Melbourne University Softball Club

We want you.....in fact we NEED you!!! As you might have heard, over the past couple of years our committee numbers have been dropping faster than an Italian soccer player at the World Cup. We're now down to just a few able bodies.....and Elaine. Now that's no dis on Elaine, she's the brains to this operation. But we do need help more now than we've ever needed it before.

We're still sans a Secretary after the incredible Danielle Senyschyn stepped down in December, plus we're on the lookout for a couple of General Committee members. Hell I can even shuffle over my nomination if you're super keen on being President.

I know there might be some of you out there thinking 'i've done by bit in the past' and that may very well be true, but the pool of people wanting to get involved (not just here but in all sports) is pretty damn shallow these days, so if you've got just the tiniest bit more to give, we'd appreciate it so much.

You might never have been on a committee before and be thinking 'I can't do that'. I'm here to assure you, YES YOU CAN. I nominated for President on the spur of the moment some 8 years ago (probably to the chagrin of Elaine), but look at me know, i'm almost 70% useful 😃

Even if you don't have 100% to commit, we have other roles we need filling as well (which you would have received an email about), and every little bit makes our life easier.

Lastly if you've ever caught yourself thinking that MSA could be doing something differently or better....well here's your big chance to be a part of the change. Because nothing ever changed by doing nothing.

Literally the only requirement to become a fully fledged member of this retro posse of softball nerds is to be an MSA member (sadly not a permit member....although that will not prevent you from undertaking a sub committee role) in either our Winter Fastpitch or Summer Slowpitch competitions.

And if I haven't been obvious enough with regards to how desperate we are...we are as desperate as Carlton is for a win...as Peter Dutton is for eyebrows and even more desperate than a MAFS star trying to remain relevant. We need help.

Nomination forms can be downloaded here: https://melbournesoftball.org.au/about-us/about-us-2/governance-policies/executive-nomination-form/ and emailed to [email protected] or printed and brought in to the AGM on Sunday morning (9:30am).

Look forward to seeing you all there.

Jell

Just over a week until our first training for 2023 - come and join MUSC 🥎

🥎 COME AND PLAY SOFTBALL 🥎

Melbourne Uni Softball Club plays in the Melbourne Softball Association winter fastpitch competition, Sundays from May to September. Fawkner Park, South Yarra.

Come down to our first training session of the year, Wednesday April 5th at 6pm - Melbourne Uni Oval. All are welcome, we have teams for all levels.

Congrats to all 👏 here's to a cracking 2023 season

Aaaaaaand that's a wrap on the 2022 season! Congratulations to our members who were recognised for their amazing achievements at presentation night!

Angels-
MVP: "Anywhere Claire" Straw
Runner Up MVPs: Tylah Drochmann and Serena Kawamura
Coach's Award: Nat D'Amato

Raptors-
MVP: Antigone Thornton
Runner Up MVP: Jorja Fernando
Coach's Award: Julia Tay

Wolves-
MVP: Claudia Oke
Runner Up MVP: Mikayla Romano
Coach's Award: Cashelle Dunn

Vipers-
MVP: Sazya Refry
Runner Up MVPs: Genevieve Johnstone and Tracy Woolacott
Coach's Award: Rhi Whiltshire

Congratulations to our President, Kat Gourley for receiving the Duyvestyn Service Award for 2022 from the Melbourne Softball Association 🎉

Kat has been an instrumental leader at the club and around the park for 7 years, and has been a champion of diversity and inclusion for softball.

Congratulations to our Wolves for taking out the B-Grade Grand Final today with a score of 24-8!! A great way to end a strong season! 🏆🐺

(Highlight reel coming soon)

Sunday semi final wrap up:

After a very close B-Grade game in the morning which saw our two MUSC teams go head to head, the Wolves won themselves a place in the Grand Final in two weeks time. The Vipers have a second chance next week to advance to the final so make sure you come down and support them. Sunday 10:30am.

Later in the afternoon, the Angels in the A-Grade put up a tough fight but in the end the Panthers were too good winning 7-6 bringing the Angel's season to a close. The team was not without smiles or good vibes the whole way through though!

Be sure to come down to the park on Sunday 4th Sep for the Grand Final where we will definitely have one (if not two) of our teams playing for the win!

