Story by Nick Wyllie, Club Support Coordinator

The baseball community came out in force to welcome the Coomera Cubs back home after a long 11-month recovery period following the severe derecho/tornado weather event on December 25, 2023.

It’s not the kind of present you’d expect to receive on Christmas Day, but 2023 was no ordinary Christmas for the Gold Coast. A trio of severe storms left severe damage at Gambamora Park, the home of the Coomera Cubs Baseball Club, rendering the facility unfit to host games.

The devastation was captured within the below photos from the club in the weeks after the storms.

Recovery across the City of Gold Coast continued well into the new year. The storm having effected more than 100 parks, 34 roads, 10 education facilities and countless residences, resulting in 77,153 truckloads of waste removed from 1,673 streets and 23,610 trees needing to be replanted. [Source] It soon became clear that Coomera would not be returning to their fields for the 2024 Winter season. Gold Coast Baseball Association and its member clubs worked together to be able to adjust scheduling and host Coomera’s winter teams across the entire Winter season.

Ambitious targets saw the club hoping to return ready for the 2024/2025 Summer season, August arrived and reconstruction was underway. Field 2’s replacement backstop fence rose from the ground, as did the outfield fencing. Thankfully these works meant that Field 2 was operational for select Junior age group games from the start of the season in October, but for Field 1, October came and went with no on-field action.

However, a delayed return was not enough to dampen the drive nor slow the momentum. Despite delays with the rebuild impacting not one or two, but three seasons, the club has shown growth in its registrations for the 2024/2025 season. A demonstration of the perseverance of the volunteer base and the sign of a strong future. Continued hope contrasted with continued delays, the reopening round kept getting pushed back, and with periods of poor weather, it seemed unlikely that despite best efforts, that 24th of November would even be the day.

Saturday the 23rd was a widespread washout – with very few games played across South-east Queensland. Chance for the planned reopening happening the next day was almost non-existent… But with some sunshine and the effort of a massive crew of volunteers that chance slowly improved through the day and into Sunday morning. The final call to proceed with reopening wasn’t made until 7am, a mere hour and a half before the first scheduled match. Luck was finally turning for the Coomera Cubs, and the volunteers demonstrated they were ready to take on the increased workloads brought on by Mother Nature’s final hurdle. Club President, Nick Day was impressed and grateful for their mobilisation of almost 40 volunteers to assist in preparing the facility on the Saturday, a fitting and strong bookend to a long period of uncertainty for the club.

While games might have started 2 hours later than expected, that did not stop the community showing up and supporting the clubs return home. MP Mark Boothman joined the club for a ceremonial first pitch for the first of two Division 1 games against the Carina Redsox. Mark has been a major supporter of the club’s return to the field, and his support, alongside his attendance for the reopening was much appreciated.

Jodie Sippel, Coomera’s Treasurer, spoke excitedly at the conclusion of the day’s final game. “The support today has gone far beyond any of our wildest expectations, and it’s made every second of effort from all of our volunteers truly worth it.”

The love of the club was truly evident in all of the attendees, and there was a clear and well-deserved sense of pride for the accomplishment of the recovery efforts among all who contributed.

The one thing that was clear through every discussion; they couldn’t have survived this disaster without the support of their Cubs family, or the local clubs and competitions that made every effort to accommodate them and their players. After all, the fight is on the field, but off-field, there’s only one goal, and that’s baseball.

For those who weren’t able to make it to Coomera’s reopening, the club welcomes five of its Junior teams back home for the first time on Saturday the 30th of November starting from 8:30am, with more Seniors games from 8:30am on Sunday the 1st of December against the Robina Braves and Windsor Royals.

The Gold Coast and Greater Brisbane League competitions were able to establish their schedules to ensure that the club would still receive as many of their home games as possible once the facility returned to use. Meaning you can get down to the club almost any weekend over the next three months to show your support, a fact that would terrify most club volunteers, but well and truly excite Coomera’s crew.

Use the links below to find a home game that suits you as the Coomera Cubs welcome the community back to their fields.

While the reopening marks a significant milestone, the club acknowledges that there’s a number of outstanding projects, from dugouts, to scorers boxes, bullpens and a new storage shed remain key projects to complete on the club’s return to normalcy. You won’t see any of them complaining about that though, it is undeniable that the momentum and drive in their players and volunteers is at an all time high.

 2024 Hall of Fame Voting Underway!

The eagerly awaited 2024 Hall of Fame Ballot is now underway, following the completion of the Heritage Advisory Panel’s meticulous vetting and validating process. After careful consideration and evaluation, a selection of prominent candidates has emerged, representing the pinnacle of achievements in Queensland baseball history.

Baseball Queensland will soon dispatch detailed information to all Voting Panel Members via email, providing them with the necessary instructions and access to the digital voting application. This platform will streamline the voting procedure, enhancing efficiency and transparency in the selection process.

To be inducted into the Baseball Queensland Hall of Fame, candidates must receive 75% of the total votes cast by the Voting Panel. Additionally, to ensure the validity of the ballot, it is required that at least 80% of the Voting Panel submits their votes.

In a bid to accommodate the diverse perspectives of the Panel Members, the electronic ballot allows for a range of choices. Members are encouraged to cast their votes in favour of any or all of the nominated candidates. Importantly, those who opt not to support any of the candidates are advised to utilise the “abstain” option on the electronic ballot paper. This will contribute to meeting the necessary 80% threshold for validating the poll.

The voting period will span seven days, providing Panel Members with ample time to assess the candidates’ achievements and contributions to the sport before casting their votes. The results will be closely monitored, and the inductees into the 2024 Queensland Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced shortly after the conclusion of the voting period and subsequently inducted into the Hall of Fame at the BQ Hall of Fame and Awards Dinner on 20 September 2024.

As the Queensland baseball community eagerly anticipates the forthcoming Hall of Fame inductees, this year’s nominees have already etched their names in the annals of baseball history. The tireless efforts, dedication, and passion demonstrated by these individuals have not only elevated the sport but have also left an enduring legacy for generations to come.