Berwick City Cougars Baseball Club Inc

PO Box 614  Berwick  VIC  3806

Cyril Molyneux Reserve

Mansfield St, Berwick

Clubrooms: 9706 2022

ABN: 83 050 079 090

Season 2007/08, Issue 2, October 2007

A new season …a new look

There has been some discussion over the last couple of seasons about updating our existing tops and we are pleased to advise that it will be happening this season. We are keeping the final design a surprise but what we will tell you is the ‘Cougars' logo on the front is being replaced and the new tops are a sleeveless mesh style which you would wear with your club Tshirt underneath, so much more comfortable in the summer.

The unveiling of the tops will occur at the Senior Season Launch on:

Friday 3rd October 7.30pm at the Clubrooms.

So come on down and see what the new look Cougars will be wearing this season. Seniors will be presented with their tops on the night.

We appreciate the majority of members will already have tops so the club will be subsidising the costs of these considerably. There are two pricing options for the tops new tops for this season:

•  $30 without a number

•  $40 with a number

•  Tball and Domestic (Saturday) Under 12's will not require new tops (they will wear club TShirts)

•  Little League & Under 14's will not have numbers.

•  Under 16's & Under 18's not playing seniors – number is optional.

•  All those playing seniors must have a number.

•  Our ‘number register' will be updated with these orders. Preference will be given to any player already with a number to retain that number if they wish.

Juniors will be able to collect their tops on Saturday 4 th October from 10.00am to 12pm or Sunday 5 th October (1pm to 5pm) during the senior's games (first games of the season). Additionally, they will be available during training throughout the week following, before the junior's first games on Sunday 12 th October.

To coincide with the new tops, we will also be producing new club Tshirts which will be incorporating the new design. These will be available for $20 and we would ask where possible for all players to purchase the new Tshirt to wear on match days for pre-game warmup. Previous versions of the Tshirt can be kept for training.

Coming Up at the Cougars …

As we start gearing up for the new season, there are a few key dates to remember:

1 st August

We would ask all those interested in coaching this season (including Tball, Domestic Under 12 or VBA teams) to contact Richard or Gill to obtain details and application forms.

20 th August

We will require all Under 16 & 18 players to attend for a fitting of the new tops and to nominate their preferred number/s for the new tops. We need to get these numbers and sizes organised as early as possible in order for them to be ordered and delivered before the first game of the season.

Following this, all those intending to play seniors in 2008/09 are to stay around for a players meeting.

6 th September/13 th September

Registration Day and Come and Try Day – bring along your friends to come and have a go.

13 th September

Where junior team tryouts are required to determine State and Metro sides, tryouts will be held over several skill assessments to determine selection.

3 rd October

Unveiling of the new club tops and launch of the new season.

TRIVIA NIGHT - 15 th November 2008

By popular demand, the trivia night is back. We look forward to a great turnout and again we will be holding this at the Masonic Hall in Berwick.

Details and a table booking form will be posted on the notice board but you can start organising your friends and family now to keep the night free.

TEXAS Holdem' Tournament - October & November 2008

There seems to be a lot of interest in poker when the cards come out at the club so this year we will be having our very own Texas Holdem' Tournament.

The first three nights are qualifying rounds. You can play in any or all of these of you like, but the more you play and the better you do, the more points you can accrue so the more chips you can start with in the final.

The qualifying nights and the final will consist of one multi-table game – that is one big game with everyone playing at the same time on different tables. As people lose their chips and are out of the game, the remaining players get moved to spare seats on other tables.

Entry will be $20 (whether you play one or all four nights, you only pay once) and is only open to those over 18 years. No cash prizes will be awarded.

For those knocked out early on the nights, ‘social' games will probably take place.

For those who are new to it or have never played before, get down there by 7.30 and ‘Quinny the Card Shark' will provide you with instructions on the basics.

Supper will be provided

Major Sponsorship

Sponsorship continues to be a challenge for us, however a new concept has been put to the committee which, proving we get the support from club members, we would like to introduce this season.

Businesses would pay $100 for which they will 1) be invited to our club sponsors day (probably first home game of the season for the 1sts & 2nds) and 2) be in the draw for the chance to be the clubs Major Sponsor. All sponsors would be listed on the club sponsors board.

