Australian Masters Games
Published Fri 25 Oct 2019
West Beach was a buzz during October as the 17th Australian Masters Games kicked off on Saturday October 5th for both Baseball and Softball. With pop-up bars, live music, BBQ’s and the bar and canteen running from dusk till dawn, it was certainly the place to be during this amazing event. With over 200 competitors and 14 teams playing in the masters baseball tournament, our main diamond sure got some good use during the week-long event, along with alternate days of play being held at Woodville Baseball Club and Henley and Grange Baseball Club.
The weather was a little rough to start off the week, however by the back end of the tournament we saw beautiful sunny skies and temperatures in the mid to high 20’s making it the perfect place to play. It was great to have many local teams competing in the event, with members from Goodwood, Woodville, Kensington, Glenelg, Henley and Grange, Southern Districts and Golden Grove supporting the event, but we were fortunate to have teams enter from NSW, Victoria and Queensland making the event exciting and that bit more competitive to beat our interstate counterparts.
With 5 different age groups on offer we had some great competition on display with some of the old guys even showing some of the young guys that they still have it! No doubt the ice, anti-inflammatory and pain gel was used a plenty towards the end of the week, but every minute spent on the diamond was well worth the investment with some positive feedback on the games played, the location, the facility and the comradery amongst the teams. The fun did not stop on the diamond, with many teams getting together for dinners or a drink at the Cooper Bars and then the many exciting events put on by the fantastic Australian Masters Games committee.
I would like to say thank you to both Woodville and Henley and Grange Baseball Clubs for assisting Baseball SA in running the games by opening up their clubs, ensuring their grounds were fit for purpose and provided a safe and enjoyable environment. The volunteers at both of these clubs worked tirelessly all week and we could not have continued the games without their support.
A big thank you must also go to the Diamond Sports crew, in particular Pattie and Glenys who worked long and hard day in, day out to meet deadlines and demands by the athletes and supporters! The workforce you engaged to ensure the experience had by everyone at the ballpark was a positive one was fantastic, and the feedback has been amazing. Well done and thank you.
Lastly, the event would not have even happened if it wasn’t for the fantastic work of Laura Bond, who worked around the clock to ensure grounds were ready to go, scoreboards were operating, teams knew well in advance where their games were for the next day, results and ladders were constantly updated, scorers had a nice shady spot to set up and most importantly every athlete was looked after and offered help as needed. Your time and energy was much appreciated and ability to go over and above to ensure the tournament was a huge success did not go unnoticed!
Thank you also to Rowena Trevaskis who assisted Laura with fixtures and communication and Andrew Scott who ensured the diamond’s, including the softball playing fields, were risk free and up to playing standard.
Thanks for coming and we will look forward to hosting more national events!
Sarah Kelly
General Manager
Medals:
35+ Gold - Swaggy Beasts
40+ Gold - Brewers
40+ Silver - Expendables
40+ Bronze - Adelaide Aces
45+ Gold - Eastcoast Slammers
45+ Silver - Carina Redsox
45+ Bronze - H&G Bartley Rams
50+ Gold - Triple Ds
50+ Silver - Sydney Tide
50+ Bronze - Gold Diggers
55+ Gold - Adelaide Aces
55+ Silver - Sunshine Coast Dolphins
SCORE LINKS:
35+, 40+, 45+ : https://www.baseballsa.com.au/games/5375/&d=11950
50+, 55+ : https://www.baseballsa.com.au/games/5375/&d=11951
