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Website updated 05 APR 10
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16th April 2008 - Softball on Maori TV Please spread the word to your members and friends, we need the ratings! Maori TV are showing a softball game a week for 16 weeks commencing this Sunday April 20th from 2pm - 4pm. They are commencing with the National League games for 3 weeks then 13 weeks of the World Series qualifier. Get
your armchairs ready or set those Videos/DVD recorders etc.
Just a reminder about photos tomorrow night. Please make sure your teams are in uniform and assembled on time. The timetable is as follows: 6.00pm U11 Red 6.10pm U14 Black 6.20pm U8 Red 6.30pm Auckland U13 Boys 6.40pm U8 Black 6.50pm U10 Red 7.00pm U14 Red 7.10pm U15 Boys 7.20pm U15 Girls 7.30pm U17 Boys 7.40pm Reserve Men 7.50pm Premier Women Each team must order 10 photos. The photos are $20 each and must be paid for on the evening. If you'd like to pay by cheque, please make the cheque payable to John B Houghton Photography.
Coaches/Managers Drinks Please join us from 6.30pm-8.00pm on Wednesday night for a drink (on us) to thank you very much for all your hardwork during the season. Uniforms/Gear/Keys You can return all your uniforms, gear and keys on Tuesday or Wednesday night. Please make sure that you have all the uniforms you were issued with - we really don't have time to go running around after individual players chasing up uniforms. As we explained at the start of the season the uniforms are the responsibility of the Coach/Manager and as such you need to ensure that they all come back to us at the same time. All uniforms, gear and keys will need to be checked off against what the team was issued with at the start of the season, so please make sure you see Jason and go through them with him. All uniforms must be returned no later than Wednesday night (this week) as they will be going into storage.
13th March 2008 - Finals Weekend, Prizegiving, Photos and Various Just thought I'd drop you a line and let you know what teams we've got playing in what finals this weekend. The days and times are below: Saturday
15 March 11am
– Metro Premier Men vs Ramblers (Diamond 1) 1.00pm
– Finals on Diamond 1 Sunday
16 March 12.00noon
– U15 Girls vs Ramblers (Diamond 2) 1.30pm
– U14 Red vs Ramblers (Diamond 3) 4.30pm – Div 4 Women vs Magpies (Diamond 3) Good luck to all our teams playing this weekend!!! Prizegiving The Junior Prizegiving (U8's to U15's) is this Sunday at 4.30pm down at Metro. Please make an effort to be there. It will be a fun afternoon and there are lots of giveaways for the children. The Senior Prizegiving (U17's-Premiers) is this Sunday at 7.00pm down at Metro. Come along and have a drink and share a light supper with us. Photos I've had to make a couple of changes to the timetable today - I'm sorry. Coaches, please note there has been a further change after I sent it out to you this afternoon. These will be the last changes and this is the final, confirmed timetable for Tuesday 18 March: 6.00pm
U11 Red 6.10pm
U14 Black 6.20pm
U8 Red 6.30pm Auckland U13 Boys 6.40pm
U8 Black 6.50pm
U10 Red 7.00pm
U14 Red 7.10pm
U15 Boys 7.20pm
U15 Girls 7.30pm
U17 Boys 7.40pm
Reserve Men 7.50pm
Premier Women I apologise if these changes cause you any problems. The photos are $20 each and must be paid for on the evening. If you'd like to pay by cheque, please make the cheque payable to John B Houghton Photography. Premier Women - Club Nationals Our Premier Women are in action next week at Rosedale Park playing in the Club Nationals. At this stage our games are: Monday 17 March 4pm - Metro vs Saints 6pm - Metro vs Northcote Tuesday 18 March 9am - Marist vs Metro 1pm - Howick vs Metro Wednesday 19 March 11am - NZDF vs Metro 3pm - Metro vs Johnsonville Thursday 20 March 3.00pm - Final I hope you get a chance to go along and watch our girls. Good luck girls! We all hope you go well. Our commiserations go to Sally Bowden who was hit in the face this evening at training by a ball. It was a huge hit and Sally just didn't have time to get out of the way. Sally's been up at the hospital and has 6 broken teeth. They don't think her nose is broken, but the hospital will know more tomorrow. She's pretty bruised and battered and although she's been told she's not allowed to play for 10 days, she's still insisting that she'll be able to play next week - we don't think so Sally! Take care and get yourself better. Uniforms It is each players responsibility to ensure that your uniform is returned to your Manager. Any uniforms not returned will be charged to the individual player at at cost of $90 per top and $90 each pair of pants (not including tee-ball which is not as expensive). Until this amount is paid, Metro Softball will be advising the ASA that the player concerned is classed as unfinancial which means that they won't be able to play for Metro or any other Club until this amount is paid. Please make sure your uniform is returned to your Manager so that they are able to return them to the Club no later than Wednesday 19 March. Accounts for non-return of uniforms will be sent out soon after that date. We do not want to return to the situation we found ourselves in a couple of years ago where our players were taking the diamond in what can only be described as rags! Player of the Day As there has been two rainouts and most teams have only had one game this month, we will not have a Player of the Month presentation, but we will have a Player of the Day presentation on Saturday 29 March at 6.00pm down at Metro. This is the day before we hand over the clubrooms to Soccer, so make sure you come on down for a drink and celebrate our Players of the Day. Clubrooms Closed The clubrooms will be closed over the Easter break. Have a great couple of days everyone. I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday at prizegiving.
9th March 2008 - Weekly Report Well finally a gloriously sunny weekend - yippee!! Our results for the week were: U8 Red - Season completed. U8 Black - Season completed. U10 Red vs Ramblers - 15/18 loss. U11 Red vs Bears - 16/9 win. U13 Red - Season completed. U14 Red vs Magpies - 10/0 win (Mercy Rule) U14 Black vs Papatoetoe - 5/4 loss. U15 Boys vs Marist - 15/5 win. U15 Boys vs Magpies - 3/18 loss. U15 Girls vs Howick - 10/6 win. U17 Boys vs Magpies - 1/5 loss. U17 Girls vs Royals 2/5 loss. Div 4 Men VRG vs Onehunga Mangere - 8/7 win. Reserve Men vs United - 0/19 loss (mid-week game) Reserve Men vs Bears - 4/1 win. Reserve Men vs Marist - 9/5 win. Reserve Men vs Ramblers - 3/6 loss. Premier Men vs United - 3/4 loss (mid-week game - finally completed on Sunday due to stoppage at 3/3 due to bad lighting) Premier Men vs Bears - 7/4 win Premier Men vs Bears 11/2 win Premier Women vs Howick - 10/1 win
So, we've got teams in play-offs for 3rd and 4th and teams in play-offs for 1st and 2nd. It will be a busy weekend out at Norana this weekend. Once I know exactly who is playing when, I will send out and email in case you want to got out and support our players.
Reminders: Prizegiving - Junior Prizegiving (U15-U8) will be at 4.30pm on Sunday 16 March. Please make an effort to get down to the Club for our prizegiving. There will be lots of free giveaways for the children and let's celebrate all our players before they all head off to winter sport.
Prizegiving - Senior Prizegiving (U17-Premiers) will start at 7.00pm on Sunday 16 March (please note later time - Div 4 women are playing in a final at 4.30pm, so we will start a half hour later to ensure they have time to get back to Metro). A light supper will be served at the completion of the Senior prizegiving.
Photo Night - Tuesday 18 March - starting at 6pm. Check with your coach as to what time you need to be in uniform at the club.
Uniforms - All uniforms must be returned to your coach/manager who in turn has to hand them into us. Any uniforms not returned by Wednesday 19 March will be invoiced to the individual players at a cost of $180 per uniform and until either the uniform is returned or the invoice is paid, you will be classed as unfinancial in the eyes of the ASA.