We will then have some signage made up for around the ground and in the clubrooms and the Major Sponsor will be able to include advertising and information about their business in club newsletters etc.

However, we can't justify the work and costs involved unless we can obtain at least 40 participants. So it is up to you!!!

So could all members please discuss this with family & friends who may be interested in becoming a $100 sponsor and potentially the Major Sponsor.

Please email Craig Wood ( craig.wood@dorma.com.au ) if you would be able to sign up 1, 2, 5 10 or however many sponsors. We require this information by the end of August to determine whether we will run with it.

2008/09 Committee …

A few new faces and a few old not so new faces …

Gippsland Championships – Cougars go Back to Back

In April, a contingent of Cougars players again headed down for their annual season ending trip to participate in the La Trobe Valley Baseball Association Championships, looking to defend the title they won for the first time in 2007.

The Cougars again made their way through to the final, only acquiring a single loss throughout the round robin stage.

Against a very determined Churchill lineup, and facing their Division 1 pitching, the Cougars managed to attain an early lead and hung on for a hard fought 6-5 victory.

Standouts for the weekend were Jude Power (batting average .750 with 5 home runs), Quinny (.583/4), Josh Graham (.533/2), Davis Long (.462/4) and Jack Spiers (.455/2). The home run fences are only 250 feet which makes it very difficult for the pitchers however Brett Barnett threw 4 innings, giving up no runs for a zero ERA to go with his .429 BA with a single HR to boot.

Wayne Porter Reappointed …

We are pleased to confirm that Wayne Porter will be staying on as club coach at the Cougars for the 2008/09 season.

Wayne has already had a tremendous impact at the club and has indicated his intention in getting more involved in the junior side of this season.

Competition Structures and changes

Recently, the VBA provided a proposal regarding a restructure of the 2008/09 season which in effect, would have seen our seniors playing in Division 2 this season. Unfortunately, having been put to the vote to all clubs within the VBA, this was rejected so we will still be competing in Division 3 this season.

The VBA has commissioned the Pennant committee to review the entire structure of the competition ready for the 2009/10 season. Clubs have been invited to provide submissions. If you have ideas on how the structure could/should be structured, please contact Paul Quinn to discuss.

However, there were a couple of changes that will be coming in this season:

• Junior age cutoff for all age groups will revert back to the 31 st December date, meaning that junior players will all be eligible for two seasons within an age group.
• All base coaches in all levels must wear helmets. These may be skull caps (no ears) if an adult is base coaching or a two eared helmet if a junior is base coaching. If you watch any Major League games on television, you will see they too have introduced this safety requirement.
• Division 3 2nds will now be a wooden bat competition – so the 2nds, as well as the 1sts will now be required to use wooden bats.

2008/09 Teams

Based on 2007/08 numbers, we are expecting to field teams in all VBA Junior age groups as well as 4 senior sides.

In addition, we will again be holding our Tball and Domestic Under 12 competitions on a Saturday morning. For those new to the club or not sure of the age groups, generally Tball is for 5-7 8yo and the Under 12 competition for 8-12yo although these are only a guide.

For insurance purposes, players must be 5yo before they can commence playing Tball and 8yo before playing in the baseball competitions. These age requirements will be strictly adhered to.

In addition to last season, we are also planning on introducing a Little League Metro side, which will primarily be focused on providing our domestic Under 12 players with the opportunity to play some games in the Sunday VBA competition. The structure of this team and how it will work are currently being discussed by the committee.

The committee would like to thank all of our members for their commitment to the club. Our sudden growth over the last few seasons has certainly caught up with us quickly and has presented a number of issues for the club.

As we did last season, we have made arrangements to utilise the Kidds Road facility in Dandenong to assist us with the hosting of our VBA junior teams this season. We appreciate that this is not ideal however as you all would understand, we really need 3 – 4 grounds to host all of our matches which we simply do not have.

We will continue to present our case to the City of Casey .

2007/08 Trophy Winners ….

And just in case you missed it, here are all the award winners from last season….

Results  Fixture  Newsletter  Juniors  Seniors  Events  Contacts  Tee Ball Sponsors

   Home Page