Bucks Sport Awards 27th November

Neil Turner, Clare Winter, Helen Turner, Emma-Louise Allen, Louie Pereira and BSUK regional coach Stan Doney attended the Bucks Sport Awards Ceremony in Aylesbury last night.

The Club was nominated for 'Club of the Year' and Neil Turner was a nominee in the 'Volunteer of the Year' catagory.

Sadly we didn't walk away with any awards but it was great for all our hard work to be recognised.

Details of the club's nomination below!

Key achievements within the Club in 2012

· Chalfont Phoenix win WMDMSL and qualify for 2013 Nationals
· Emma won BSUK’s Softball Young Volunteer of the Year
· Exposed softball to around 240 people through coaching in schools, universities and other sports events
· Generated income from three companies
· Taught softball to a group of girls with learning disabilities at a local school over 6 weeks
· Two coaches facilitated the running of the U17 Great Britain Fastpitch League
· Development Officer helped form a group of like minded people around the country to help promote and encourage club, league and junior development and help NGB BSUK development policies


Evidence of increased membership and participation in 2012
· Membership has 14 new members in 2012
· Putting out three teams with little need to double up players – some weeks having to turn players away
· Entering two teams in tournaments at weekends
· Fastpitch team
· Indoor team


Evidence of successful partnerships within the community
· 5 coaches shared workload of running sessions in schools:
o Dr Challoners Boys – tasters – 15 students
o Dr Challoners Girls – taster – 25 students
o Chalfonts Community College – tasters plus 6 weeks for year 10 – 50 students
o Beaconsfield School – taster – 25 students
o Alfriston – 6 weeks – 25 students
o Burnham Grammar School – 20 students

· Helped start softball at Bucks New Uni
o 20 students – 8 weeks of training sessions plus two games
o Already agreed to send coaches for weekly training through 2012-2013 academic year

· Wycombe District Council
o Bucks New Uni Community Games
o Marlow Sports Club Try a Sport Day – 25 participants

· Marlow Sports Club
o Ongoing planning in terms of helping to set up new softball team by providing coaching and expertise

· South Bucks District Council
o Softball part to two sports roadshow events – 30 attendees

· Funding
o Mars Refuel - £500 to pay for coaches to run softball taster sessions
o Tesco - £100 sponsorship towards equipment
o Conduit People Management - Around £450 for 30 shirts for junior softball section

· Aylesbury Rugby Club
o Ran two training sessions for a new group that has been set up – 10 participants

· BSUK
o Our coaches helping them deliver training sessions in our area


Evidence of commitment to volunteer recruitment, recognition and training
· Louie qualified as level 2 coach
· Don qualified as BASU umpire
· Dan, Liz and Gobby working towards level 2 coach
· 17 active volunteers throughout the club (Clare, Emma, Catherine, Chris, Helen, Barry, Neil, Gobby, Dan, Louie, Woody, Lester, Liz, Liz, Don, Phil, James)
· 4 club members on the league committee
· Emma on BSUK Youth Panel


Author: Emma-Louise Allen

David Crossman announced as our new Chairman

It it with great pleasure we are able to annouce Davey Crossman as our new club chairman. Thank you for stepping up Davey! The committee are confident that you will do a great job in leading the club over the coming season.

All we need now is a Flames captain and junior rep, could that be you? Email secretary@chalfontsoftballclub.co.uk for more information

We LOVE trophies

At the WMDMSL awards bash on Friday 12th October, Phoenix collected their Division 1 Winners Shield and trophies and Firebirds collected their Division 2 Runners Up Shield and trophies.

2012 Phoenix Captain Sarah Wood with 2013 Phoenix Captain Phil Masters, Debbie Moores and Development Officer Neil Turner

2012 Firebirds Captain Liz Williamson with 2013 Firebirds Captain Don Chester and League Rep Liz Warner

Well done again to all! Now we just need that trophy cabinet!   Author : Emma-Louise Allen

New Committee for 2013

We held our Annual General Meeting tonight in which we reflected on the successes of the 2012, talked about plans for 2013 and elected our new committee members and captains for 2013:

Chairman - VACANT
Secretary - Emma Allen
Treasurer - Chris Howse
Volunteer Co-ordinator - Helen Turner
Child Welfare Officer - Chris Yoxall
Tournaments Officer - Louie Pereira
Development Officer - Neil Turner
Junior Representative - VACANT

Phoenix Captain - Phil Masters
Flames Captain - VACANT
Firebirds Captain - Don Chester

Thank you to everyone that has contributed to the success of the Club over the last year, especially those members that have stepped down from official roles and good luck to this year's incumbents.  We look forward to another successful season in 2013 - the hard work starts here!