Hamper Raffle - the end of season hamper raffle is up and running ($2 each or 3 tickets for $5). Please make sure you buy a ticket. The prize is a huge laundry basket of goodies - it's so heavy I can't lift it, and it's full of food and bits and pieces, so make sure you get a ticket from any committee member or from behind the bar.
Good luck to all our teams taking part in Finals Weekend - I look forward to favourable results!!!!
I look forward to seeing everyone at Prizegiving on Sunday 16 March.
4th March 2008 - Congratulations..... goes to Roman Gabriel from our Premier Men's team who has just been named in the New Zealand Black Sox squad. Well done Roman, we are very proud of you!
Just a quick note for those teams who will be down at the Club on Thursday night for training or photos, Pat will have the Cafe open, so you can grab a bite for dinner.
Still no news yet on rained out games for most teams ... please keep an eye on the ASA website for the draws.
2nd March 2008 - Weekly Report Well, two weeks of rainouts ... what a bummer!!! Still not much you can do about it I suppose.
Our Jubilee weekend was a huge success, even though we didn't have any games. It was fantastic to see so many old friends and faces!! The Friday night down at Metro was a huge success with over 150 people down at the Club. The Saturday night at Eden Park was an even bigger success. It was a great night and the Jubilee Organising Committee did a fantastic job. A huge thank you to everyone involved.
Now a couple of dates you need to remember: Thursday 6 March - photo night. We need the teams who have registered for photos all in uniform and ready to go as per the timetable below: 6.00pm
U11 Red
6.05pm
U8 Red 6.10pm
U8 Black 6.20pm
U10 Red 6.30pm
U14 Red 6.40pm
U14 Black 6.50pm
U15 Boys 7.00pm
U15 Girls 7.10pm
7.20pm
U17 Boys 7.30pm
Reserve Men 7.40pm
Premier Women 20th February 2008 - Weekly Report After spending nearly three weeks trying to sort this draw and not getting any work done today at work, I've finally managed to confirm the draw for Saturday. Please disregard any other draw, whether it be one of mine or the ASA's. This is the draw that we will be playing on Saturday 23 February: 9am U8 Black vs United - Tee Ball No 1 9am U8 Red vs Eden Roskill - Tee Ball No 2 9am U10 Red vs Glenora - Tee Ball No 3 9am U15 Girls vs Howick - No 1 9am U11 vs Westmere - No 2 10.30am U17 Boys vs United - No 1 10.30am U15 Boys vs Western Magpies - No 2 10.30am U14 Black vs Howick - No 3 12.00 U14 Red vs Pakuranga - No 2 1.30pm Reserve Men vs Eden Roskill - No 1 1.30pm Div 4 Women vs Bears Ritchies - No 2 3.30pm Premier Men vs Eden Roskill - No 1
Junior Players - directly after your game, please encourage your team and your opposing team to come on over to the clubrooms where we will have a couple of pergoda's set up (weather permitting), where we will be giving out free lollies and Milo drinks to the children.
Our U13 Mixed, Div 4 Men VRG and Premier Women's Teams have byes this weekend and unfortunately our poor U17 Girls are going to have to play their game at 10.30am at Norana against Royals, as per the original ASA draw as Royals are unable to accommodate a later game or venue. Girls - we'd love to see you back on the park after your game. There will be plenty of things going on.
Please also remember that we will be having a special Player of the Day/Player of the Month presentation at the Club at 2pm for all players who've been named Player of the Day since 15 December up until last week. Make sure you get down to the Club if you're one of those players and get your presentation.
Due to our Eden Park function on Saturday night, we will be closing the Clubrooms at 4.30pm on Saturday - to give us all time to clean up and get to Eden Park.
17th February 2008 - Weekly Report Another fine weekend, with just a few bits of rain here and there. Our results for the week are: U8 Red vs Ak United Blue - 36/33 win. U8 Black vs Eden Roskill - 20/20 draw. U10 Red vs Marist - 20/23 loss. U11 Red vs Ramblers - 5/2 win. U13 Red vs Bears Black - 3/20 loss. U14 Red vs Ramblers - 14/2 win (mid-week game). U14 Red vs Bears - 10/5 win. U14 Black vs Ramblers - 1/7 loss. U15 Boys vs Marist - 4/10 loss. U15 Girls vs Marist - 19/0 win. U17 Boys vs Howick - 8/20 loss. U17 Girls vs Howick - 4/5 loss. Div 4 Women vs Papatoetoe - 14/5 win. Div 4 Men vs Marist - 6/20 loss. Reserve Men vs Howick - 9/12 loss. Premier Men vs Howick - 2/1 win. Premier Women had their game deferred.
So another great set of results - well done to the U15 Girls for the huge win over Marist and congratulations to the Div 4 Women who are now the leaders in their grade.
Hot Off The Press - just had a text message to advise that the U17 Boys (Aaron's team) have just won the Navy Tournament. Congratulations boys ... well done!!! The U8 Black and U10 Red teams also attended the tournament and had a great day - althought I think the littlies may have found it all a bit tiring!!
More Hot Off The Press - The U13 Auckland side coached by Carl Gribble, Max DeBrett and Murray Rogerson have just taken out the U13 Quad Championship. This team is made up of mostly Metro boys and they've done fantastically well at every Quad they've attended and now they've taken out the last Quad and the overall Championship. Well done boys - players and management - we are all very proud of you!!!
Next weekend of course is our 50th Jubilee and I hope to have a confirmed draw out to everyone by Tuesday night. I am just waiting for two more games to be confirmed and then we are all go. Make sure you get down to the park on Saturday the 23rd. There will be lots of things going on and at 2pm, we will have our Player of the Day/Player of the Month presentations to our Junior players. So if you've been a Player of the Day for your team since the last game of the year last year (15 December), make sure Mum or Dad brings you down to Metro at 2pm to get your certificate,drink and chocolate bar at the presentation.
It's not too late to order a Jubilee shirt or hat either. The cut off for orders to be delivered this week is Monday night (18 February). We have a Jubilee meeting down at Metro at 6pm on Monday night, so if you want to get an order, come on in and see one of us and we'll sort it out for you. Also if you've ordered tickets for any of the upcoming functions, make sure you get your payments in now.
Couple of Housekeeping Issues: ASA The ASA have asked me to remind you that no correspondence is to be entered into with the ASA directly. All correspondence is to go to the ASA via the Club Secretary - me. Please do not email or phone the ASA direct. Please call or email me and I will handle your query direct with the ASA. They've been a bit lenient over the last couple of weeks, but from now on they will not respond to any queries that don't come to them via the Club Secretary.
Clubroom Furniture The Committee are more than happy for bar leaners and chairs to be taken outside, however the team responsible for taking these outside MUST return them to the clubrooms BEFORE they leave. Often there is only one Committee member on the bar and they are too heavy for one person to move on their own. We are a small club run by volunteers and we would appreciate your assistance with this. If furniture is left outside again, the team responsible will not be able to move the furniture outside again. This weekend the leaners and chairs were left out and we had a torrential downpour. I'm sure no-one wants to pay more fees because we have to replace furniture, so please help us out by returning all furniture to the clubrooms.
Team Photos As of today's date I have had a very disappointing response to team photos. At this stage the following teams are NOT having photos: U8 Red, U8 Black, U11 Red, U13 Red, U15 Boys, U15 Girls, U17 Girls, Div 4 Women, Div 4 Men, Reserve Men, Premier Men If you want a photo, please ask your coach/manager to contact me before Monday night (18 February). You need to have a minimum of 10 orders, which need to be paid on the night and the cost will be approximately $23.
Righto, hopefully I will see a lot of you down at the Club on Friday night for our Jubilee social evening, followed by a day of games, lollies, free Milo, sausage sizzles, visit by the Nesquik Bunny, Player of the Day/Player of the Month presentation, then down to Eden Park for our formal Jubilee function on Saturday, then golf or a wine trail on the Sunday and then back to the Club for drinks and nibbles before we wind up the weekend ... it's gonna be huge ... make sure you are there!!!
