Baseball Queensland is excited to announce that former Team Australian and MLB player Trent Oeltjen will be joining the Blue Jays for their first game of the SWQBL season.
Oeltjen, who spent time in the MLB with the LA Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, will be an exciting addition to the launch of the SWQBL Season as the Tigers take on the Blue Jays at Pine Hills on the 23rd of May.
Fans of Baseball are encouraged to make the trip to Pine Hills to watch the former MLB and ABL player compete against Brisbane’s keenest baseballers as the winter comp kicks off for the 2021 season.
The game is scheduled to start at 10:45am on Sunday the 23rd of May.
Oeltjen will also be available post game to meet fans and take photos.
We would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey for the Little League Pathway Championships. Feedback from participants and parents allows us to acknowledge where Baseball Queensland (BQ) can improve events moving forward.
Survey responses were positive with the average rating for each question being above 7.5/10. Additional comments were provided to help us improve for future events. Rating results from specific questions are as follows:
How would you rate your overall experience of the QLD LLPC?
8.44 Average Rating
How would you rate the playing facilities provided for the QLD LLPC?
8.82 Average Rating
How would you rate the amenities provided for the QLD LLPC
8.07 Average Rating
How would you rate the communication between Baseball Queensland and yourself for the QLD LLPC?
7.98 Average Rating
How satisfied were you with the level of competition and gameplay within your division?
7.77 Average Rating
How satisfied were you with the level of umpiring throughout the tournament?
7.68 Average Rating
Additional text comments were provided about the Facilities, Competition, and Umpiring. These comments are summarised as follows:
Facilities:
Baseball Queensland acknowledges the fantastic effort of Redcliffe Padres Baseball Club in helping to deliver the largest ever baseball tournament in Australia. The introduction of Intermediate League, Rookie Ball and Teeball added breadth to the tournament and this also means additional workload for the host venue.
A common comment shared was in regards to bathroom facilities and the lack there of as well as these facilities not always being maintained to an expected standard. This is important feedback which will be addressed for future tournaments.
Shade continues to be a challenge, particularly with growing spectator numbers. We rely on community groups, clubs and regions to assist in providing shade and appreciate the support provided in this area. We include information on social media to alert spectators to limited shade availability so that they can bring additional resources.
A greater range of food options was requested by some respondents. This will be considered alongside the practicalities of catering to a large player and spectator group.
Competition:
With the increased number of participants, we have created competitions at two levels for Little League, Junior League and Senior League – Division 1 and Division 2. Feedback suggested that clarity on how these divisions were run would be helpful. We intend to continue to communicate the qualification requirements for each division to the regions.
Division 1 games are played to innings with no time limit. This rule comes from Little League International and is required for teams to qualify for Nationals and potential Australian representation at the Little League World Series. We recognise that some games may take longer than others and this can have an impact on game start times. Every effort is made to provide a draw that has the athlete’s wellbeing in mind.
Division 2 games may be run to innings or to time, with the intent to maximum amount of games and participation for players. Timed games may mean that some games conclude mid inning with mechanisms in place to ensure equity in determining the final outcome. When developing the draw, consideration will be given for the potential for games to be stopped owing to low light, with strategies implemented to try and minimise this occurring.
Regional teams use the same database that clubs use when players register. Club are responsible for checking birth certificates at the time of registration. This ensures that players available to the regions are utilised in their natural age group.
With the largest Little League (LL) Division 2 competition taking place this year, BQ will be reviewing how the competition was run, the draw, timings and the number of tournament days for this division. Future growth and development of this competition is important to provide tournament baseball experiences for a wider range of players who will be able to grow their skills and create lasting memories.
Umpiring:
Umpire decisions will always be contentious as half those in attendance are likely to disagree with all their calls. While it would be optimal to have officials free from any real or perceived conflict of interest, it is often not practically possible in junior sport as the pool of officials prepared to officiate for a given event rarely extends beyond those who are related to the participants. In an environment that relies ‘voluntold’, it is difficult to ensure all officials are free from perceived conflicts of interest.
It is also important the we do not allow the integrity of the umpire to be challenged. BQ would like to be in a position where we do not have perceptions of conflicts of interest being levelled at umpires, but traditionally we have been left with little choice. We can address this issue by growing the capacity and capability of umpires – we need more officials. You can help by upskilling yourself to attain the necessary qualifications, then volunteer to umpire at an event. This will help us to build on the small number of umpires willing to officiate games where they currently have no other interest thus helping avoid perceptions of conflicts of interest. To this end we will discuss this topic with the Regions to develop initiatives to identify and train all those who are willing to help.
Again, a big thank you to the Redcliffe Padres Baseball Club and the Redcliffe Softball Association for hosting the event and facilitating a very enjoyable weekend of baseball.