After a strong, pride-filled end to the regular season on Sunday, 3 of our 4 MUSC teams are heading into finals!

Make sure you come down to support the Wolves, Vipers and Angels this weekend (game times listed below), as well as putting dates in your diary for Grand Final day!

Well done to our Raptors for playing a great season and only just missing out on the A-Res finals, finishing in 5th place on the ladder.

Quick ladder update for those of you playing at home

All teams have been doing well to battle through the last few weeks of mud and rain 💪

MUSC is deeply disappointed in the decision made by FINA earlier this week and by the other sporting bodies that decided to follow suit.

We stand by our trans athletes and will always be backing every sportsperson, from community level through to elite level competitions, to participate as their true selves 💙💗🤍

The announcement from FINA (International Swimming Federation) regarding the inclusion of trans women in elite competition is disappointing and sets a precedent for other sports to follow in creating exclusionary practices. The impact of this decision on the health, wellbeing and dignity of
these athletes is extensive and the wider impact that this decision will have on the trans community is substantial.

To implement regulation around stages of pubertal development does not consider that there is not equitable access to puberty blockers or HRT and that access varies greatly around the world, thus discriminating against those that do not have access to these treatments, can’t afford them or are in situations that do not allow them to access such treatments. Of the FINA members 61 are countries where being LGBTIQ+ is illegal.

Whilst this is an elite policy, the impact trickles down to community level where we as an organisation we work on a daily basis to support members of the community to participate in sport as their true self and to enjoy the benefits that being involved in community sport brings. Whilst there are many people who want to be inclusive, we all too often see community clubs and leagues implementing elite policy at a community level which causes a high level of trauma to those involved.

We hope that sports can move beyond this conversation towards the inclusion of people as their true self.

Hi everyone! It has been a while but we will be back on Wednesday 13th April!

Training 6pm at Melbourne Uni Oval, can't wait to see you then 😊

Today would have been Grand Final week in the beautiful Fawkner Park! Unfortunately, it was not to be.

We are so grateful for the 9 rounds of softball we managed to fit into 2021, and proud of our 23 new members who had a really great crack this season! 💙🖤💙🖤

Many of our teams were positioned to take on the finals series, but don't worry we will be bringing this momentum into 2022 💪

MUSC is proud to celebrate Wear it Purple Day!
Wear it Purple Day was created to help show young LGBTQ+ people that they have a right to be proud of who they are. This year's theme is 'Start the conversation, keep it going' - meaning that empowering young rainbow people to be proud of who they are is something we need to do every day.

At MUSC we are immensely proud of all of our members. We strive to make this a club where young rainbow people feel respected and included.

Happy Wear it Purple Day!

Happy International Non-Binary People's Day!! Sending love and support to our enby friends 💛⚪️💜🖤

It's now easier to send Melbourne University Softball Club a message.

Today we are celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) 🎉🌈

Not only is today a day to remember and honour those who have fought for LGBTQIA+ rights, but a day to raise awareness that we still have so far to go.

So go out there and be unapologetically yourself, show support and celebrate everyone's individuality and spread the love ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Today MUSC debuted our 5th team, The Vipers!

We are so excited to get back to it after not being on the diamond since 2019!! 🏃🏻‍♀️

Bring on the 2021 season, our five teams are ready to bring it 💪

Our last training session before the season starts is THIS WEDNESDAY!

Come and have a throw with us at 6pm on the Melbourne University Oval!! 😊

The Pride in Sport Awards are on tonight!! We are honoured to be nominated for the Community Sporting Organisation of the Year Award 🏳️‍🌈

Good luck to all nominees!!

HUGE congratulations to the Melbourne Softball Association's State Champs team for coming home with silver medals after a 7 year absence from the tournament 🎉👏

An incredible effort from this talented team on a very wintery weekend! We are so proud of our MUSC superstars who were involved!! 🥈

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Pitching for Pride 2021 this evening!! 🏳️‍🌈

We had an absolute blast and enjoyed meeting all of you! 😁 Thanks again to our guest speakers, volunteers, umpires, players and all that were involved in making this happen, we couldn't have done it without you!

Watch this space for event photos and videos coming up!