10th February 2008 - Weekly Report Well the weather out west today is atrocious ... but luckily there was only a few small downpours yesterday and we managed to get all our games played. Our results this week are: U8 Red vs U8 Black - 25/20 to U8 Red. U10 Red vs United - 15/29 Loss. U11 Red vs United - 13/16 Loss. U13 Red vs United - 8/24 Loss. U14 Red vs Papatoetoe - 18/0 Win. U14 Black vs Magpies - 2/18 Loss. U15 Boys - Bye. U15 Girls vs Ramblers Maroon - 5/2 Win. U17 Boys vs Mets - 9/4 Win. U17 Girls - Bye. Div 4 Women vs Bears Bobs - 18/6 Win. Div 4 Women vs Glenora - 2/10 Loss.
And as we all know the Premier Men and Women are at the Brother Patrick and Doreen Hutchings tournaments this weekend. Our girls won three games, but lost their fourth and for some unknown reason are out of the tournament - sometimes I just don't understand these tournaments!!! The guys have just beaten Bears in the semi-final 10-0, so we take on our old foes Ramblers at approximately 4.30pm this evening. The boys have played really well and let's hope we get a good result later on today!
Before I get onto to the usual news etc, I need to let you all know about a couple of exciting things that's happened for Metro players this week.
Jubilee Weekend Well there's not long to go now - only two weeks in fact - 22/23/24 February. Make sure you get your registrations in for this fantastic weekend. There is a social evening down at the Club on the Friday night, games on the Saturday, a formal function on the Saturday night at Eden Park and then either a golf game or wine trail on the Sunday. You can get registration forms off our website (www.metrosoftball.org.nz) or from behind the bar.
We've got special Jubilee merchandise available to mark this momentous occasion in Metro's history. The t-shirts, polo shirts and hats are on display behind the bar and again you can order them off the website or from the person behind the bar. We can turn the orders around in about 5 days, so make sure you get your order in. Jubilee books will also be available soon.
Please disregard the ASA draws for Saturday 23 February as we are hoping to get all teams who are due to play, playing down at Metro. I am talking to all the Clubs involved now and hope to have a draw out by the end of this week. You may not be playing at the time or diamond it says on the ASA draws, so please keep an eye out for the new draw, which I will send everyone.
After each grade has finished playing, we will hold a special Player of the Day/Month function - so make sure you stick around for that.
There will be lollies and free Milo drinks for the kids and there's a rumour that the Nesquik Bunny may even show up - there's no truth to the rumour that Dion will be dressed up as the bunny - so just ignore that one if you hear it!!
Team Photos Team photos are on Thursday 6 March. If you haven't already, please let your coach or manager know if you want a photo. Each team needs to get 10 orders of the photos - or else there will be no need to get the photograph taken. I will let you know the timetable for photos closer to the time.
Park Closure As with every year, Metro grounds are closed by the Council for repair (before the soccer season). I believe the grounds running from the edge of the fence of the Skin Diamond right through to the driveway will be closed from Sunday 2 March. The skin diamond and No 2 ground will still be available for use. Again, this is a council directive and I apologise for any disruption this may cause your trainings etc. Don't forget we can always use the grounds up the hill, directly behind the skin diamond.
Club Awards I will shortly be sending out to everyone who receives this email - the nomination form for the Club Awards. Please feel free to nominate someone in the Club (under the various headings) who you feel has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Coaches and Managers will be making their own nominations for Team Awards and for Club Awards such as Pitcher of the Year etc (as this year we will be asking for statistics and a reason for nomination). You don't have to fill in the nomination form for the Club Awards, but if you feel like you'd like to, please feel free to fill them in and either hand them in over the bar or email them back to me.
Prizegiving Don't forget to put Sunday 16 March in your diary for our Junior and Senior Prizegiving. I will let you know the start time closer to the date.
Okay, I think that's about it for this week. I hope you all have a great week and I look forward to seeing you at the Club soon.
3rd February 2008 - Weekly Report Well everyone was back at the ballparks around Auckland yesterday and we had a mixed kettle of fish in terms of results: U8 Red vs Mt Albert Ramblers Rice - 25/25 draw. U8 Black vs United Blue - Defaulted by Metro. U10 Red vs Eden Roskill - Defaulted by Eden/Roskill. U11 Red vs Bears Yellow - 11/7 Win. U13 Mixed vs Howick - Defaulted by Howick. U14 Red vs Metro U14 Black - 11/1 Win to U14 Red. U15 Black vs United - 11/2 Loss. U15 Girls vs Bears - 16/0 Win. U17 Boys vs Ramblers JJ's - 0/2 Loss. U17 Girls vs Marist - 14/0 Loss. Div 4 Women vs Marist - 13/1 Win. Div 4 VRG vs Otahuhu - 11/10 Win. Reserve Men vs Glenora - 11/0 Win. Reserve Men vs Marist - 4/8 Loss. Premier Men vs Glenora - 13/4 Win. Premier Men vs Marist - 14/9 WIn. Premier Women vs Marist - 17-2 Loss. Premier Women vs Marist - 7-0 Loss. Premier Women vs Ramblers - 1-0 Win.
Important Upcoming Dates: Jubilee - 22/23/24 February - it's not far away, so you need to get your registration forms in NOW!! There will be a social drinks function down at Metro on the Friday night - there is no charge for this - come along and have a drink! Everyone is welcome. There will be a full day of games on the Saturday, followed by our Jubilee Dinner Dance at Eden Park - only $50 a ticket - it will be an awesome night - make sure you are there! On the Sunday you can either go on a wine trail or play a round of golf. There are only a couple of places left on the wine trail, so if you are thinking of registering, you'd better hurry. Then it's back to Metro on Sunday night for a few drinks.
All games will be played down at Metro on Saturday 23 February - so disregard the draw - a new draw just for this one day will be out shortly. I am negotiating with all the other clubs so some game times may change to accommodate everyone at the park. It will be a great day and we will have sausage sizzles, raffles, lolly scrambles, a visit by the Nesquik bunny and lots of other things going on during the day as well. There will be a special Player of the Month presentation after each game - once you've played your game we will do a Player of the Day/Player of the Month presentation for each grade - so stick around and support our stars!!
Jubilee merchandise is available for viewing now - the t-shirts are on the wall in the bar and there are photos on the website. Orders can be placed at the bar or on the website (www.metrosoftball.org.nz). We have four different shirts, a cap and a Jubilee book will also be available shortly. Get your orders in now for the t-shirts and caps.
Navy Tournament - we have the following teams in the Junior Navy Tournament on Sunday 17 February - U8 Black, U10 Red and U17 Boys. We have the following senior teams in the Senior Navy Tournament on Sunday 2 March - Division 4 Women, Reserve Men. As soon as I get the draws, I will forward them to the applicable Coaches/Managers - normally the draws aren't available until the Thursday before the Tournament.
Team Photos - Team photos will be on Thursday 6 March down at Metro. Your team must purchase 10 photos - if we don't get 10 orders from your team, there is no need to have your photo taken. Managers - please let me know by Monday 11 February as to whether your team will want a photo taken or not and then I will prepare a timetable for photos. All photos will be taken down at Metro and I will confirm the price once I know the amount of teams who are having photos taken.
Senior and Junior Prizegiving - We have decided to combine the Senior and Junior Prizegiving this year and we have put aside Sunday 16 March for this. I know that some teams will be involved in finals on the day, so I won't be able to confirm a time, until closer to the day - but make sure you put this date in your diary now! Coaches/Managers - I will be sending out team trophy nominations in the next couple of weeks - all nominations must be back to me by Thursday 28 February.