Chalfont coaches helping set up new Marlow based team for 2013

The Windsor & Maidenhead League is in need of new softball teams so Chalfont coaches are kick starting the recruitment drive by helping to establish a new team based in Marlow.

Our President Neil Turner has set up three softball dates at Marlow Sports Club at 2pm on Sunday 14th Oct, Sunday 28th October and Sunday 4th November.

Each session will be a couple of hours long, and will be held on their new hockey astro.

If any of our coaches or members are interested in helping with these sessions, please get in contact.

Visit www.marlowsoftball.co.uk for more information and please help spread the word!

Author : Emma-Louise Allen

CSC 2012 Award Winners!

On Friday 31st August, our members attended our End of Season Awards Bash. Here are our winners!

Best Betting Average
Phoenix : Chris Yoxall and Clare Winter
Flames : Harvey Waywell and Tash Humphries
Firebirds : Don Chester and Liz Warner

Most Home Run's
Phoenix : Chris Yoxall and Sarah Wood
Flames : Lester Deeble and Tash Humphries
Firebirds : Don Chester and Liz Warner

Most RBI's
Phoenix : Chris Yoxall and Clare Winter
Flames : Louie Pereira and Naomi Wallace
Firebirds : Don Chester and Liz Warner

Golden Glove
Phoenix : Dan Lovelace and Tara Feeney
Flames : Naomi Wallace and Chris Blamey
Firebirds : Gwyn Jones and Catherine Rowe
Tournaments : Gwyn Jones and Becky Griffiths

Most Valuable Player
Phoenix : Dan Lovelace and Clare Winter
Flames : Louie Pereira and Naomi Wallace
Firebirds : Don Chester and Liz Warner
Tournaments : Gywn Jones and Sarah Wood

Best Tournament Batters
Chris Snelling and Tash Humphries

Clubman of the Year
Clare Winter

Big thank you to Liz Williamson and Sarah Wood for organising the event again at the CPSA clubhouse.

Well done everybody!

Author : Emma-Louise Allen

Phoenix - WMDMSL Division One Champions

It's 9 seasons since Chalfont Softball Club was created. 

In our first two seasons, Phoenix won divisions 3 and 2 and after 7 seasons in the top division, our players this year walked off the pitch in their last game crowned as champions of Division 1 in the Windsor & Maidenhead Mixed Softball League. 

From the one team we started with back then, we now run three great teams, a fastpitch team, started playing single sex and have links with five schools and a university. 

Well done to Sarah Wood for captaining this year, all the players that have played for all our teams, our coaches, our committee and anyone that has been involved with the club since it started. 

We are really very proud of you all. Bring on next season!

Chalfont Ladies Beat Richings Park

Last night saw Chalfont "Pyros" take on Richings Park in the club's first ever ladies game. The Pyros comprehensively beat Richings Park in a game full of excellent batting and baserunning.
Thanks to all our supporters, basecoaches, Don Chester and Chris Yoxall for umpiring and to Liz Warner for organising the game and the team.
Team: Emma-Louise Allen, Liz Williamson, Debbie Moores, Andrea Valenius, Angela Tedman, Pipp Spibey-Dodd, Naomi Wallace, Rowena Wallace, Tash Humphries, Tara Bryne, Liz Warner, Sarah Wood, Clare Winter.

President's Day 2012

Our annual President's Day is taking on a new format this year.  It's going to be held on Sunday 26th August as part of a Twilight Softball Tournament at the CPSA Beer Festival.  If you're on Facebook then please check out the event invitation here.


If you would like to play, then please let Emma know - secretary@chalfontsoftballclub.co.uk

Maria Taylor Charity Donation

Each season, our club adopts Goldhill Common in Chalfont St. Peter as it's home ground.

As a gesture of goodwill, we donate £150 every year to a local charity chosen by the Chalfont St. Peter Parish Council.

This year's cheque has been made payable to the Maria Taylor Charity based in Gerrards Cross who provide money for the elderly at Christmas time which we believe is a very lovely cause.

Author : Emma-Louise Allen

A Soggy Start to Softball Season

The club has sufffered a soggy start to the new softball season but in true Chalfont style, our members certainly didn't let it dampen their spirits.

