Seasons greetings to all members of the Waverley Baseball Club family. I thought I would pull together an update to keep you all informed about what is going on around the club.
On the field our teams have generally been competitive and I’d like to thank all players, coaches, scorers, team managers, supporters and volunteers for your support. Our Firsts have had an exceptional start to the season and sit on top of the ladder with a 12-1-1 record. You can review all team ladders here.
All team fixtures are also available from our website in an easy-to-read format here.
We also need to acknowledge that we have many younger players who are developing their skills while often playing against far more experienced opposition. While we may not be seeing the ‘Ws’ at times, the growth and improvement in skills set an excellent foundation for the future.
Wishing everybody a happy and safe holiday period.
Andrew Ferguson
President
Welcome Joseph Cuomo
I would like to take this opportunity to formally welcome Joseph Cuomo to Waverley.Joe has been a wonderful addition to the Firsts, and the club in general.On-field Joe has now pitched 25 scoreless innings across 4 matches, giving up just 5 hits while striking out 25!
Player development and improvement is one of Joe’s passions. Joe is coaching our Big League team and is available for private coaching lessons. For anybody interested in improving their pitching and throwing skills, just send him a message on WhatsApp (+14703455685), or contact me (president@waverleybaseball.com.au), or Robyn (secretary@waverleybaseball.com.au) and we will arrange an introduction.
A special vote of thanks to the Stafilis family who have welcomed Joe into their home.
Transition to new committee
There have been several changes to the Committee and I have greatly appreciated the way everybody on the Committee has stepped up and taken on more responsibility this season.
Andrew Ferguson
President, External stakeholder relations
Robyn Karlsen
Secretary, Registrar
Russell Clowes
Treasurer, Governance
Kane Longstaff
Vice President and Women’s coordinator
Angela Potts
Juniors
Trif Stafilis
Grounds & Facilities
Tyler Evans
Social; Men’s Player Representative
Cat Burton
Child Safety and Volunteer coordinator
Craig Hockley
Social media, Marketing
Ryan Stanaway
Sponsorship & Club 3150
You can read more about our Committee, and their roles here.
Fees
For those of you who opted to pay your fees in two installments, please note that the second payment is due by January 24. Unfinancial players may be deemed ineligible for selection after this date.
You can pay using this link, combined with the Coupon Code 50%Fees to apply the 50% discount for your second payment.
Women’s Change Room facilities
We are working with Council to provide improved Change Room facilities.We hope that these long-overdue improvements will be implemented in the next few months once the plans are finalised.
Site Plan
Monash council is working with the Committee to develop a Site Plan for the future development of Napier Park.We are excited that Council has initiated this plan as it provides a pathway for ongoing improvements to our facilities.
We have been actively working with Council’s consultants looking at options such as
Improved Women’s Change Room Facilities
Indoor Training Facility
Lights for training and playing
Improved drainage
… and many other minor improvements
It should be noted that, apart from the Women’s Change Room improvements, these improvements are all unfunded at this stage … but at least we’ll have a plan!! We are actively campaigning all levels of government for funding commitments as well as submitting grant applications as they become available.
Pink Day
We conducted our annual Pink Day for BCNA (Breast Cancer Network Australia) on November 16. This highly successful day raised over $8,500 for BCNA.
Our three women’s teams, along with our Men’s Firsts and Seconds played on the day. The Women and Men all wore special Pink caps and Socks and the women all wore special Pink tops. Some caps are still available for purchase from the Clubrooms. All proceeds will be donated to BCNA.
Special thanks to everybody who assisted in preparation for the day. This includes organisations who donated items for the Silent Auction, along with many players and members who put in hours of work organising the food, events and other fundraising initiatives.
Nicola Thomas and Craig Hockley both gave moving presentations, relating their experiences dealing with breast cancer from a personal and family perspective.
We were also pleased to welcome our local State member of parliament (John Mullahy), and Monash Councillor (Nicky Luo).
Club 3150
We held a successful reunion for past players on October 13.In particular it was pleasing to see so many players who played in our 2009 premiership team return to the club and help us celebrate.
Junior Raffle
Many thanks to Leonie Branson for organising the Junior Raffle, which raised over $1,000.Funds from this raffle will be used to fund the purchase of new training equipment and balls for our junior programme.
End of Year celebration
We hope that all members and their families will join us at the club this Saturday, December 14 for our End of Year celebration. The festivities kick-off at 4pm. There will be lots of fun for the kids, with a Slip ‘n Slide, Face Painting, Mr Whippy and a special visit by Santa’s Elves. We will also have a run-out sale of some of our old merchandise and apparel, so get in quick for a great deal!
Our Men’s Firsts will also be playing Melbourne on the 14th so come along and support them too.
Volunteers
No amateur organisation can survive without the dedication and hard work of volunteers.I’m pleased to say that we have a wonderful group of volunteers, but unfortunately they are being stretched too thin.
There are many ways you can help, and we will be doing more work in the upcoming months to develop ways in which you can volunteer without requiring a huge time commitment. The timeless adage of ‘many hands make light work’ certainly applies at Waverley Baseball Club.
We are very thankful to our coaches, scorers, team managers, canteen operators, grounds keepers and umpires (and I’m sure I’ve missed some).