Our Premier Men and Women are involved in the Brother Patrick and Doreen Hutchings Tournaments this coming weekend. If you get a chance, come on out to Simson Reserve and support our teams - their games are as follows:
Friday 8 February - Simson Reserve 5.00pm - Metro Men vs Howick 6.30pm - Metro Women vs Otahuhu Saturday 9 February - Simson Reserve 9.00am - Metro Men vs Bears 9.00am - Metro Women vs Te Aroha 1.30pm - Metro Women vs Howick 4.30pm - Metro Men vs Marist Sunday 10 February - Simson Reserve 10.30am - Metro Women vs Marist 1.30am - Men's Semi-Finals. 3.00pm - Women's Finals. 4.30pm - Men's Finals.
I think that's about all for the week. I hope you all have a great week and I look forward to seeing you down at the Club soon.
22nd January 2008 - New Year Update Happy New Year everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the fabulous weather and having a nice long rest. The weekly report will be back in two weeks time but in the meantime I need to let you all know about our upcoming Jubilee Weekend.
The following events are taking place: Friday 22 February An informal get-together down at Metro for a few drinks and catch up with some of our past (and present) members. We've got people coming from all over New Zealand and in fact the world!!! There is no charge for this evening, just come on down to the club and share a drink with some old friends.
Saturday 23 February There will be a full day of games down at Phyllis Street. I am negotiating with the other clubs to get all games changed to our park for the day. Closer to the time I'll let you know confirmed times and diamonds as these may change to accommodate all our games. There will be sausage sizzles, giveaways, lolly scrambles, a visit by the Nesquik Bunny and lots of other things going on. Come on down and spend the day - it will be fabulous!!!
That evening there will be our Jubilee dinner at Eden Park. It's only $50 a ticket and that covers your attendance, dinner and dancing afterwards. It will be a great night with lots of suprises planned. There will be reminiscences from players from the past and the present, guest speakers and a slide show. And once the formalities are done with, you can socialise and dance the night away.
Sunday 24 February There is a golf day planned for those who play and a wine trail for those of us who don't. Once your golf or wine trail is finished, it's back to Metro for a few drinks before we all head off home - whether that be home to Henderson or out of Auckland. Whether you've been a member of Metro for six months, six years or twenty years ... it's really important you get involved in this weekend. Come on down on the Friday night, buy a ticket for the Saturday night dinner and come on down to the club on Sunday afternoon. This is a very important milestone in Metro's history. Jubilee merchandise will be available to order shortly and you should keep an eye on the website for photos and order forms. From next week we will have samples of the shirts available for you to look at and there will be order forms available from the bar. The shirts are made of extremely high quality material and they look fantastic with the embroidery on. A Metro Jubilee book is also being prepared and will be available for sale soon.
So what do you need to do now ???? All you need to do is fill in the attached registration form with the number of tickets or events you want to attend and send it to the email address listed on the form. From there you will be sent an invoice, which you then pay and we send you the tickets. It's really easy and it will be a fun weekend. It's imperative we get the numbers for the dinner on Saturday night confirmed asap, so please get your forms in now.
If you have any queries, or need to know anything, just give me a call and I look forward to seeing you down at the Club soon.
15th December 2007 - Weekly Report It was a great day down at the Club yesterday and our teams results are as follows: U8 Red vs Ramblers Grey Lynn - 30/30 draw U8 Black had a bye U10 Red vs Westmere Blue - 18/19 loss U11 Red vs Marist - 9/12 loss U13 Red vs Pakuranga - 3/20 loss U14 Red vs Magpies - 14/8 win U14 Black vs Bears 6/13 loss U15 Boys had a bye U15 Girls had a bye U17 Boys vs Papatoetoe - 8/11 loss U17 Girls vs Magpies - 2/12 loss Div 4 Women vs Bears Ritchies - 20/4 win. Reserves vs Ramblers - 0/9 loss. Premier Men vs Ramblers - 1/8 loss. Premier Women vs Northcote - 2/1 win.
It was great to see so many people down at the Clubrooms for Player of the Month on Saturday night. We drew the two raffles on Saturday night they were won by: Hamper Raffle - Tracey Atkins Xmas Cake Raffle - Bunter
Thanks to everyone who bought tickets. The end of season raffle will go on sale at the beginning of February - so make sure you get a ticket for this one - it will be a huge hamper full of goodies!
Congratulations go to the following players who have been named in the NPC squads: Duane Jerard Des Pemerika Josh Niu Amber Irving Megan Farrell Good luck to all our representatives who have Nationals coming up in January.
Just a reminder that the Clubrooms will be closed from Friday 21 December until Thursday 10 January for the Xmas break.
Don't forget our Jubilee weekend coming up - 22, 23 and 24 February. Jubilee registration forms can be found on our website www.metrosoftball.org.nz - make sure you get your forms in asap.
Jason and I will be out of Auckland from 2-7 January at the U19 Nationals in Hastings, so if you email me during that time, I won't be responding until I return. You can always contact me on my mobile if you need anything urgently - 021 520 993.
I hope you and your families have a great Xmas and a happy and safe New Year.
Look forward to seeing you in 2008!
8th December 2007 - Weekly Report Well yet again the weather held and we all got to play. Our results were: U8 Red vs Ramblers Heroes - 28/28 Draw. U8 Black had a bye. U10 Red vs Ramblers - 13/18 Loss. U11 Red vs Ramblers - 10/10 Draw. U13 Red vs Magpies - 2/24 Loss. U14 Red vs Howick - 22/0 Win. U14 Black vs Papatoetoe - 3/10 Loss. U15 Black vs Marist - 6/9 Loss. U15 Girls vs Ramblers - 22/1 Win (won in two innings!!!) U17 Boys vs Bears - 0/10 Loss. U17 Girls vs Otahuhu - 8/11 Loss. Div 4 Women vs Papatoetoe - 12/10 Win. Div 4 VRG Men vs Bears Merchants - 7/15 Loss. Reserve Men vs Waitakere Bears - 15/7 Win. Premier Men vs Waitakere Bears - 7/0 Win. Premier Women vs Ramblers - 0/1 Loss. Premier Women vs Otahuhu - 15/6 Win.
There were some awesome wins this weekend - of note was the U15 Girls who got 21 runs in the first innings and won the game in just two innings. Excellent work girls ... keep it up!!! Also our U14 Red team was back in winning form with a 22/0 win over Howick - well done boys!!
Player Of The Day/Month Presentation Just a reminder that our Player of the Day and Player of the Month presentation will be made down at Metro at 6pm on Saturday 15 December. This is the last playing day before Xmas, so it would be great to see as many people as possible down at the club. It only takes 30 minutes and it is great to celebrate the talents of our junior (and senior) players. Both the hamper raffle and the Christmas Cake raffle will be drawn on the night as well, so make sure you get a ticket beforehand.
Happy Birthday As you know the Club closed early last night for a private function - it was Josh Niu's 21st birthday. We'd like to wish Josh Niu from our Premier Men's side a happy 21st Birthday. A great night was had by all, by the sounds of things!
Start Dates in 2008 Just so that everyone is aware the following are the start dates in the New Year: Premiers/Reserves - 12 January Competition Teams (U13-U17, Div 4) - 19 January Non-Competition Teams (U8-U11) - 2 February
I think that most of the draws go through for most of the season now, so make sure you check out the ASA website for details - (softballauckland.org.nz).
Next week will be the last Weekly Report until January, but if there's anything you need to know in between when we finish this year and before we start next year, I will drop you a line.
I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible down at the Club on Saturday - our Reserve Men are playing our old foes Ramblers (in a top of the table clash) at 1.30pm and then the Premier Men will take on the Ramblers Premier Men at 3.30pm - so make sure you get down to see these games - I'm sure there will be fireworks!!! If you happen to be over near Rosedale Park this Saturday, our Premier Women are playing Northcote at 4pm - go along and support the girls if you can.
Well that's it for the week, have a great week and I hope to see you on Saturday.
