Life Membership, Merle Short Service and State Team Awards were among the top honours bestowed upon members of the Victorian softball community at the 2018 Softball Victoria State Dinner on Saturday night.

Held at Freccia Azzura in Braeside, the State Dinner highlighted the contributions of volunteers to the Victorian softball community and recognised those who had achieved success on a State, National and International level.

Kerrie Maddern and Mary Walkinshaw were recognised for their outstanding service to the Victorian Softball Community with Softball Victoria Life Membership.

Both Kerrie and Mary have been involved in the sport for many years, taking on a range of roles including umpiring, playing and administration, demonstrating their dedication to the sport and the broader softball community. Most notably, both life members have been key to the development of scorers in Victoria. Kerrie played an integral role in the development of the Victorian Scoring Committee, while Mary has given up significant amounts of her own time to develop and grow the level of scorers in Victoria.

Sunshine Association’s Lynda Otimi and Jodie Lightowler and Waverley Association’s Allison Pendlebury and Angela Forgan were recognised for their valuable contributions to the softball community with the Merle Short Service Award.

Jim Giles of Dandenong Association was awarded the Lorraine Davies Statistician of the Year, marking his significant achievements over the past season.

The Margo Koskelainen Victorian Umpire of the Year was awarded to Richard Dodds for his success on the national and international stage as an umpire.

The Softball Victoria State Team Award Winners were also presented on the night, alongside a host of Umpires, Statisticians and Athletes who were recognised for their achievements in gaining national representation.

The full list of winners on the night is available below. Head over to our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram page to check out all the action from the night.

Award Recipients

Softball Victoria Life Member Recipients

Kerrie Maddern and Mary Walkinshaw

Softball Victoria Merle Short Service Award

Lynda Otimi (Sunshine Association)

Jodie Lightowler (Sunshine Association)

Allison Pendlebury (Waverley Association)

Angela Forgan (Waverley Association)

 

Statisticians Awards

Lorraine Davies Statisticians of the Year

Jim Giles (Dandenong Association)

Rising Star Statistician of the Year

Jacqui Glassey (GEMSA) and Paul Little (Casey Association)

 

Umpires Awards

John Larter Umpire Development Award

Saxon Bailey

Marj Dwyer Memorial Scholarship Award

Les Morrison

Margo Koskelainen Victorian Umpire of the Year

Richard Dodds

 

State Teams Award Winners

TEAM	MVP	BEST PLAYER
U15 Girls	Taimania Graham	Brodie Hendy
		Chelsea Kimber
U17 Girls	Grace Peters	Lara Horman
		Elise Cramer
U19 Women	Marlie Hurinui	Amelia Mercuri
	Georgia O’Donovan
U23 Women	Katherine Laemmle	Rebecca Schafer
Open Women	Sarah Tutchener	Ilsa Anstey
U15 Boys	Ben Merrigan	Jake Wallis
U17 Boys	Tamua Feulufai-Maxwell	Tynan Purtell
U19 Men	Shay Crean	Sam Reale
Open Men	Lewis Weldon	Alex Chapman

 

National Representatives – Statisticians

Open Women	Open Men
Jim Giles – Official Statisician Allison Pendlebury – Official Statistician	Mary Walkinshaw – Official Statistician Kerryn Bell – Official Statistician

 

National Representatives – Umpires

National Open Women	National Open Men	National U19 Women & Men
Debbie Grove – Assessor Richard Dodds – Umpire	Leigh Evans – Assessor Jason Carter – Assessor Richard Barrow – Umpire Debbie Grove –Umpire Trevor Murphy – Umpire Chris Trengove – Umpire	Leigh Evans – TCU Trevor Murphy – Assessor David Addlem – Umpire Chris Trengove – Umpire
National U17 Boys & Girls	Regional U15 Boys	National U23 & Friendship Series
Richard Barrow – Assessor David Addlem – Umpire Lucy James – Umpire Talia McDonald – Umpire	Peter Samuels – Umpire (Boys) Lucy James – Umpire (Girls) Talia McDonald – Umpire (Girls)	Richard Barrow – Assessor David Addlem – Umpire

 

Victorian Members on National Teams

2018 Aussie Steelers – Open Men’s Squad	2018 Junior Steelers
Ryan Sinclair Lewis Weldon	Jim Giles (Statistician)
2018 Aussie U17 Boys Squad	Aussie Spirit – North America Tour July 2017
Marcus Ferraro Tristan Little Jordan Miller Samuel Seach Cambell Utatao	Jess Bahn Jackie Di Siervi
Aussie Spirit – Japan Cup August 2017	All Star Team – 2018 Asia Pacific Cup February 2018
Jackie Di Siervi	Jess Bahn Jackie Di Siervi
Friendship Series U19 Squad 2018
Grace Peters    Marlie Hurinui

School Sport Victoria Sporting Blues Award Winners

Hannah Scott (Northern District Association)

Montana Chavasse (Casey Association)