Annual Report to VSA

Sale Women's Softball Association

Annual Report Season 1978-79

Sale Women's Softball Association began the season with 320 registered players in 23 teams playing in A, B and Primary grades. Some of the newer teams found it hard to consolidate numbers and had to dis­band before the end of the season, causing a nuisance to all other players. The Primary division was the most promising with 7 teams with 15 players all anxious to play. A good basis for the future.

Grounds: The Association marks 3 diamonds on McMillan Park, a recreational area in Sale, which should only have two, but we cope reasonably well. Land for Softball and Baseball is scarce. Several possibilities were examined during the season, but all were found unsuit­able, with such problems as high rentals, no outside changing or toilet facilities, cricket usage in the morning and just not enough ground space. At the beginning of the season, we used a school diamond, but the split venue was not popular with everyone. The withdrawal of one team solved that problem.

Umpiring: The umpiring of games showed some signs of improving but more needs to be done in this area.

V.S.A. Affiliation: Being affiliated with V.S.A. should help the Association in its endeavours to improve all aspects of Softball in Sale.

Gippsland Regional Championships: The Gippsland Regional Championships in Drouin, helped remind the people of Sale that Softball is a thriving Sport as the local press gave good publicity to the B grade team's win in this competition, with photos and a comprehensive write-up of the Grand Final. The Primary team, although outclassed, learned much from their experiences, thoroughly enjoyed the outing and were a credit to the Association.

We hope in the 1979/80 season to encourage those ex Primary players to continue playing and develop a strong Secondary School competit­ion.