1st December 2007 - Weekly Report Well yet again we managed to get all our games played yesterday and there were some fantastic results: U8 Red vs Eden Roskill Green - 28/28 draw. U8 Black vs Ramblers Heroes - 13/31 loss. U10 Red vs United - 32/18 win. U11 Red vs United Red - won by default. U13 Red vs Bears Gold - 9/31 loss. U14 Red vs Pakuranga - 4/7 loss. U14 Black vs Howick - 3/21 win. U15 Black vs Glenora - 20/9 win. U15 Girls vs Onehunga Mangere - 12/1 win. U17 Boys vs Magpies - 9/1 win. U17 Girls vs Royals - 4/6 loss. Div 4 Women vs Bears Bobs - 11/10 win. Div 4 Men vs Ramblers - 20/8 win. Reserve Men vs United - 5/1 win. Premier Men vs United - 7/3 win. Premier Women vs Marist - 2/1 win.
Quiz Night Thank you so much to everyone who donated something for Quiz Night. It was a great night and I'm sure there were a few of you out there nursing headaches this morning - but at least you didn't need to get up and play softball today! Congratulations go to Sybers Slappers, who took out the Quiz Night trophy for the second year running! There is no truth to the rumour that we will be changing the name of the trophy to the Sybers trophy because they've won it twice!!! Let's hope someone can topple these champions next year!! I'd like to thank my fellow committee members, as well as Julie Candir, Chris Whyman, Andy Dean and Vanessa Robbins for working tirelessly to make last night such a fantastic success.
Player of the Day/Month Presentation Now that Quiz Night is over and done with for the year, our next event is our December Player of the Day/Month presentation. This will be held at 6pm on the last playing day before Xmas - Saturday 15 December. Please make sure you come down to the Club at 6pm - it only takes a half an hour and it's really important that we recognise our junior and senior winners. If you aren't there on the night, then you can't receive your award. Everyone is welcome.
Jubilee Don't forget to get your registration forms in for our Jubilee Weekend (22/23/24 February 2008). You can get the registration forms from the website www.metrosoftball.org.nz or there are hardcopies available on the bar.
Raffles Don't forget to pick up a ticket for the couple of raffles we've got going at the moment: 1. Jubilee Hamper - $2 a ticket or 3 tickets for $5. 2. Christmas Cake - $1 a ticket or 3 tickets for $2. Tickets are available from the bar and we'd really appreciate your support.
Premier Women I'm very pleased to advise that we have found a new Coach for our Premier Women's team and we welcome Walter Nukunuku to the Club.
Umpires As you know I try and find Umpires for our home games every Saturday. Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes I'm not. It is not the responsiblity of the Club to find Umpires, however we try and do our best. Unfortunately a lot of our senior players are coaching teams and not available. The Umpires Association have offered to come out to Clubs and hold Umpiring Clinics for interested parties. If you would like me to arrange a Clinic, please let me know asap and I will arrange a suitable day/time with the Umpires Association.
Well that's about it I think. I hope you all have a great week and I look forward to seeing you at the Club soon.
24th November 2007 - Weekly Report Well I thought I was going to get a day off yesterday after all the rain on Friday night, but it wasn't to be and although the rain threatened a couple of times, we managed to get all our games played. The ASA must have a hotline to the weather gods, here we are at the end of November and we haven't had one day cancelled due to weather - although I shouldn't speak too soon should I?
Our weekly results were as below: U8 Red vs Artizan Glenora - 31/31 Draw. U8 Black vs Eden Roskill - 31/18 Loss. U10 Red vs Artizan Glenora - 23/10 Loss. U11 Red vs Waitakere Bears - 19/10 Win. U13 Red vs Onehunga Mangere - 26/0 Loss. U14 Red vs Waitakere Bears - 11/2 Win. U14 Black vs Ramblers - 12/6 Loss. U15 Boys vs United White - 7/6 Win. U15 Girls vs Magpies - 19/4 Win. U17 Boys vs Howick - 3/2 Loss. U17 Girls - Bye. Div 3 Women vs Magpies - 20/7 Win. Div 4 VRG Men - 5/4 Win. Reserve Men vs Eden Roskill - 10/2 Win. Premier Men vs Eden Roskill - 11/1 Win. Premier Women vs Waitakere Bears - 3/1 Win. Excellent results - well done to all our players.
It was great to see so many people down at the Club on Saturday afternoon for our Player of the Day and Player of the Month celebrations. Thank you to all those people who took the time to come down and celebrate with our players. Look out for the photos on the website soon.
Quiz Night is coming up next Saturday night (1 December) and I'd like to thank everyone who has donated prizes - you've all been fantastic. There are still a couple of tables left if you want to get one - but you'd better hurry. Contact Julie Candir on 846 7873 or by email on caterers@ihug.co.nz. There are some awesome prizes up for grabs as well as tonnes of spot prizes and some surprise auctions. It might just be a rumour, but I've heard a whisper that there may be a signed Auckland rugby jersey and a Premier Men's Dickies Jacket up for auction - as well as a few other surprise auctions - don't miss out - contact Julie now and make sure you're there on the night. $10 a ticket of $60 for a table of six. Don't forget the Quiz Night trophy is up for grabs and we'll never live it down if Sybers Slappers win it for the second year in a row!
I hope our pitchers and catchers who attended the pitching/catching clinic with Debbie Mygind earlier this week enjoyed themselves. There seemed to be a really good turnout and I'm sure everyone who attended will have benefited from it.
If you're in the Clubrooms over the next couple of weeks, please take the time to buy one of our raffle tickets. There's two raffles going - one is for a hamper which is for our Jubilee funds and the other is for a home-made Christmas Cake. The tickets are available over the bar. The Hamper tickets are $2 each or 3 tickets for $5 and the Christmas Cake raffle is $1 a ticket or 3 tickets for $2. Both these raffles will be drawn before Christmas.
Don't forget to register for our 50th Jubilee in February - it's the weekend of Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th. Check out our website for the registration form (www.metrosoftball.org.nz). It will be a fantastic weekend, so make sure you register your interest now. There will be casual drinks functions, as well as a formal function, a golf day and wine trail - so there will be something for everyone. We are also hoping to negotiate with other Clubs to play all our games at home that weekend so that a lot of the people who are attending the Jubilee get to see our players in action. We have people coming from all around New Zealand as well as Overseas, so it will be great for them to see our current players and how well they are going.
On Saturday 8 December, we will be closing the Clubrooms at 5.45pm for a private function, so we will need everyone out of the Clubrooms by 6pm.
That's about it for the week. I hope you all have a great week and I'm sure I'll see you down at the Club soon.
17th November 2007 - Weekly Report Well yet again we were lucky with the weather yesterday - who would have thought it would have been such a nice day after the wet week we'd had!
Our weekly results were great as well: U8 Red vs Marist Westmere - 29/29 Draw. U8 Black vs Glenora - 19/21 Loss. U10 Red vs Westmere White - 28/30 Loss. U11 Red vs Eden Roskill - 16/7 Win. U13 Red vs Howick - 5/20 Loss. U14 Red vs Papatoetoe - 8/2 Win. U14 Black vs Magpies - 8/6 Loss. U15 Black vs Bears - 13/10 Win. U15 Girls vs Howick - 17/1 Win. U17 Black vs Marist - 20/0 Win. U17 Girls vs Howick - 3/1 Loss. Div 3 Women vs Glenora - 21/1 Loss. Div 4 Men VRG - Bye. Reserves vs Howick - 6/2 Win. Premier Men vs Howick - 7/1 Win. Premier Women vs Howick - 4/0 Win.
There are some incredible scores in the list = U11 Red, U15 Girls, U17 Boys to name a few - well done to all our Metro players!! Let's keep it up.
