association Under Chris Halford and Lindsey Satchell can be rightly proud of the way the island has been represented on the mainland this weekend. Of course we are greatly appreciative of our team sponsor _SystemLabs without whom we would not have been able to compete, and our team scorer Ali Wade who kept us all on track.”

Next the JSA will prepare for a mid-season tournament and build on the initial success of this first foray back into tournament play outside of the island.

Softball is back !

25/4/2022

We're pleased to announce Jersey Softball is back for the 2022/23 season after what has been a very 'up and down' couple of years.

This season the Corefocus Summer League gets underway on the 15th of May at Les Quennevais Sports Centre. The softball diamond (Pitch 1) and our Pitch 2 behind the Hockey Club will host games every Sunday until late August. Throughout the season some teams will be off island playing at tournaments in the UK and US.

The official _Systemslabs Jersey Softball team are heading away to London at the end of April to take part in BSUK’s Recreational Slowpitch Cup. This will be the first off island tournament since 2019. Covid restrictions meant there were no tournaments in 2020 and last year travel was still problematic for teams and there were no opportunities to play outside of the island.

Phil Bouchard, JSA Island Coach said "It's great to be able to get away again after two long years. It's exciting to be coaching and organising a team to be able to do so. We've not played competitively as a squad since 2019 so we're going away with a new look group of players and using the Slowpitch Cup as an opportunity to get ourselves back in the game. When we travel to tournaments we will be competing in up to 10 games during a weekend. It's very different to playing one game a week during the local summer league.”

2022 also sees the return of the Manage Engine Corporate League in Jersey. It's a fun introduction to Softball for all comers with rules that are simpler to learn during team training before the league starts in June. The corporate league will see 10 teams from the islands’ corporate and business workplaces compete mid-week for a trophy and bragging rights! For more information about the corporate league or to enter a team, email corporate@jerseysoftball.com

Last year, the Jersey Softball Association were successful in receiving funding from the Jersey Community Foundations fund. This has allowed for updated equipment as well as brand new youth team kit to be purchased which will be used during youth team development games. Our development coach has been working alongside secondary schools providing training to PE teachers on how to play the game within their curriculum and encourage young players to come and take part in a youth league down the line. Anyone interested in playing is encouraged to email Development@jerseysoftball.com

JSA president, Chris Halford said "This is just the start. There's a real buzz around the sport this year and although our indoor season was disrupted due to some restrictions, we're ready for the summer season to start. It's great that we're looking at introducing youth to the sport through schools and setting up some youth games too. The youth are the future of our sport. We're always looking at more ways to be accessible to Islanders and that includes looking at playing games in the evening and not just weekends. With softball being one of a few mixed-gender team sports in the Island, it's important to keep our name out there and make sure we afford as many people the opportunity to play as possible"

BASU Umpiring Course

17/3/2022

Are you interested in becoming a BASU certified umpire? The Jersey Softball Association are hosting a BASU Umpire Training course this year before the 2022 outdoor season starts.

BASU Trainer Pete Saunders will be coming to Jersey the weekend 30th April/1st May to lead the course which will be taking place at Communicare St Brelades. This session is ideal for people interested in learning more about umpiring softball, becoming a BASU certified umpire, and even for those who would like a refresher on the intricacies of umpiring a softball game.

If you want to find out more, please get in touch with JSA Chief Umpire Steve Le Monnier: chiefumpire@jerseysoftball.com

To register for the course please fill in the form here.

Thanks
The JSA Team

Island Training

3/7/2021

Island training sessions will run on Tuesday’s from 6pm - 8pm on Pitch 1 at Les Quennevais for six weeks and culminate in a day of softball on the 15th August that will see a mix of 'squad v squad’ matches including all male and all female games.

Training is open to all-comers and be split into two groups which will allow those new to the game and experienced players to get something from the sessions. Each session will be a 50/50 mix of short sharp drills followed by a coached/controlled match up between all players in attendance. This is an opportunity to learn, improve, sharpen and have fun in training/games playing alongside softballers outside of your Sunday teams.
Dates for training will be:
6th July
13th July
20th July
27th July
3rd August
10th August

If you are interested you can just turn up to the sessions and if you would like to find out more you can get in touch with island coach Phil Bouchard: islandcoach@jerseysoftball.com

JSA Vacancies

3/2/2021

We currently have 3 vacancies within the JSA and are looking to fill these spots with dedicated and passionate people, like you. The current vacant positions are; JSA Secretary, Development Officer and Media Officer. To find out more about these roles, either send us an email (president@jerseysoftball.com) and we'll tell you more about the roles or click this link and view the constitution. https://www.jerseysoftball.com/jsa-constitution.html

You'll never be alone in the role as the current committee have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. We want you to succeed, so we'll be with you every step of the way. The roles for Development and Media officers can also be run as a team. So, you might be a Softball couple wanting to help out or you and some close Softball buddies may want to get together to progress a role. We're open to all ideas and options.

