PlayBall - Baseball for children comes to Farnham Park

PlayBall, a baseball programme for children aged under 14 is now underway on Friday evenings at Farnham Park Baseball and Softball Facility (SL2 3BP) in Farnham Common.

The programme has been initiated by BaseballSoftballUK and lead by GB Baseball Coach Sam Dempster is being heavily supported by Chalfont Softball Club, who are planned to take over the overall running of the programme in 2015.

Running every Friday from 6.30pm until 8.30pm until the end of July, the sessions for children aged from around 8 upto around 14. They are designed to introduce the basic skills and game concepts of baseball and then develop them so that the children can fully experience the game of baseball.

There are three ways your child can get involved:

1. Register by sending an emal to playball@busk.com
2. Fill a registration form by clicking here
3. Simply turn up a Friday before the end of July at 6.30pm

Clubhouse and Post-Match Food

We are currently trialling the clubhouse of the South Buckinghamshire Golf Club that is literally just a three minute drive from Farnham Park. The cllubhouse has recently being built and offers a fantastic bar area with a great choice of alcoholic and soft drinks. If we decide to continue to use it post-match, their patio overlooking the golf course should be an excellent location for our drinks.

We used it for the first time last Tuesday after the Phoenix -v- Flames game and will be using it again on Tuesday after Phoenix host Richings Park and Flames host Maidenhead.

We have had initial conversations with the staff about the provision of food and agreed we would get player feedback before argreeing a plan. We would welcome your feedback on the following:

• House Cooked Glazed Ham and Chips - £6.50
• Sausage, Beans and Chips - £6.50
• Scampi, Chips and Salad - £7.00
• Ham and Cheese Toasted Sandwich - £4.50
• Tomato and Cheese Toasted Sandwich - £4.50
• Bacon and Cheese Toasted Sandwich - £4.50
• Onion and Cheese Toasted Sandwich - £4.50

They can provide a full choice as above where each person individually chooses, however if we can agree (maybe by the week) on one option only for the evening (could be any of the above or something else such as lasagne, chilli or curry) then that could be made available at a lower price (based on it being easier to mass cater rather than for individual orders).

What would you prefer?

• No food
• Free choice each week as above
• Work out a group deal on a dish each week

Social Secretary

At the last committee meeting, we identified a need for the club to hold more social events away from the softball pitch.

We had a successful bowling evening in the closed season and we will be holding a club social on the evening of the EGM on Friday May 23rd, but we're looking for a member to take on the roll as Social Secretary (aka party organiser) to come up with ideas and then set up many more dates throughout the summer and into the winter to get us together and become closer club.

Do you have some great ideas for how we can elevate the social side of Chalfont? Maybe rather than one person, you'd like to take it on as a pair with a friend. If you do and would like to get involved then please let us know. The first point of contact should be with our Volunteer Co-ordinator, Helen Turner (volunteers@chalfontsoftballclub.co.uk) who will be able to answer any questions you may have with regard to the role.

Facebook and Twitter

For those that are new to the club and a reminder to those that played with us last year. We send out comminucations like this on email, but we also run a Facebook page and Twitter feed to keep you up to date on club news on a more frequent  nature.

Our Facebook page is located at https://www.facebook.com/ChalfontSoftballClub. Simply log into your Facebook account, pop in that URL or seach for "Chalfont Softball Club" and hit the "Like" button. Any news we post on there will then appear directly in your own news feed as soon as it is posted.

On Twitter visit https://twitter.com/chalfntsoftball to read our Twitter feed. If you have a Twitter account then you can tweet and follow us at @chalfntsoftball.

Membership Forms and Subs Due

Membership forms and subs are due now - please ensure you complete your form and pay your subs as soon as possible.

Membership forms should be available for you to complete after your games this week, but you can download using the link below. All completed forms should be given to your Captains who will pass on to our club Secretary, Helen Brown.

The membership form is here, please download, print and give to your Captain.

Senior members pay £50 and junior members pay £25 for the season and the options are either cash, cheques made payable to Chalfont Softball Club or by using the following details to do a bank transfer. (Please ensure you add a reference so Chris Howse, our Treasurer, knows it's money coming from you!)

Account Number: 18920349
Sort Code: 60-24-77

Members are also encouraged to pre-pay 10 games worth of match fees (£50 total) up front, and also the deposits for their tournament entry (£10 each) which will secure your place.

All non-electronic payments should be given to you Captain who will then pass them on to Chris.

Notice of EGM

EGM NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an extraordinary general meeting of Chalfont Softball Club will be held at 7.30pm on the 23rd day of May, 2014 at Tempus Court, Bellfield Road, High Wycombe, HP13 5HA to consider and if thought fit pass the following resolution which will be proposed as an ordinary resolution:

“That, following a proposal from BaseballSoftballUK, Chalfont Softball Club should move from Chalfont St. Peter and become the incumbent Club at the Farnham Park Baseball and Softball Facility in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire.”

The passing of the resolution by the membership empowers the Committee:

• To  enter into any formal agreements with BaseballSoftballUK that both parties deem required by such a move
• To work on necessary constitutional changes (including any change to the Club’s name) to be proposed for ratification by the membership at the Club’s next Annual General Meeting.

Details of the proposal from BaseballSoftballUK will be distributed in the next 24 hours.

MEETING AGENDA:

1. Opening of the meeting
2. Discussion of the proposed move to Farnham Park
3. Vote on the resolution above
4. Any other business
5. Closing of the meeting
6. Club social in High Wycombe

By Order of the Committee
Dated the 9th day of May, 2014

Post-Match Drinks Venue Trial

Over the winter the committee have been looking at various options for a venue for drinks and food following games at Farnham Park. Rather than use the on-site clubhouses like we did last year we initially looked at local public houses as possibilities, however we think we may have found an even better location.

You may or may not be aware, round the corner from Farnham Park is the South Buckinghamshire Golf Club (formally Farnham Park Golf Club). It is a two minute drive away and has a brand new clubhouse and bar.

We have agreed with South Bucks District Council (with the help of BSUK) who run the venue that the bar in the clubhouse will be open from 8.30pm until around 11pm for:

• Tuesday 6th May - Chalfont Phoenix -v- Chalfont Flames
• Tuesday 13th May - Chalfont Phoenix -v- Richings Park and Chalfont Flames -v- Maidenhead

We'll use these two dates to test if the clubhouse is a suitable venue for us for the rest of the summer on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

The clubhouse apparently has wonderful catering facilities which may mean that food could be available once we have had a chance to have a chat with the bar staff and chef on Tuesday.

You can read more at http://www.thesouthbuckinghamshire.co.uk. The website includes a map that shows you how close it is to our home ground.