Player Of The Month Awards For our new players and coaches and managers, I thought I'd again remind you about our upcoming Player of the Month function. It's on this coming Saturday - 24 November from 6pm down at the Clubrooms. It's where all the junior Players of the Day for the last month get their certificates and drinks and we announce a Player of the Month for each junior team who gets a certificate and something they take home to keep. It only takes 30 minutes and if you aren't there, you can't get your award. Please, please make an effort to get down to the club. Please note the the Player of the Day for Saturday 24 November gets their certificate in the Player of the Month celebration in December. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible down there on Saturday night. Everyone is welcome - parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts - we'd love to see them all.
Quiz Night So far I have confirmed donations from our U15 Boys, U15 Girls and Premier Women. We'd really appreciate it if each player donated something towards our evening. It can be a can of food, a packet of crackers, toiletries, wine, potato chips - you name it, we'll take it. All donations need to be left with the bar person this Thursday night (23 November). The Committee will be working hard over the weekend to make up hampers and sort out prizes before the Quiz Night the following weekend (Saturday 1 December).
If you haven't already purchased a table for Quiz Night - you'd better be fast, as they are selling out fast. Contact Julie Candir on caterers@ihug.co.nz or on 846 7873. Tickets are $10 each or $60 for a table of six. This is our only major fundraising event for the year, so we'd really appreciate your support in terms of buying tables and making donations.
Pitching/Catching Night All our coaches have nominated their various pitchers and catchers who will be getting some one-on-one training from Debbie Mygind - who is an ex Metro and White Sox player. All those attending must bring a ball and their safety gear - pads, chest protectors etc. I'm sure our players will get a huge amount out of the evening and will perform even better for the experience.
Scoring Night Another reminder that Tracey Atkins is running a further scoring night on Tuesday 20 November from 6.30pm down at the Clubrooms. There is no charge for this clinic. Just bring along a pad and pen and your scorebook if you'd like to.
Metro Auckland Representatives As I said at the time of writing the last Weekly Report, the ASA hadn't announced the names of our U17 Girls or our U13 Boys or Girls. They now have and I'm very pleased to give you an updated list of all our Metro Auckland Representatives:
U13 Girls: Makayla Mave U13 Boys: Dimitri Morunga Damon Patumaka Lewis Jerard Steven Rogerson Jarrod Gribble Casey Nukunuku Rueben Dean Shaun Falea’ana Cameron Bearman Coach - Carl Gribble Manager - Murray Rogerson U15 Girls: Esetera Carson-Haunga Clarissa Mafoe Kate Livingston Beth Stavert U15 Boys Development Squad: Teila Faumuina Lewis Jerard Casey Nukunuku U17 Girls: Tiandra Morunga Jenny Williams U19 Boys: Valdemar Terkleson Josh Cooke Patrick Langlois U19 Girls: Jenny Williams Sally Bowden
A huge congratulations goes out to all our representatives. This is the largest group of players we've had in representative teams for sometime - including Carl as Coach of the U13 side and Murray as Manager of the U13 side. It just shows our Coaches and Managers must be doing something right - not to mention us having some very talented players!!
I hope to see you all down at the Club for our Player of the Month presentation next Saturday night - and good luck to all our rep players who are playing Quads today.
10th November 2007 - Weekly Report Wasn't it a glorious day yesterday - especially after the weather during the week! This weeks results are as follows: U8 Red vs Ak United Red - 33/33 draw. U8 Black vs Marist Westmere - 22/20 loss. U10 Red vs Ak United - 29/8 loss. U11 Red vs Ramblers - 15/11 win. U13 Red vs Marist - 19/2 loss. U14 Red vs Metro U14 Black - 29/5 win. U15 Black vs Eden Roskill - 9/6 win. U15 Girls vs Marist - 19/4 win. U17 Boys vs Ramblers - 13/6 win. U17 Girls vs Marist - 6/2 loss. Division 3 Women vs Ramblers - 14/4 loss. Division 4 Men vs Ramblers - 13/3 win. Reserves vs Marist Reserves - 6/1 win. Premier Men vs Marist Premier Men - 3/2 loss Premier Women had a bye this week.
Those are fantastic results for the week. I managed to catch a bit of the U15 Girls game against Marist down at the Club on Saturday. What an awesome game. Mike and John have really been working with the girls and they are gonna be a force to be reckoned with this year. There's some big hitters in this team and some equally awesome fielders. Well done girls - excellent win!!
Due to the popularity of the recent Scorers Night, Tracey Atkins will be holding another one on Tuesday 20th November from 6.30pm onwards. If you didn't manage to make the first night, make sure you get this in your diary now. For those of you who did attend, feel free to come back - I'm sure Tracey will be able to answer more of your questions and can teach you a bit more. Don't forget to bring a pad and pen and if you want to bring your scorebook, feel free.
I've arranged a Pitching Clinic down at Metro on Wednesday 21 November between 5-7pm. Debbie Mygind from Softball NZ and ex White Sox will take our pitchers (and their coaches) through their paces and give them some drills to work on. If your coach hasn't registered you already, please make sure he does now. I have to let Debbie know early this week the number and age/sex breakdown so she can do some preliminary work before she gets down to Metro. This is a fantastic opportunity, so make sure you register now and don't miss out.
Quiz Night organisation is in full swing and we are looking forward to a fantastic night again. Don't forget to email Julie Candir on caterers@ihug.co.nz to secure your table(s) now!! You can also give Julie a call on 846 7873 to secure your table. The tickets are $10 each or $60 for a table of 6. It'll be a great night and there will be lots of prizes to win including spot prizes. We need to get the trophy (and bragging rights) back off Sybers Slappers, so get in touch with Julie now to secure your table. We sold out last year, so don't leave it too late!!
Donations of gifts/prizes for Quiz Night need to be left behind the bar on Thursday nights and we really appreciate your assistance with this. Please make sure you get your donations down to the club asap.
Coaches - if you haven't already, please pick up your key to the dressing room door from behind the bar. They are in envelopes with your name on. These must be returned at the end of the season along with the uniforms. Don't forget that if you get bases etc out of the corridor, they must be returned to the corridor before you leave. The last team to leave the park MUST make sure the side door is locked securely (even if you didn't open it). Unfortunately a lot of undesirables use the park at nights, so we do not want them in our changing rooms, so please take responsibility for ensuring that the side door is locked if you open it.
Our first Player of the Month celebration will be coming up on Saturday 24 November down at Metro from 6pm. This is where all our Players of the Day get announced and each team's Player of the Month is announced. There are certificates and gifts for all Players of the Day and Month, so please make sure you get down to the Club on Saturday 24 November and celebrate with our players. I know summer Saturday nights are busy, but it only takes 30 minutes and if the players aren't there, they can't pick up their certificates etc. Please make an effort to come down and support our players.
Congratulations go to the following players, who have all secured places in the Auckland Representative sides, announced this week: Esetera Carson-Haunga - U15 Girls Clarissa Mafoe - U15 Girls Kate Livingston - U15 Girls Beth Stavert - U15 Girls Teila Faumuina - U15 Boys Development Squad Lewis Jerard - U15 Boys Development Squad Casey Nukunuku - U15 Boys Development Squad Tiandra Morunga - U17 Girls Jenny Williams - U17 Girls Valdemar Terkleson - U19 Boys Josh Cooke - U19 Boys Patrick Langlois - U19 Boys
We are very proud of you and wish you all the best for the upcoming Quad Tournaments and National Tournaments in the New Year. We know you will do yourselves, your families and your Club proud!! At the time of writing, they haven't announced the U19 Girls or the U13 Boys/Girls yet, so I'll have to let you know the names of our players selected in the next Weekly Report.
For those of you that don't know, due to personal reasons Alan Lockton (our Premier Women's coach) has had to resign, so we are looking for a replacement coach for the girls. We are all very upset to lose Alan and wish him the best of luck for the future. The girls, (some of whom have been coached by Alan for some time now) are devastated, but Damien, Megan and Lyle have stepped up in the interim and will be taking the team until we can find them a new coach. If you know of anyone who is interested in coaching this fantastic bunch of hardworking and talented girls, please ask them to get in touch with me asap either by email to julie.langlois@tvnz.co.nz or jas.jules@xtra.co.nz or on my mobile 021 520 993.
