President's Report June 2024/AGM

​CSJBA President’s Report to the 2024 AGM

With another season in the books and planning well underway for the 2024-25
season it is that time of year again when we thank those who put in so much
time and effort to get kids on the diamond week in and week out.
Stuart (the guru) Hitchcock once again took on the Draw Secretary role, George
(the quiet achiever) Angelis continued with the recorder duties, Bec (I’ll do it
for one more season) Cavill looked after our Rep Teams, Julie (Facebook)
Thurecht took on the Webmaster/Social Media duties and Col (Pa) Bowmaker
was once again the go to guy for all things constitutional and just great advice.
Whilst your efforts often go un-noticed and may not always receive the
recognition and appreciation they deserve, on behalf of the Executive and
CSJBA membership we thank you very much.
I won’t go into detail about the club season as this has been covered off with
my monthly President’s Reports.
On the representative scene our State and Nationals Campaign has been
nothing short of amazing (so far). Our two Senior League Teams led by Jaedan
Cavill and Brian Schwartz took out the gold and silver medal at State
Championships and then backed it up with 3rd and 4th place at Nationals. To
have two teams from the same association represent at Nationals has never
happened before and then to finish with 3rd and 4th placings at Nationals is
unlikely to be bettered any time soon.
After finishing with the silver medal at State Championships and just one week
after our strong showing at Senior League Nationals, Nathan Fuz took our
Junior League team to the Nationals in Lismore. After navigating their way
through pool play and a playoff win they found their way into the final game
against Brisbane North for a spot in the Junior League World Series in Michigan
USA in August. What ensued was a game for the ages with Cronulla eventually
taking the game in extra innings and stamping their tickets for a trip to USA.
Rob Hayes-Conway’s Little League team fought hard and took out 3rd place at
State Championships to earn a spot at Nationals at Blacktown. At the time of
going to print the tournament was just getting underway. Hopefully our Little
Leaguers can draw on the success of their senior counterparts and create some
memorable moments.
Our girl’s program is into its second year and proving to be very popular and
rewarding. We now have more opportunities for our female players and
subsequent strong representation in state and travelling teams. Still a lot more
work to be done in this space with BNSW and BA but nonetheless encouraging
signs.
Finally, I wish to thank my Executive in Paul, Michael, Brian and Tobias for their
time and efforts over the past 12 months. Each year there are many testing
moments, and this year was no exception. I’m sure at different times we all
scratch our heads and wonder what we are doing here and then there are
moments like last weeks Junior League’s success or a T-Baller taking their first
catch and it all makes sense. I wish the incoming Executive all the very best in
continuing to grow the sport and provide a safe and enjoyable environment
which caters for children of all abilities.

Darren Cummings