Read up on all the news from the admin desk to get you through Christmas and the New Year
BASEBALL ADMIN / GENERAL
www.baseball.com.au
Merry Christmas and Safe and Happy Holidays
As we see another year fly by, I hope you have found the Administration enews a great source of information that keeps you informed. We are very open to any feedback you may have which would be wonderful to know what our readers would like to see. Navina and I look forward to keeping you informed next year. Thank you all for supporting the ABF through 2007. We wish you and your family a fantastic Christmas and an even better year ahead. If you are travelling, be safe.
Best Christmas wishes and a Happy New Year
Michelle and Navina J
In Short
ABF Office Closure for Christmas Break
The office of the ABF will be closed from 12:00pm, Friday, 21 December 2007 and will be open for business again from Wednesday, 2 January 2008.
ABF Formally Announces Inductees to the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame
On behalf of the Board of the Australian Baseball Federation, the ABF would like to formally announce the following inductees into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame:
Ü For the era 1900 – 1918, congratulations to Wallace Pratt *;
Ü For the era 1918 – 1946, congratulations to Harold Kennett *;
Ü For the era 1968 – 1988, congratulations to Don Knapp (WA).
The following inductee will be inducted under the Special Category of Player, whereby the player is inducted for having had an outstanding career in the game of Baseball (primarily outside Australia) and has made outstanding contributions to the game of Baseball:
Ü For the Special Category of Player, congratulations to Shayne Bennett (SA).
The above inductees will be inducted into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame at the Baseball Australia Diamond Awards ceremony to be held on Sunday, 2 March 2008 at the Radisson Resort Gold Coast.
New Policy – ABF Pregnancy Guidelines for Pregnancy In Sport
Over the past few years the ABF has been encouraging the development of women's baseball in Australia and the call to this development has been significant.
With the increasing number of women coming into the playing ranks, members at all levels of the game need to be aware of their responsibility in relation to any player who is pregnant and wishes to continue playing baseball. In order to accomplish this, the ABF has developed a "Pregnancy Guidelines" document which should help to clarify all positions.
These guidelines were adapted from a policy originally developed by Softball Australia and we very much appreciate their kind permission to use their policy as a foundation for the ABF's guidelines.
The ABF Pregnancy Guidelines can be access from the ABF's website under "Policies"
Website and National Database
My Club - Members’ Details
Please ensure that members’ details are entered into the national registration database (My Club) correctly. The ABF is receiving a few emails requesting new membership cards because the member’s name is spelt incorrectly.
My Competition – Team Name Change
The way you should change a team before the start of a season is to remove the team using the Team Setup screen rather than just changing the name. If you want to add a team AFTER the start of the season, you should go into the Series Admin area and there is a screen for moving / regrading.
My Club – Member Moving to New Club
When a member wants to transfer to another club, it is the original club’s responsibility to move the player to the new club by undertaking actions under the “Move Club” facility. New clubs should not be “adding” these members to the database – this is a huge NO NO. If a member is simply “added” again by the new club, this can cause all sorts of problems on that membership, least of all the continuation of a member’s history is lost and the member is now doubled up in the system. For the original club, given the chance to “Move Club”, they have the ability to ensure that anything owing to them can be sorted out before the player transfers.
My Club – Member Playing for Two Clubs
With the exception of Victoria, when processing a member who plays for two clubs, the original club is to enter the member as “Financial” into the system and the second club is to enter the member as “Paid Another”.
Internationals Looking to Play / Work in Australia
Emails are received frequently from international athletes and administrators searching for a possible position in Australian Baseball. The ABF does not screen or endorse the credentials and backgrounds of these people. The ABF advertises their emails here simply to assist these people in getting their information out to the wider community. It is the responsibility of the interested person / club to take full measures of checking and screening credentials and backgrounds of job / playing seekers before making final contractual obligations. Requests for positions are not advertised here without the inquirer’s consent to do so.
