Sydney Outfielders recruiting for new softball season

The Outfielders are Sydney’s first LGBTIQ softball league, and one of the longest-running social sporting leagues.

Following an exciting 2018/2019 softball season, the league is now calling for new members of all experience levels to join for the next season, which launches this month.

The Outfielders take their commitment to diversity and inclusivity seriously while having fun on the field.

“We live and breathe inclusivity, catering for all players, of all abilities,” says Outfielders president Sarah van Ryn.

The league is on the grow, with the 2018/2019 season seeing nine teams take to the diamonds of Centennial Parklands, including two new teams.

The Comets played solidly all season, ultimately taking out this year’s Libby Stowe Perpetual Trophy for their consistent performance.

The trophy was established in the 2007/2008 season to honour the memory of beloved player Libby Stowe after she passed away from cancer.

The highlight of this year’s off season was the inaugural Pride Match on Saturday June 29, which marked the fiftieth anniversary of the 1969 queer liberation Stonewall Riots in New York City.

More than fifty people took part in the match, with league members as well as players from the wider community forming two teams for the day, the Marshas and the Sylvias, named for activists Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.

“As president, I delivered the ceremonial first pitch of the day, which, in honour of the events at Stonewall fifty years before, was the pitching of a sparkly, golden brick,” says Van Ryn.

With the new season kicking off on Tuesday, October 15, registrations are now open. The league plays on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer.

“The Sydney Outfielders Softball League is more than a competition,” says Van Ryn.

“It is a community, and one we hope will continue to grow.”

More information is available at www.sydneyoutfielders.org.au and on the league’s Facebook page.