Well I think that's about it for the week. I hope you all have a great week and look forward to seeing you down at the park soon.
3rd November 2007 - Weekly Report It was fantastic to see so many people down at the park yesterday and thank goodness the weather held - in fact the amount of sunburnt people in the clubrooms afterwards proved that we all got a bit taken by surprise by the fantastic weather.
There was some awesome results as well: U8 Red vs Ramblers Rockets - 32/32 draw. U8 Black vs United - 37/37 draw. U10 Red vs Eden Roskill - 7/0 win by default. U11 Red vs Papatoetoe - 13/12 win. U13 Red vs Otahuhu - 6/17 loss. U14 Red vs Ramblers - 6/3 win. U14 Black vs Pakuranga - 12/11 loss. U15 Black vs Magpies - 25/4 loss. U15 Girls vs Ramblers Maroon - 9/6 loss. U17 Black vs Onehunga Mangere - 7/0 win by default. U17 Girls vs Waitakere Bears - 7/6 win. Div 3 Women vs Bears Soldierettes - 8/2 loss. Div 4 Men vs Glenora - 15/8 win. Reserve Men vs Glenora - 21/1 win. Premier Men vs Glenora - 15/1 win. Premier Women vs Otahuhu - 5/0 win. Premier Women vs Waitakere Bears - 14/2 loss.
There were some fantastic scores recorded by our senior teams this weekend, with our Division 4 VRG Men recording a great win this week - keep it up boys, you won two games last year, so let's work on making it three this year!!!
For those of you who were down at the park on Saturday afternoon, it was an afternoon of great softball. It was great to see so many junior players down here, watching the senior players. It's great to see them getting so involved. Thanks go to Chris, Jason and Steve Horst for the cool fireworks display after dark. The club was really buzzing on Saturday night and we all had a great time. It was a shame we couldn't get the camera to work on the big screen, however we've rectified that and we'll play the footage that I took of the day on the screen for our first Player of the Month on Saturday 24 November from 6.00pm.
Don't forget we've got our scoring class on Tuesday night from 6.30pm down at the Clubrooms. Tracey will take anyone interested through the basics of scoring and there will be a chance for you to ask questions. Please make sure you bring a pad and a pen.
I will be contacting Debbie Mygind, the Softball NZ, National Director of Pitching to arrange a night for her to come down to Metro and work with our pitchers and give them some one-on-one tuition. So I'll let you know the date and time asap so that we can arrange to get as many of our junior (and senior) pitchers down to the Club for this session. Debbie is a marvellous teacher and spends a lot of time going around clubs assisting with training. I'll be in touch as soon as I know the date.
Quiz Night will definitely be on Saturday 1 December - the Premier Men will in fact be in town, so we don't need to change the date. Don't forget to get in touch with Julie Candir on 846 7873 or caterers@ihug.co.nz and get your tickets for the upcoming Quiz Night. We sold out last year, so make sure you get your tickets NOW!!! It's a great night out and really helps with the Club's fundraising attempts. Someone needs to wrestle that trophy off Sybers Slappers - who will it be - the Reserve Men?, the Premier Men?, the Premier Women?, the Div 3 Women???? Who knows, but make sure you are there to find out. There will be some fabulous prizes and there will be a few fun prizes during the evening as well. Please buy a ticket and support the Club.
Any donations of prizes for Quiz Night can be left with the bar person on a Thursday night and if we could get these asap please, we'd really appreciate it. Like I said in an earlier email, anything at all will be great - nothing is too little or too big. Please contact me if you have any queries about prizes or need us to pick something up from you.
For those of you that don't know our Premier Women's pitcher Megan Farrell was rushed to hospital last Friday with appendicitis. She's out of hospital now, after an operation and rearing to go, although she's moving around a bit slowly than she normally does. We're all glad you're okay Megan and look forward to seeing you back on the mound soon!
Congratulations also go to Roman and Kallala Gabriel on the christening yesterday of their little girl! Can't wait to see her in the red, white and black uniform soon!
That's about it for the week I think, thank you to everyone who was down at the Club yesterday, it was great to see you all. Have a great week and I'll see you at the Club soon.
27th October 2007 - Weekly Report What a fantastic day it was yesterday - we managed to get all our games played and it was great to see so many people down at the park! I hope you all enjoyed your games and are looking forward to this week's games. Here's our results for the week: U8 Red drew to Ramblers Pirates - 25/25. U8 Black drew to Ramblers - 30/30. U10 Red lost to United - 37/23. U11 Red lost to Bears White - 8/13. U13 Red lost to Ramblers - 24/0. U14 Red beat Magpies - 14/0. U14 Black lost to Bears - 7/6. U15 Black lost to Marist - 5/10. U15 Girls beat Bears - 19/7. U17 Boys Black beat Pakuranga - 9/8. U17 Girls lost to Magpies - 8/1. Div 3 Women beat Bears Ritchies - 16/8. Div 4 Men lost to Ramblers - 0/12. Metro Reserves lost to Northcote Reserves - 6/2. Metro Premier Men lost to Northcote Reserves - 5/1. Metro Premier Women lost to Ramblers - 8/1.
So a mixed kettle of results really, but fantastic wins recorded for U14 Red (our U13 Championship Winners from last year), U15 Girls who crushed Bears, our U17 Boys and a huge welcome back to our Div 3 Women who well and truly beat Bears Ritchies (it's great to have you back, and on such winning form!!).
If you received these updates from me last year, you'll know I didn't really let you know what games were on at Metro every week, unless it was the Premier Men or Reserves game and we were having a bit of a barbecue. However next Saturday, Saturday 3 November, there is a huge number of games going on down at the park, so I thought I'd let you know what's going on.
9.00am Metro U8 Black vs Ak United Red on No 3. 9.00am Metro U15 Boys vs Magpies on No 1. 10.00am Metro U8 Red vs Mt Albert Ramblers Rockets on No 3. 10.30am Metro U13 Red vs Otahuhu on No 2. 10.30am Metro U17 Boys vs Onehunga Mangere on No 1. And in the afternoon we've got: 1.30pm Div 3 Women vs Bears Soldierettes on No 2. 1.30pm Premier Women vs Otahuhu on No 1. 3.30pm Premier Women vs Bears on No 1. 3.30pm Reserve Men vs Artizan Glenora on No 2. 5.30pm Premier Men vs Artizan Glenora on No 1.
So come on down to the Club this weekend after your game. Everybody is welcome. Come and watch our senior men and women in action and then we thought it might be a great idea if you wanted to bring down some meat and a salad to have a bit of a barbecue and also let off some fireworks (once it's dark and weather permitting of course!). You are welcome to bring down some meat to cook on the barbecue and a salad etc and your fireworks. If you don't want to bring any food down, Pat will have the kitchen open, so you can always grab something to eat from the Cafe. Make sure you bring bread, plastic plates, forks etc. We'll supply the sauce and mustard and we can have a great family night! (Celebrating all our wins!!). We'll have the big screen up and running - hopefully I can get some footage of the games and we can play it back over the screen during the evening.
Quiz Night - we might have to change the date of our Quiz Night as our Premier Men may be playing in a tournament in the Hawkes Bay that weekend (1 December), but I'll let you know about that shortly. In the meantime if you could start thinking about any donations for prizes etc that you might be able to donate, we'd really appreciate it. Some teams last year got together and made up a hamper and donated that as a team - any kind of donation at all would be very appreciated. Please leave any donations with the person on the bar on Thursday or Saturday nights. If anyone owns a restaurant or knows of someone who owns a restaurant and they are prepared to supply us with vouchers that will make a fantastic prize - so anything you can think of, please let us know. If you have any queries about donations, don't hesitate to drop me a line or phone me at home on 838-4676.
