Galway Softball Merchandise now available

Help support our club this year by buying some of our merchandise.

Jerseys are available for €40. They are available in sizes S, M & L.

There's a limited supply so snap them up quickly as they are sold on a first come first served basis. If you would like any of these items send us an email saying what you want.

We can post these to anyone of our former team mates that are now based away from Galway too.

Cork Challenge Match 2008 Review

For those who don't already know, we sent a team to Cork this weekend for a couple of challenge games. We all arrived in Cork early so we had time to go for a beer run before we started, I say we all arrived early but there's always one of us that's late!! No names will be named on the blog though.

We started the first game around half 12 but despite being up for a few hours The Tribes hadn't actually woken up, we had a disastrous first inning (nothing new there then) giving up 7 runs. We came back strong though, even taking the lead for a few innings, but we ended up losing the game by one run. Whats worse is that we lost Orla to a foot injury, it turns out that she broke a bone in her foot when she turned on her ankle and will be on the injured list for at least a few weeks. Get well soon Orla and I'm sure we'll see you in the Bierhaus some Wednesday soon, crutches and all.


We all took a break and had lunch but by the time the second game came round the effects of the 3 hour trip to Cork finally caught up with us, we did rally towards the end only losing the game by four runs but we were never really competitive. The most memorable thing from that game was when Simon ran backwards from shortstop all the way to the outfield to try to catch a ball that was never for him. It was never for him because Kerry was standing right underneath the ball the whole time, or at least she was standing underneath it until Simon barged straight into her knocking the ball out of her glove! It'll probably be the last time Cork loan us a player.

That evening we went out to watch another Galway team lose to a Cork team by one score! After that we met up with some of the Cork team and had a good night, the details of which cannot be reported on a blog. What goes on tour stays on tour!

Thanks to Cork for having us down and for giving us 2 good games. A good weekend was had by all and we'll see ye again in Galway on the 13th September for the rematch.

Click on any of the images above to see the gallery of pictures from the weekend, I'll update it as more pictures come in.

Updated team travelling to Cork

There have been some changes to the squad for tomorrow, see below

Kevin Dooley(c)	Angelica
John	Johanna
Simon	Orla
Rookie	Suzanne D
Rob L (possibly)
Dave Haskett
Kevin Doyle

Andrew has decided not to come to Cork but Kevin Doyle will be coming in his place. We also see the return of Dave Haskett who is now resides in Cork. Let's hope he doesn't send anyone to casualty this time!

UPDATE
Dave has contacted me to point out that it wasn't actually his fault, just one of those things and that it was HER fault!
Welcome back Dave ;)

Team travelling to Cork on Saturday

The squad for the 'Galway Tribes' team traveling to Cork next Saturday (19th)for our 'Almost Annual Challenge Game' is as follows

Kevin (c)	Angelica
John	Johanna
Simon	Orla
Rookie	Suzanne D
Andrew
Rob L

We only have the minimum of 10 traveling so if there's anyone else that wants to come along you're more than welcome to join us, you'll probably have to find your own accommodation though

IOST Update

Dear Team Contacts,

Softball Ireland would like to confirm that the 2008 Irish Open Softball
Tournament (IOST) will be held on Saturday the 23rd and Sunday the 24th of
August at the Jordanstown campus of University of Ulster in Belfast.

After many successful years in Limerick, it was time to find somewhere new
and fresh to host the flagship tournament of Softball Ireland. With the
booming increase of softball in Belfast this seemed like the ideal place.

Accommodation on campus of five single-bed roomed ensuite apartments as
well as halls a 5 minute walk from the pitches. Hotels are nearby and
Camping for the brave across the road on the picturesque longshore park
overlooking Belfast Lough. Bars and food on campus and a very willing
staff in Jordanstown to help get this up and running, we hope you will all
enjoy it.

All the registration, accommodation and event details will be released
soon, we are currently working on deals for the price on the accommodation
on both campus and in the local hotels and when we have them we will send
out a list of local accommodation and who to contact to book it.

Entry to the IOST will be limited, so please don’t try and book
accommodation until your team is confirmed as registered. We will have
registration open by the beginning of next week. The entry fee will be 240
euro (190 sterling).

Some info on University of Ulster Jordanstown:
The Jordanstown campus is home to the Sports Institute for Northern
Ireland and has excellent facilities for recreational and more serious
sporting activities. Since being contacted by Softball Ulster the staff
has started playing softball during the lunch breaks in their
state-of-the-art indoor pitch.
Jordanstown Campus is just a few miles from Belfast City Centre and is
served by buses, taxis and a train station a short walk away. Historic
Carrickfergus, with its 12th century castle, harbour and modern marina is
a few miles along the Lough.

Thanks
Steven Trundle
Softball Ireland Treasurer