JSA 2020 AGM

12/11/2020

Please be advised that the 2020 AGM will be held on Thursday 19th November 2020 at 7pm, online using Zoom. The Agenda and draft Minutes from last year's AGM have been circulated with joining instructions for the Zoom call. Should you wish to attend please contact your captains for details.
Should you have any items to be added to the Agenda, please email them to president@jerseysoftball.com. Additionally, should any members be interested in standing for a position on the committee, please let us know as soon as you possible.

Agenda:
1. IN ATTENDANCE
2. APOLOGIES
3. APPROVE MINUTES OF THE AGM HELD ON 26 NOVEMBER 2019
4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THESE MINUTES
5. PRESIDENT'S REPORT
6. TREASURER'S REPORT
7. AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION AND/OR STANDING ORDERS
8. ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
a. PRESIDENT
b. VICE-PRESIDENT
c. TREASURER
d. SECRETARY
e. FIXTURES OFFICER
f. UMPIRE-IN-CHIEF
g. DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
h. PRESS OFFICER
i. CORPORATE LEAGUE ORGANISER
j. WEBMASTER
k. ISLAND COACH
9. DATE OF NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING
10. AOB:
a. Indoor 2020

JSA President - Covid-19 update

14/6/2020

As we approach what would be the 2nd month mark of the summer softball
season, we have only very recently been given government guidelines in
relation to sport that we are working on. This is to make sure that
when we can give you the go ahead for training sessions, you have
everything you need to make sure you keep yourselves, teammates and
family safe!

I have been working alongside Jersey Sport to make sure our thoughts
and ideas are heard. That said, we are fully aware we have areas
within the sport where social distancing can't be adhered to so for
now, games are still off the cards.

That said, with the latest government advice, it will see us very soon
be able allow team training sessions.

We envisage this being run by your captains using the advice from us
and Jersey Sport. A proposal has been sent for them to review and I
should hear back very soon. I would like to think that by Monday, we
would be able to roll out the guidance for you to organise sessions
for your players.

Now to the bad news! We have decided that there will be no 2020 summer
season. Primarily because there is no sign of when we will be able to
play full games and the window to play all the games required for the
league has closed. Playing every week with no breaks, double headers
and impossible umpiring duties made it easier for us to make this
decision.

Based on that, I have advised the GSA that we will not be hosting the
Upton's and Muratti this year. It would not be fair for both islands
when we are at different stages of each island's own lockdown process.

Some good news though, we have a small (but affective) team working
behind the scenes planning a local tournament or two for when we are
able to play. This should give us the opportunity to get a decent
amount of game time before the weather turns. This is of course all
dependent on restrictions being lifted enough for us to play properly.

Please bear with us while we iron out the finer points to get us
training again. I would appreciate you feeding this information to
your team by way of forwarding this or posting the information on any
social media accounts you may have!

Best wishes and stay safe.

ChrisPresident

JSA 2019 AGM

5/11/2019

Please be advised that the 2019 AGM will be held on Tuesday 26th November 2019 at 6pm, at a venue to be confirmed (we anticipate it will be at Fort Regent, as usual). The Agenda and draft Minutes from last year's AGM will also be circulated in early course.
Should you have any items to be added to the Agenda, please email them to president@jerseysoftball.com. Additionally, should any members be interested in standing for a position on the committee, please let us know as soon as you can – all positions are up for grabs. Exec – if you are happy to remain in post for another year, please also let us know.
Agenda
1. Apologies
2. Approve minutes of the 2018 AGM
3. Matters arising from the minutes
4. Presidents Report
5. Treasurers Report
6. Amendments to Constitution and/or Standing Orders
7. Election of Executive Committee
President
Vice-President
Treasurer
Secretary
Fixtures Officer
Umpire in Chief
Development Officer
Press Officer
Corporate League Organiser
Webmaster
Island Coach
8. Date of next meeting
9. AOB

John Rive Memorial Award 2019

4/9/2019

Nominations for the 2019 John Rive Memorial Award are now open.
John was a great sportsman and so it is fitting that the criteria for such an award should be similar to John's qualities - supportiveness, respect for everyone (for players and umpires alike), enjoyment of the game, honesty, assisting all players whether experienced players or new players.
He never had a bad word to say about anyone on or off the field, he may have thought it but never voiced it. He was always smiling, he always accepted the umpire's calls whether he agreed or not although no one ever knew either way, he kept it to himself as he just loved the game of softball. He was also very modest and got slightly embarrassed when anyone praised him for his play.
John was just such a nice person through and through and he is still greatly missed as being one not only a great softballer but mainly one of the nicest people to set foot on the softball diamond.
To nominate a member of the JSA for the Award please follow the link below to complete the form, stating the reasons why you are nominating that person.

Click here to make your nomination

The JSA team