The website is well and truly up and running now and the address is www.metrosoftball.org.nz. I took some photos yesterday of our first games down at the park and we hope to have these on the website later in the week.
I think that's about it for the week. I look forward to seeing lots of people down at the park on Saturday and look forward to our Fireworks display after dark.
22nd October 2007 - Club Update Well there's not too long to go now before all our teams take to the diamond - this Saturday in fact (weather permitting). It's going to be a great day and I hope I get to see a lot of you down at the Club over the course of the day. Just thought I'd drop you all a line with a couple of reminders:
Fees - all fees must be paid to either Brendon or myself on Thursday night. This is the last date for payment, as the Club has to pay the ASA early next week and without the fees we won't be able to pay for our teams. If you cannot make the payment on Thursday night, you must arrange a direct credit with our Treasurer, Brendon Rau - his email is brau@actrix.co.nz. No pay, no play I'm afraid! Thank you so much to those players who have already paid.
Draws - your draws will be available on the ASA website (hopefully) Tuesday morning. There's been a couple of issues, but they are hoping to have them cleared up and the draws back on line tomorrow. The ASA website is www.softballauckland.org.nz. You can go to the home page and click on draws and pull up your grade and find out where you are playing.
Uniforms - just a reminder that we'd like our players to look tidy on the diamonds at all time - uniforms tucked in, same hats etc. Coaches on the diamond must wear enclosed shoes - no jandals allowed.
Birth Certificates - all new players MUST bring their birth certificate and a copy down to the Clubrooms on Thursday night between 6.00pm-6.30pm. We need to sight the original and sign the copy and this must be sent to the ASA along with the Master Registration Forms. Thank you to those players who have already done this, but if you are a new player to Metro and you haven't done this yet, you MUST do it this Thursday between 6.00pm and 6.30pm.
Cafeteria - our cafeteria will be open from 8.30am for food and drinks - come along and say hello to Pat, she'll be more than happy to whip you up something.
Alcohol - no player/coach/supporter is to bring alcohol onto the park (all alcohol is to be purchased via the Metro Bar) and no alcohol can be consumed anywhere on the park other than at the bar or in the garden bar area. This rule will be strictly adhered to as we are liable to prosecution should the Council do an inspection.
I'm not sure where our Premier Men or Women are playing this week, but will let you know as soon as I know, in case you'd like to go along and watch.
Let's hope the weather holds and we get all our games in on Saturday and I look forward to seeing you all down at the Club. I'm sure it'll be a great day and I'll be taking lots of photos so that we can put them up on the website.
15th October 2007 - Club Update I know the season doesn't start for most of you until next Saturday (27 October), but the weather held off for us last weekend and we managed to get all our Premier Men, Premier Women and Reserve Men's games played. It was a great start to the season and the results were as follows:
Saturday Reserve Men vs Otahuhu - Metro won 5-4. Premier Men vs Otahuhu - Metro won 11-3. Premier Women vs Northcote - Metro lost 4-1. Sunday Reserve Men vs Ramblers - Metro lost 3-0. Premier Men vs Ramblers - Metro lost 7-4.
I got along to both Reserve Men and Premier Mens games and the two games we lost to Ramblers were very, very close. On Saturday there were some excellent automatics hit by our Premier Men and some amazing acrobatic work by our very own Des Pemerika (you had to be there!). And on Sunday Garth Pollard took out our acrobatic prize by nearly taking out the fence at Ramblers and if that wasn't bad enough, Dion threw off his pads and hit poor old Polly on the head!! I didn't get to the Premier Women's game unfortunately but from what I hear it was a very close game and our girls did an amazing job to keep Northcote to only 4 runs. Northcote are renowned for being huge hitters and the score could have been a lot worse had it not been for the talent and enthusiasm of our girls. I'm looking forward to catching one of the girls games soon.
Fees For those of you who haven't paid your fees yet, these are due to be paid no later than Monday 22 October or you will not be able to take the diamond until they are paid. The best time to pay them would be down at the Club this Thursday night to either myself or Brendon Rau (our Treasurer), or on Saturday afternoon. If you want to set up an automatic payment, please contact Brendon on brau@actrix.co.nz. As long as this automatic payment is set up and going into our account by next Thursday, then you will be able to take the diamond next Saturday.
I hope you all enjoy your long weekend coming up - please travel safely if you are heading away for the weekend. I look forward to seeing you down at the Club soon.
26th September 2007 - Welcome to 2007-2008 Season I know it's going to be a great one for us all - welcome back to our returning players and hello and welcome to all our new members - it's great to have you aboard!
I thought I'd drop everyone a quick line to introduce myself and to let you know a few things for the upcoming season.
For those of you who don't know me, I have been involved with the Metro Softball Club for the last 20 years. My husband has been playing at Metro for over 30 years and my son has also played for the club since he was 4 - he's now 17.
We are having a Coaches and Managers meeting down at the Club on Tuesday 9 October at which your Coaches and Managers will receive their gear bag and uniforms. If they haven't been in touch with you yet, I'm sure they will be soon after that.
Unfortunately we are not able to use the Metro grounds until Tuesday 23 October due to the Council closing the park for repairs, but after that you will be able to start training on our grounds.
The first junior games will be Saturday 27 October, although our Premier Men, Premier Women and Reserve Men are due to start playing on Saturday 6 October. Due to Dion and a couple of our Junior Black Sox being away on representative duty, both our Premier Men and Reserve Men have a dispensation for the first week of play, so they won't be in action until Saturday 13 October. Our Premier Women take the diamond on Saturday 6 October - at this stage I don't know where, or who they are playing, but I will try and let you know before I go away on Saturday as I won't be anywhere near a computer for a week and some of you might like to go and watch them. Good luck to the girls for the game next Saturday!
The Clubrooms will be open every Thursday and Saturday from next week if you'd like to call in for a drink - please feel free to do so. We won't have the Cafe up and running until after Labour Weekend, but please feel free to come on down and say hello if you're not doing anything on a Thursday or Saturday. For those of you who "experienced" the Cafe last year, you'll be pleased to know that the Cafe is under new management and one of our Committee members, Pat will be running the Cafe for us this year.
All fees need to be paid by Labour Weekend so that we can pay the Auckland Softball Association to register your team. If you are unable to pay the full amount before Labour Weekend, we are happy to organise a direct credit for you. As long as the direct credit has started going into our account before Labour Weekend, then you will be able to take the field on the first weekend of play. If you would like to arrange a direct credit, please contact Brendon Rau (Club Treasurer) on brau@actrix.co.nz.
Our legendary Quiz Night will be back on Saturday 1 December - who will wrangle the title and trophy off Sybers Slappers this year? We'll be asking for donations for prizes etc shortly, but make sure you get the date in your diary. Last year's event was a fantastic night, however we have decided to hold it on a Saturday night this year instead of a Friday night like last year!
It's our 50th Jubilee this year and we have huge celebrations planned for the weekend of 22, 23 and 24 February 2008 - make sure you've got that date in your diary as well. We'll give you more details regarding Jubilee later in the year.
Our website is finally up and running - thanks to Tracey Atkins. You'll find it at www.metrosoftball.org.nz. We are just in the process of constructing the site, but there are a few photos and bits and pieces up there if you'd like to have a look. If you have anything for the website, please contact Tracey on racey.t@xtra.co.nz. We will be updating and adding to the site as we go along.
Finally, as I mentioned above, I will be away travelling with Dion Nukunuku and our two Junior Black Sox Training Squad members (Josh Cooke and Patrick Langlois) from Saturday 29 September until Sunday 7 October, so if you send me an email during that time, you won't get a response until I get back. You can always contact me on my mobile phone - 021 520-993 - and please feel free to do so if you need anything while I am away.
I look forward to seeing you all down at the Club very soon!
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