On behalf of the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF) and our Board of Directors, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the large contingent of volunteers, administrators, officials, coaches, supporters and participants that contributed to the success of our recent 2010 National Youth Championships (NYC).

 

The Under 14 NYCs were hosted by Beenleigh Hawks Baseball Club, at Hammel Park in Beenleigh; the tournament commenced on 9 January 2010, and ran for 8 days through to 16 January 2010. The event proved to be a smashing success; and I would like to thank David Badke, President of Beenleigh Hawks, along with his hard working team of volunteers for all of their hard work and commitment to the tournament's success. (see full list of volunteer acknowledgements below).

 

The Under 16/18 NYCs were hosted by Geelong Baycats Baseball Club, at the Geelong Baseball Center in Grovedale; it commenced on January 5 and ran for 12 days through to 16 January 2010.  To the Geelong Baycats Baseball Club – in particular, President Larry Meagher, and key volunteers Don Stephens, Barry Mills, Darren Edgar and Leanne Gibson, plus the large contingent of volunteers who have selflessly donated their time to ensuring this event was a success. (see full list of volunteer acknowledgements below).

 

It was a pleasure working with both committees on this project(s), and thank you for your tireless efforts.

 

Events such as this would not be possible without the invaluable support of our valued sponsors: to the Australian Sports Commission, our naming rights sponsor Bob Jane T-Marts, Edge 85, Virgin Blue, Willis Insurance and Fielders Choice – thank you.

 

Thank you also to the City of Greater Geelong – in particular Mayor John Mitchell and his staff; Helen O’Beirne, Pryshilla Leahy, Amy Laidlaw and Jake McMinn. Thank you for hosting our U16/18 participants and supporters in your great city. Your hospitality was world-class.

 

Baseball Victoria – in particular Christine Little – who acted as our U16/18 event Administration Coordinator and worked tirelessly throughout the duration of the tournament – thank you.

 

Baseball Queensland – in particular Peter McClenahan and Col Dick – thank you for your support in the lead-up to, and throughout the duration of the U14 event.

 

Tournament Directors: U16/18 Tournament Director Neil Barrowcliff, and his Assistant Tournament Directors Michael Goulay and Jason Blair – thank you for your support and guidance throughout this event. Similarly; thank you to Alan Weir, and his Assistant Tournament Director Peter McClenahan, for their patience and leadership at the U14 Championships.

 

Technical and Officials – I would like to say a HUGE thank you to the team of 48 Scorers and Umpires who have travelled from around the country, committing their time to officiating both tournaments - Your efforts are greatly appreciated – thank you.  I would like to make special mention of our Scoring Coordinators: Lyn Stokes/ Robyn Karlsen (U16/18) and Di Connors (U14), and our Umpire Coordinators: Ian McKenzie (U16/18) and Barry Foat (U14).

 

To the large contingent of talent scouts who descended on Geelong in the hope of providing young athletes with the opportunity to further their careers as baseball players – your continued support and the opportunities that you provide to our athletes are greatly appreciated.

 

Photographers – Thank you also to Joanne Thompson and her team from Kangaroo Photos (for taking some amazing shots) at the under 16/18 event; and Wayne Bowring from OzSport Photography, who captured all the action at the U14 championships.

 

The Geelong Grammar School (GGS) –for housing all participants at the U16/18 event - in particular Matt Bouma – who worked tirelessly to ensure the participants stay in Geelong, was a memorable one.

 

The Southport School (TSS) – for creating a home-away-from-home for our U14 participants - in particular Jenni Alford– who went above and beyond to ensure the participants stay on the Gold Coast was an enjoyable one.

 

Thank you to the small team at the ABF who put in the long hours to deliver these events – and tackled the task of coordinating all activities both on and off the field for both tournaments. (Namely Stuart Allen, Cassandra Sedgman, Jennifer Stockman, Geoff Robertson and Brett Pickett.)

 

I would like to make special mention of our surrogate ABF staff members – our interns, Andrew Percival (U14), Kiara McDonald and Anthony Fagan (U16/18) – for assuming the role as Village Coordinators at GGS/TSS. I am sure it was an interesting learning experience for the three of you, and we could not have delivered this important component of the tournament without your assistance.

 

Furthermore, I would like to thank all Team Coaches and EOs for donating your time to the development of our junior High Performance athletes. I know a lot of time and effort was put in to preparing your teams prior to these events, and you should be commended for your commitment to these young athletes. In an endeavour to strengthen the quality and delivery of this event in future years, we welcome any and all feedback you may have pertaining to your experience at the Championships.

 

Congratulations to the Players – for showing great sportsmanship, leadership and talent – and for providing us all with an exciting display of top baseball action. I look forward to watching many of your careers progress.

 

And lastly, to the Parents and Supporters – thank-you for taking the time out of your busy lives to join us at these Championships; and for supporting not only the athletes, but our sport as a whole. It is sincerely appreciated.

 

To all of those people listed above; congratulations on a job well done. We look forward to working with you in the near future.

 

Kind Regards,

  

John May

CEO