For four brilliant Autumn days at the Surfers Paradise Baseball Club, eight Masters baseball teams played each other in the inaugural Qld Masters Games.
The venue was in pristine condition and many thanks to the Surfers Paradise ground crew for their brilliant preparation.
The following teams played:-
35+ Age Division
Good Bunts
Surfers Paradise
Redlands
Riptides Sunshine Coast
45+ Age Division
Surfers Paradise 45+
Surfers Paradise 55+
Robina
Western Districts
The first two days; Friday and Saturday saw teams play a single and double header day – often a bit of a stretch for Masters players.
Day three saw the semi-finals games played on Sunday – with games shortened to one and a half hours due to the Anzac Day moratorium for sport being played before 1.00pm.
Day four of the tournament saw the medal games being played with the following results:-
In the 35+ Age Division – Surfers played Good Bunts. In a tight match where the lead changed at least four times, Surfers came away with the win with some strong hitting, driving in the winning run late in the game. Riptides came away with the Bronze medal in another tight game winning by a single run.
In the 45+ Age Division, Surfers 55+ led all game only to see Robina score two runs in the last innings to win the game. Great pitching duel in this game – Geoff Wade vs Vogler & Callihan. Wests came away with a win in the other game taking the Bronze medal.
35+ Age Division
Surfers Paradise Gold medal
Good Bunts Silver medal
Riptides Sunshine Coast Bronze medal
Redlands
45+ Age Division
Robina Gold medal
Surfers Paradise 55+ Silver medal
Western Districts Bronze medal
Surfers Paradise 45+
We were very fortunate to have Surfers State MP – Rob Molhoek and Surfers local Councillor – Brooke Patterson – come along and watch the 35+ Gold medal game and subsequently hand out the Gold and Silver medals for both age groups. Thanks too to BQ CEQ – Gareth Jones for his support and attendance on the medals day together with BQ Director Andrea Marshall and her support across the event.
More importantly the days were spent with good friends, fantastic food from the happy and friendly Surfers Paradise canteen and bar staff watching some wonderful baseball and having great yarns about the “good old days”.
Congratulations to Surfers President – Tony McPhail – for his indefatigable work – both leading up to the event with regard to creating the draw and finalising tournament rules and spearheading his Surfers volunteers in getting the venue in first class playing conditions – as well as his work throughout the tournament ensuring teams played by the rules, the games stayed on time and the grounds were repaired ready to go for the next game.
This tournament is now on the baseball calendar and we do hope that many more teams come along next year to participate.
SQWBL ( South QLD Winter Baseball League ) Registrations are now open for current Club Members and New Players.
Southern Queensland Winter Baseball League (SQWBL Inc) is a social league promoting grassroots baseball in Brisbane between May-August each year
> Male and Female 15+ Years of age at Season start.
> Games are played North and South side of Brisbane.
> 3 Grades of League ability available.
A unique relationship has provided Baseball Queensland with the opportunity to host the largest baseball tournament in the country over the past weekend with 48 teams converging on Redcliffe Padres Baseball Club and Redcliffe Leagues Softball Association’s facilities for the Queensland Little League Pathway State Titles. This event was played across 13 fields with teams from Teeball right through Senior League (League age 16) making the most of the superbly manicured fields and a broad selection of food options available from the well-oiled machine, that was the canteen.
This opportunity to bring the baseball community together in one place was only made possible by access to the Softball facilities adjacent to the Baseball club. The ongoing relationship between the two diamond sport clubs has allowed each the opportunity to leverage the facilities of the other to deliver key events for their respective sports. The collaboration demonstrated by these two organisations demonstrates the advantages and strength of building a collaborative relationship with aligned community groups and partners. On behalf of the Baseball community, I want to express sincere thanks to both the Redcliffe Padres Baseball Club and the Redcliffe Leagues Softball Association, their volunteers and committees for all their work in hosting such a successful event.
Events such as these State Titles would not be possible without the support of the Queensland Government and the Moreton Bay Regional Council who support these events and continue to make it possible for Baseball Queensland to improve the delivery of these events. Moreton Bay Regional Council being integral to securing the event for the Region.
Thanks must also go to the officials for the event; firstly for undertaking the training requisite to officiate at this level, but also for giving up their time to Umpire and Score games throughout the event. Your support is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks to Barry Foat and Mark Bramwell, who coordinated and mentored the Umpire group over the course of the event. Thanks also to Michelle Welch for coordinating the Scoring efforts for the weekend and assisting other Scorers in need of advice.
While I hope the parents, spectators, participants and coaches enjoyed the experience immensely, I would also like to thank everyone involved for their exemplary behaviour over the course of the event. There is so much to play for at these events and sometimes the excitement of the moment can see grown adults get carried away with emotion. While there was lots of excitement throughout the event, the games were played in the spirit of good sportsmanship.
On behalf of Baseball Queensland, thank you to everyone involved.