Canteen and Umpiring Rosters
Umpiring and Canteen are two areas where we desperately need assistance as these are critical to the operation of the club.We have found that pleading for help just doesn’t work so we will be implementing a roster system in the New Year for Canteen and umpiring Senior games.If you are rostered and are unable to fulfil your roster then it will be your responsibility to organise a replacement.
Club Representatives
We are very pleased to advise that a number of our Juniors will be playing in the upcoming Under 16 and Under 18 AYC championships to be held in Sydney in January.
Congratulations also to Trif Stafilis who is coaching the U16 Roos team in the AYC championships.
Under 16s
Brodie Trevean
Cooper Busch
Ethan Nakamura
Jonathan Park
Under 16 Roos (combined Victoria/Queensland team)
Sam Stafilis
Trif Stafilis (Coach)
Chase Potts (emergency)
Under 18s
Ethan Johnston
Liam Puncher (Blackcats player)
Zak Stafilis*
Samuel Walk
* Zak is also in Taiwan at the moment playing in the 2024 New Taipei City International U-18 Baseball Invitational Tournament
Premier12
We are very proud of several current and former players who represented Australia at the recent Premier12 tournament in Japan and Chinese Taipei:
Blake Townsend
Jarryd Dale
Jon Kennedy
Sponsors
We are very pleased to announce that Bendigo Bank and Guzmen y Gomez have joined us as sponsors in 2024-25.
Community Bank Pinewood has made a valuable contribution towards our women’s program and field equipment this year. They also provided support for our recent Pink Day fundraiser, with the loan of a marquee and also a generous raffle prize.
Community Bank Pinewood is part of the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Group and is located in the Pinewood Shopping Village (Mount Waverley). They provide financial products and services to individuals and businesses including bank accounts, home loans and business finance. Community Bank Pinewood also has a strong history of supporting local communities, with a large percentage of profits given back to the community.
After transitioning our bank accounts to Community Bank Pinewood over the last year, we have developed a close relationship with the staff at the branch, who are always friendly and helpful. We encourage all our players, members and supporters to consider the switch to Community Bank Pinewood – your banking experience will improve, and you will be supporting the local community, including Waverley Baseball Club.
For more information on how Community Bank Pinewood can help you or your business, contact our Treasurer, Russell Clowes, or the Branch Manager, Indu Dehipola (03 9886 6477).
In great news for all players at the Club, GyG have sponsored the Club with ‘player of the game’ burrito vouchers for all seniors, women’s and junior games this season. Thank you to Angela Potts (our junior coordinator) for arranging this amazing deal!
We also ask that everybody support our many club sponsors and support partners:
Our fixture is uploaded to our website here. It is usually updated on a Monday or Tuesday to include the weekend’s results.
If you have Google Calendar then you can load the fixture to show in Google Calendar by clicking the ‘Add to Google Calendar’ text in the bottom left of the fixture on the Website. Unfortunately, if you do add the fixture to your calendar, you will need to reload each time the fixture is updated for technical reasons.
Donate-a-Slab is back! Be in it for the chance to win $200
Once again, we are running our Donate A Slab fundraiser. All you need to do is bring down a Slab of your choice – water, soft drink, sport drink or adult beverage – and leave it @ the bar. Make sure you label your donation so you go into the draw where one lucky donor will win $200 at the end of the season. Multiple donations = multiple entries in the draw!!
Bendigo Bank Community Bank Pinewood
Community Bank Pinewood
Community Bank Pinewood not only gives you access to award-winning financial products and services, we’re also committed to returning profits to our local communities.
For more information on how Community Bank Pinewood can help you or your business, contact our Treasurer, Russell Clowes, or the Branch Manager, Indu Dehipola (03 9886 6477).
Don’t forget you can sign up with United Petroleum and help the club. It’s a win-win situation: for every litre of petrol you purchase, you will receive a 2c discount, and United Petroleum will donate an additional 2c to the club.
Activating your discount is very simple. Scan the QR code below to register. You can then store your registration in your Google or Apple Wallet, or request that you be sent a plastic card (delivery 5-15 days). Once you are registered, simply scan the digital or physical card at the service desk and your discount will be applied.
I would like to thank our new Treasurer Russell Clowes for organising this sponsorship.
If you are aware of any other sponsorship opportunities please contact me, Adrian or Russell.
We are very proud of all current and former Waverley players and welcome any updates on their progress as they pursue their baseball dreams. Photographs, updates etc can be sent to me at hello@waverleybaseball.com.au
Also feel free to let me know of any other news the rest of the Wildcats community might be interested in. We publish blogs and newsletters regularly and are always looking for photos and stories of interest.
Sponsorship Opportunities
We are seeking the support of more sponsors for the Club.
We have several different packages available with options which include:
Signage on the home run fence and/or in the clubrooms
Promotion of your business on our website
Promotion of your business in the Diamond Digest and on our Facebook pages
Your business name on player uniforms
With over 300 past and present players and supporters on our mailing list, this is a great opportunity for you to promote your brand.
Many thanks to everybody who has rolled up their sleeves and assisted us with Canteen, Grounds maintenance and marking, Coaching, Scoring, Social functions, … . We just could not operate without the assistance of these people who give up their time.
Waverley Baseball Club welcomes Bendigo Bank as our new sponsor! Discover how this exciting partnership supports our club and community. Learn more today.
Please support all our fantastic sponsors and support partners
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