Softball in Ireland

Softball is governed in Ireland by the Softball Ireland, itself a member of the International Softball Federation.

History

The year 1982 marked the first softball league in Ireland, the Dublin Softball League. The Irish Softball Association was formed in 1989. It has been in various guises since then, including the Irish Baseball and Softball Association, the Irish Baseball and Softball Federation, back to the Irish Softball Association, and in recent years has been renamed Softball Ireland. Softball Ireland (SI) is the governing body of softball in Ireland. SI is responsible for the running of tournaments, leagues, development and international competition in both co-ed slowpitch and ladies fastpitch softball.^[1]

Domestic Competitions

Competition	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002
Leinster League	TNT	OddSox Green	Keily's Kegs	OddSox Green	Dodder Dynamoes	OddSox Green	BatPak	BatPak	Dodder Dynamoes	Dodder Dynamoes	Dodder Dynamoes	Dodder Dynamoes	Dodder Dynamoes	Marlay Martyrs
Brian Walshe Cup	OddSox Green	Kiely's Kegs	BatPak	Marlay Martyrs	BatPak	BatPak	BatPak	OddSox Green	Batpak	Dodder Dynamoes	BatPak	Dodder Dynamoes	Dodder Dynamoes	OddSox Green
Irish Open Softball Trophy	BatPak	Dodder Dynamoes	Dodder Dynamoes	Limerick Originals	Limerick Originals	The Stingers UK	The Stingers UK	The Stingers UK	Batpak	Saints Stingers UK	BatPak	London Breakers UK	OddSox Green	???
Intervarsity Championships	University College Dublin	University College Dublin	University College Dublin	University College Dublin	University College Dublin	University of Limerick	University of Limerick	University of Limerick	University of Limerick	University of Limerick	University College Dublin	University of Limerick	University of Limerick	University College Dublin
Start of Season Blitz			Marlay Martyrs	Ori-ginals	Ori-ginals	University of Limerick	Munster Marauders	Munster Marauders	University of Limerick	Oddsox Green	Dodder Dynamoes

Competition	2001	2000	1999	1998	1997	1996
Leinster League	Batpak	Marlay Martyrs	Marlay Martyrs	Marlay Martyrs	BatPak	Marlay Martyrs
Irish Softball Cup	Dodder Dynamoes	Los Banditos	Dodder Dynamoes	OddSox Red	Oddsox Red	Marlay Martyrs
Irish Open Softball Trophy	Saints Stingers UK	Dodder Dynamoes	Oddsox	WarPak	BatPak	Marlay Martyrs
Intervarsity Championships	University College Cork

National team

The National team has competed with varied success in recent years. The main competition being the "European Softball Federation CoEd Slowpitch Championship".^[2] The event has been dominated by the Great Britain team winning all seven instalments. The venue for 2011 is Dupnitsa, Bulgaria. The record number of participants is eight at the 2010 event.

Position	2011 – Dupnitsa (BUL)	2010 – Prague (CZE)	2008 – Southampton (GBR)	2006 – Ljubljana (SLO)	2004 – Linz (AUT)	2002 – Mladé Buky (CZE)	2000 – Dublin (IRL)	1998 – London (GBR)
1st		Great Britain	Great Britain	Great Britain	Great Britain	Great Britain	Great Britain	Great Britain
2nd		Czech Republic	Ireland	Czech Republic	Ireland	Ireland	Czech Republic	Czech Republic
3rd		Ireland	Czech Republic	Ireland	Czech Republic	Austria	Ireland	Ireland
4th		Guernsey	Jersey	Slovenia	Austria	Czech Republic	Guernsey	Guernsey
5th		Belgium	Slovenia	Croatia	n/a	Germany	Germany	n/a
6th		Slovenia	n/a	n/a	n/a	Slovakia	n/a	n/a
7th	n/a	Austria	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
8th	n/a	Slovakia	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

European Club Championship

2007 saw the inaugural European Cup Co-Ed Slowpitch Championship. The event was held in Limeil-Brévannes, France from 19 September 2007 to 22 September 2007. There were five teams competing with Dodder Dynamoes representing Ireland. The London Chromies were crowned champions beating Dodder Dynamoes 10–3 in the Grand Final. The 2008 Championships, held in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria from 2 to 6 September, were won by Baker Tomkins of Britain beating Dodder Dynamoes 16–11 in the Grand Final. The 2009 Championship saw an increase in the participants to 7, with the event is again being held in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria from 26 to 29 August. 2009 winners, Dodder Dynamoes, became the first Irish team, club or national, to win an ESF sanctioned championship. The London Chromies reclaimed the title at the 2010 event held in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Position	2010 – Ljubljana (SLO)	2009 – Dupnitsa (BUL)	2008 – Dupnitsa (BUL)	2007 – Limeil Brevannes (FRA)
1st	London Chromies	Dodder Dynamoes	Baker Tomkins	London Chromies
2nd	Dodder Dynamoes	Dragons	Dodder Dynamoes	Dodder Dynamoes
3rd	BatPak	ASKOE Linz Stamm Bandits	ASKOE Linz Stamm Bandits	Sparks BAK Mlade Buky
4th	Longbridge	Sparks BAK Mlade Buky	Balkan Stars Sofia	ASKOE Linz Stamm Bandits
5th	SBK Golovec	Balkan Stars Sofia	N/A	Limeil Brevannes les Caribous
6th	WBV Homerunners	Baker Tomkins	N/A	N/A
7th	N/A	Krpan LL Novo Mesto	N/A	N/A

2007 Championship Website

2008 Championship Information

2009 Championship Website

See also

• International Softball Federation
• European Softball Federation
• Baseball in Ireland

References

1. Softball Ireland Website accessed January 2007
2. European Softball Federation Website accessed January 2007

External links

• Sluggers Softball Club
• International Softball Federation
• Irish Softball Association
• European Softball Federation
• University College Dublin
• University Of Limerick
• BatPak Softball Club
• Blazzers Softball Club
• Marlay Softball Club
• Homers Softball Club
• Flyers Softball Club
• Dodder Dynamoes Club
• Slammers Softball Club
• Usual Suspects Softball Club
• Dublin Bay Packers Softball Club
• OddSox Softball Club