Chris has done it again!

Never mind a first aid kit - the Bobcats need to invest in body armour for Chris. 

Last night he gouged his arm on a branch and sliced his knee in a slide at second base.  He refused to have a picture taken so unfortunately no gory photos for the website – but there is always next week!  Only joking Chris – please don’t injure yourself during the picnic, especially with the outdoor darts - ouch!

Bobcats Picnic in the Park

Calling all Bobcats:

Please join us for an idyllic, fun afternoon on Saturday 6th August at one of
Birmingham’s award-winning Parks. 

There will be activities and games including egg & spoon races, three-legged
football, limbo, gnome-bowls, wheelbarrow races etc. as well as traditional
games such as softball, croquet, and badminton. 

But that is not all – the park has a lake (for sunny afternoons) and an art and
nature centre (if it is raining). Whatever the weather –there will be something
for every Bobcat. 

All you need to do is bring along a picnic!

For all those night cats, we will be heading out into the city after the picnic,
so don’t forget your gladrags!

Kate will soon be sending an email around with more details. 

Jim and the Sunset

It was such a beautiful sunset last night, marking the end to another successful training session.  Debbie, Quentin and Jim were so enthralled by it that they demanded a photoshoot.  The results are below:

Social Events - Save the date.

The Social Events have been given their own special section on the website, which includes a list of all the social events currently being planned up until 2012 (see table below).  Please make a note of the dates so you don't miss out.  It looks like an exciting line-up! 


The next event is the Bobcats picnic, on Saturday afternoon and evening on 6th August.  More details to follow early next week. 

Event	Date	Location	Details
Waterworks Training Special	04/08/2011	Hallfield	The Bobcats will be hosting a training session and friendly game for the Waterworks Youth Centre and Edgbaston Police.  The event will be held during normal training hours, but will be attended by local journalists and councillors.  Please join us for an evening of fun and to show your support.
Bobcats Picnic & Fun day	06/08/2011	Cannon Hill Park	As it is summer (!) there will be a Bobcats picnic at Cannon Hill Park.  In addition to the lovely scenery, there will be games including egg & spoon races, three-legged football, piggy-back wrestling, limbo, bowls, wheelbarrow races etc. as well as use of the Badminton courts and the lake.  Please bring along a blanket and your food of choice for a spectacular afternoon.
Paintballing	03/09/2011	Bassetts Pole, Sutton Coldfield	Bassetts Pole is one of the largest paintballing venues in the country so join us for an afternoon of team bonding, followed by a night on the town.
Pucks vs. Balls	Sept/October	Hallfield	The Bobcats have been challenged to a game of softball by the Birmingham Eagles Ice Hockey team.
End of Season Social	08/10/2011	Bowlplex, Fiveways	After the success of last years end of season social, the Bobcats are returning to the Bowlplex.  Join us to find out how will win the wooden spoon and who will be the first on the dance floor.
South Coast Tour	Weekend in Mid October	Bristol, Weymouth, Southampton	Following the success of the TourCats Netherlands trip a tour of the south coast is currently being organised.  This will involve a friendly tournament against the Bristol teams on Saturday, followed by an evening in the idyllic town of Weymouth, and then another friendly tournament with the Solent league on Sunday.  Put your name down quick as it will be a popular event.
Bobcats Halloween Special	29/10/2011	TBC	The Bobcats ‘Dead-Ball’ Murder Mystery.  To celebrate Halloween the Bobcats have been invited back to the early 1900s to the dead-ball era.  Join us for an evening of suspense and entertainment.
Bobcats Christmas Party	10/12/2011	TBC	Will Miss Claus join the Bobcats again this year or will there be another surprise guest?
Birmingham Derby	April 2012	TBC	The Bobcats will host a friendly tournament for charity in a local park.  The softball tournament will include sports teams from all over Birmingham to raise money for charity, bring the teams of Birmingham together and raise awareness of Softball in the city.
TourCats 2012	June/July 2012	TBC – France, Spain, or Italy.	Following the success of the Netherlands Tour, a similar tour is currently being organised for 2012 – but this time it will be somewhere warm and sunny – preferably with a beach!

Further details concerning each event will be provided closer to the particular time. 

Chris - accident prone or 'taking it for the team'

Poor Chris hasn't had much fun at training recently.  On the 7th July he missed a ball from Quentin, which caught him straight in the eye.  He had a black eye throughout the Netherlands Trip - well at least it was team colours. 

 The following week he missed a ball from Tad, which hit him on the nose.  Luckily it didn't break, but there was a lot of blood. 

The committee have decided to buy a large first aid kit just for Chris. 