The Firebirds reignited their spark during their first league game against Richings Park on Thurs 19th April but sadly lost 10-15 even after what Captain Liz called 'an EPIC comeback'.

After their first league game vs Wildcats last week being called off, Tues 24th April saw The Phoenix soaring over Richings Park to claim their first victory of the season, a 5-15 win led by Captain Woody.

Playing on the same night but at our Goldhill Common home ground, The Flames played an excellent game against Wildcats but one drizzly innings cost them and they lost 16-23. Captain Deeble says, 'some positives to take out of it to work on'.

Well played all in such sodden conditions, let's keep our fingers crossed for sunshine next week!

Author : Emma-Louise Allen

Pre-Season Update

League Structure

This year, the league has unfortunately had to go to 2 divisions due to a drop in the number of teams. Division 1 will be playing on a Tuesday and Division 2 will be playing on a Thursday.

The Phoenix and Flames will both be playing in Division 1 (promise of two big nights when the teams meet during the season) and the Firebirds in Division 2.

We will also be playing all our games with 11 inch and 12 inch balls. These will be introduced to our training sessions soon so it's not a complete shock when the season starts!

Sunday 1st April

On Sunday 1st April, there will be 'trials' taking place during the normal training session so with the help of the coaches, Woody, Lester and Liz can decide their final team selection. If you haven't been able to make any of the pre-season training so far, we're hoping that you'll be able to make this one, if no others.

After the 'trials' will be the EGM to put through a small constitutional change at the Greyhound.

Louie Pereira is organising a trip to the batting cages in Northwick Park at 2.30pm and would like to invite any club members to join him. The cages are an excellent way to get your batting going in preparation for the upcoming season and Louie is happy to provide some coaching. The cost to rent one cage is £20.00 per hour so depending on numbers it could cost you as little as £3.00, a bargain! You will all be encouraged to car share and don't use your brand new bat because the batting cage balls tend to damage! Louie will bring bats in diferent weights and club helmets as it is mandatory to use them.

Please respond to the Teamer invitation by Sunday 25th March so Louie can book up on Monday 26th March based on responses. For more info, visit their website:

http://www.northwickpark.com/baseball_softball.php

Availability

As well as taking into account your softball skills, the Captains will also consider your availabilty for the season in their team selection. Please email Liz Williamson with yours by Fri 30th March so she can collate the info together.

GB Training Session

The GB team have offered our club a training session run by a couple of their players. Those who have attended something similar in the past will agree that a lot can be gained from these sessions. The charge will be approximately £20 per person so if you are interested, please let me know by Mon 26th March so we can book them in.

Chalfont Softball Club - Round-up

Pre-season training has started

Our pre-season training programme is now in full flow. As usual we are training at 10.30am on Sunday mornings on Gold Hill Common. All current and prospective players are welcome to attend these very well run sessions - everyone is welcome so if you have just found our site and are thinking of playing then please come along to one of these sessions and we'll get up to speed in no time. Click here to view the training schedule.

Summer tournaments

Our tournaments co-ordinator Phil Masters is looking to finalise the list of tournaments that we are going to be entering this summer. Entries to the tournaments normally fill up quickly so it is really important that you reply to his email asking you which ones you are intending to play.

New post-match and post-training venue

We have changed which pub we are using after matches and training this season. After using the Village Hall for a few years we have now partnered up with the Greyhound Inn in the main centre of the village. They have agreed to reserve us an area in the pub and even provided some food for us after training on Sunday. Please support this partnership by going down there after matches and training.

February BSUK Youth Panel Meeting

Emma-Louise Allen writes after attending her first BSUK Youth Panel meeting.

This past Saturday [4th Februrary - Ed], I attended my first BSUK Youth Panel meeting. I was quickly brought up to speed on what the group is all about and I plan to take full advantage of this opportunity to work alongside like minded individuals and thrash out new ideas with BSUK staff who lovingly view us as the 'next generation' of sport developers. They offer their time, their support and to quote a fellow youth panel member 'a rather unhealthy amount of pizza!'

Coming away from the meeting, I felt very inspired. Some of my projects for the forthcoming season are to raise awareness of the Youth Panel in our league and find out more about the juniors we have and the roles they play within their clubs. I would also like to rally a team of our own members together to volunteer at BSUK events in exchange for a donation to CSC's fund-raising pot.

If you are interested in helping with any of this or just want to find out more about the Youth Panel itself, feel free to contact me.