Montaous Walton is a top college baseball player from the Wisconsin, he would like to play in Australia after his college career is done, he has one more year of eligibility before graduating if you require more information please contact him at waltonmd18@uww.edu
Patrick Griffin is currently a junior at Pennsylvania State University in the United States. He is interested in studying abroad in Australia during the fall of 2008 as well as playing baseball during his time here. He is a captain of his varsity team and would love an opportunity to develop his skills while experiencing Australia. If you require more information please contact him at: jpg5016@psu.edu
Matthew Sackman is looking for employment in an entry-level position in the field of marketing, sales, finance or sports management in NSW or QLD. He is motivated, hard working, adventurous young professional with strong interpersonal skills seeks if you would like a copy of his resume he can be contacted at: sackmanm@gmail.com
Bill Duffy would like to play baseball in Australia. He is an Outfielder if you would like a copy of his playing history or statistics he can be contacted at: Dufmaster5@aol.com
Dates for Your Diary
AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL EVENTS
2008 Claxton Shield
28 December 2007 to 10 February 2008, each state will host a minimum of six games head to the Claxton Shield home page to see the full schedule.
2008 National AAA Youth Championship
4 to 13 January 2008. Hosting State is Western Australia and venue is confirmed as Tom Bateman Reserve. Keep posted for more information or contact Baseball WA on phone 08-9383 7735 or email reg@baseballwa.asn.au
2008 National A Youth Championship
5 to 12 January 2008. Hosting State is Queensland and venue is in Lismore. Keep posted for more information or contact Baseball Queensland on phone 07-3876 2222 or email admin@baseballqld.asn.au.
2008 Regional Youth Championship
9 to 16 January 2008. Hosting Association is Macleay Valley Baseball Association of Kempsey, NSW. Venue is to be advised. Keep posted for more information.
2008 National AA Youth Championship
10 to 19 January 2008. Hosting State is Queensland and venue is at Redlands. Keep posted for more information or contact Baseball Queensland on phone 07-3876 2222 or email admin@baseballqld.asn.au.
2008 Baseball Australia Diamond Awards
Sunday, 2 March 2008. Sunday Luncheon to be held here on the Gold Coast at the Radisson Resort Gold Coast, Palm Meadows. More information to come.
2008 National Women’s Championship
22 to 29 March 2008. Host is Country Baseball New South Wales and the venue is to be advised. Keep posted for more information.
2008 Australian Provincial Championship
24 to 31 May 2008. Hosting State is Northern Territory and venue is in Darwin at this stage. Keep posted for more information or contact Baseball NT on phone 08-8927 4788 or email baseballnt@bigpond.com.
INTERNATIONAL BASEBALL EVENTS
2007 Olympic Baseball Asian Qualifying Tournament
1 to 3 December 2007. Four Asian teams to compete for a berth at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Tournament to be held in Taichung, Chinese Taipei, ROC, from 1 to 3 December 2007. Details available on IBAF website.
The International Baseball Federation’s program of further activities for the 2007 season can be consulted on their website www.baseball.ch.
International Player Transfers Approved by the ABF
· From 19 March 2006 Jason Michael Pasma of Rangers Baseball Club, Queensland, transfer to Bonn Capitals, Germany.
· From 20 June 2006 to 20 June 2016 Kurt Ramsay of Melville Braves Baseball Club, Western Australia, transfer to Leksand Baseball Club in Sweden.
ABF Tour, Event and Activity Sanctions
· 16 December 2007 to 3 January 2008 Goodwill Series / American Team Tour to Adelaide, SA & Perth, WA to participate in baseball games and activities. Event and Tour Sanction has been approved. Tour organiser Goodwill Series – Robert Williams.
· 22 December 2007 to 1 January 2008 Goodwill Series Inc Baseball WA and China to participate in baseball games at Baseball Park – Tom Bateman Reserve, Perth, WA (Event organiser Goodwill Downunder – Ben Floyd).
· 7 to 11 January 2008 IBA Boys Tokyo travel to SA to participate in baseball games at various Adelaide metropolitan club grounds. (Tour and Event organiser Baseball SA – Ben Arthur ).