TourCats Special July 2011

On Friday 8th July 2011 ten members of the Birmingham Bobcats Softball Club – also known as the TourCats – embarked on an epic trip to the Netherlands to play the Sittard Condors.  The trip was organised by Reinout Mildner and Kate Page-Smith, who felt that it would be a good opportunity for team bonding, skill development and advertisement for both clubs. 

The TourCats - back row from left: Debbie Evetts, Quentin Young, Chris Williams, Jonathan Wilkes, Kate Page-Smith. and Ed Jones.  Front row from left: Tad Ukai, Jim Kent and Reinout Mildner.

Dancing in Bruges at 3am.  The dancefloor was full of Bobcats!

 

 

Photoshoot on the city walls of Bruges.

 

After travelling in two cars through three countries, the first night was spent dancing the night away in Bruges, Belgium until 4.30am.  However, by 8am the next day the TourCats were out of bed for a couple of hours sight-seeing before heading off to Sittard, The Netherlands.  Upon arrival the TourCats were presented with an extremely professional looking team and pitch (including dug-outs) but the TourCats were not deterred.  The Sittard Condors were established in 1978 in the Dutch province of Limburg, which is the southernmost province of the Netherlands.  Their team was lead by Maarten Beks. 

The TourCats dugout at Sittard, taken just before the game.  

 Maarten Beks and Reinout Mildner

 

 

The game started as it meant to go on with the TourCats leading the way.  Every team member excelled themselves and had a thoroughly good time.  Both Quentin and Tad achieved multiple home runs; Chris and Jonathan provided an impenetrable wall in the infield, Debbie caught a fantastic foul-tip, Reinout produced strike after strike as pitcher, Ed triumphantly slid his way to home base, Jim kept everyone on their toes with his outfield hits, Lisa made an excellent debut and Kate ... well she made enough noise so the Bobcats back in Brum could hear.  The final result was 23-5 to the TourCats. 

 Jim and Jonathan feeling quite optimistic.

Quentin scoring his first home run, congratulated by Tad.

 

To round up the afternoon the two team mixed to create the ‘Tour-dors’ and the ‘Bob-cons’ for two innings and afterwards the TourCats presented the Condors with a gift and an invitation to Birmingham next year. 

 The Tour-dors

 The Bob-cons

Reinout presenting Maarten with a framed photo of the TourCats, created by Jim. 

The TourCats and the Condors after a fantastic afternoon.

 

To celebrate the TourCats hit the town of Maastricht for another memorable night, before driving back to England on Sunday – but not before a quick throw around on the beach at De Panne, Belgium.

Kate, Quentin and Chris doing some drills on the beach.

The trip was a huge success and we are keen to repeat the experience next year.  There is certainly something to be said for a team to get to know each other outside of practice – the TourCats left Birmingham as skilled individual players and returned as an international winning team.  For more details please see the TourCats blog:  http://bobcatsontour.blogspot.com/  

West Midlands Softball Diamond League

On the 15th May 2011, the Birmingham Bobcats, Coventry Tigers and the Leamington Hawks met at Hallfield School, Birmingham to play the first tournament in the West Midlands Softball Diamond League.  Everyone was excited that the league had been re-established and were keen to prove themselves.  The Tigers and the Bobcats had faced each other before, but the Hawks had only formed this season so it was going to be an interesting day. 

The tournament was umpired by Mike Jennings.

First up was the Bobcats verses the Tigers at 12pm.  Last time these two teams met, the Bobcats had a team full of newbie ringers and lost the game, so they were keen to show how much they had progressed.    The Tigers were full of spirit and banter, which they thought could intimidate the Bobcats – they were wrong.  Jeff hit a home run, Alex battled against the wind a delivered excellent pitching, Meg kept the Tiger’s banter in line, Ross caught a fantastic flyball and slide his way to victory. After a close game, with tensions running high, the Bobcats were victorious. 

At 1pm it was the Tigers verses the Hawks.  This was one of the first games for the Hawks so both the Bobcats and the Tigers helped the newcomers claw a good result against the wily Tigers. 

At 3pm the Bobcats successfully took on the increasingly skilful Hawks and walked away with the tournament. 

The last game was an unofficial match mixing the Bobcats and the Tigers.

Within the Bobcats Jeff was voted Most Valuable Offensive player for his two home runs, and Meg the Most Valuable Defensive Player for her skills both on and off the pitch. 

The raffle was won by Jess West of the Leamington Hawks and Jeff, on behalf of Straightline Performance, presented her with a new glove and ball. 

Off the pitch the Bobcats were delighted to see a couple of old faces– Shane and Matt – who will hopefully be joining us for training again this year.

Overall a fantastic day all round.  Here's a selection of photos from the day.