PIRATES POST ~ Season in Review ~ Apr 23

CLUB CAPTAIN'S ROUND-UP
~ Craig Le Quesne

Three years ago we set our vision to ‘get more kids having fun playing baseball with their friends’ and we continue to have a huge amount to be proud of. Together this season, we have achieved a number of Pirates milestones:

1 CHAMPIONSHIP WIN!	Our 16U team won the first ever Wellington Region Travel League Championship for Pirates!
12 REP PLAYERS	A record 10 players were selected for Wellington Little League teams and 2 for the NZ Tuatara teams that traveled to Australia
4 REP COACHES	Two of our coaches were selected for Little League roles, 1 for the Tuatara Tour and 1 for the NZ15U team
50 DEVELOPMENT PLAYERS	Involved in another successful 14U Development League and 12U Rookie League during Term 4 in 2022 - providing a fun opportunity for younger players to try out baseball
7 GIRLS	For the first time, this season we had a talented group of girl ballers involved in our club - playing in both the Development and Travel League teams
1 NEW SCORER	We developed 1 new Baseball NZ qualified scorer
7 CONTINUING SPONSORS	All 7 of our valued sponsors and supporters remained this season
1 MOBILE BATTING CAGE	We secured (then had stolen 😠) a mobile batting cage, and shelving was installed in our storage lock-up at IGP
800 FOLLOWERS	Our website and social media continued to set club sport standards. We now have nearly 600 Facebook followers and over 200 on Instagram!

Of course, none of this would be possible without our extended Pirates whānau of fabulous volunteers, sponsors and supporters. A club like ours can only exist if it has a team of willing and committed volunteers - our committee members; coaches, umpires, scorers, sponsors, fundraisers, photographers, gear and ground maintainers, raffle donators, ball retrievers, and awesome supporters chanting on the sideline!!!

They say teamwork is at the heart of every great achievement and we’re truly blessed to have such great people involved in our young Club.

Thanks to all involved!

COMPETITIVE TEAMS REVIEW

Our competitive teams performed well in the Wellington Baseball Association regional competition this season, with our 16U team winning their age grade overall and 13U team reaching the play-offs.

16U SUNDAY TRAVEL LEAGUE
Pirates are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding success of our Brendon Motors Karori 16U team this season, which culminated in the first-ever Wellington regional Championship Title in the club's history! Read more about the 16U season from Coach Josh Broadway at the link below.

13U SUNDAY TRAVEL LEAGUE
This season our Lowe & Co 13U team competed with great spirit and tenacity, with a record number of players selected in Wellington and national representative teams! Read more about the 13U season from Coach Joe McGarry at the link below.

REPS & AWARD WINNERS
You can also read more below about the Award Winners from our recent 22/23 season Prizegiving, and some exciting news about our very own Kieran McMahon being selected in the New Zealand 12U Rep squad!

16U PIRATES 2023 SEASON REV...

Reflections from Coach Josh

13U PIRATES 2023 SEASON REV...

Reflections from Coach Joe

Congratulations Kieran!

Wgtn Pirate selected in NZ U-12 team

PIRATES 2023 AWARD WINNERS

Celebrating the achievements of our 2023 Pirates

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
Once again this year we’ve had incredible support from local businesses and sports charities. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to invest in new safety equipment and uniforms, and keep our registration fees affordable. We really hope our sponsors see value in our partnership and continue your generous support next season.

Mitre 10 Crofton Downs	Brendon Motors Karori
Charity Builders	New World Karori
Lowe & Co ~ Steve & Elise	The Lanes Bar & Bowling
Grassroots Trust Central	Pelorus Trust
NZ Community Trust	T&T Landfills

To our Pirates whānau - if you’re in need of a good or service provided by our valued sponsors, please see them first.

FROM THE CLUB PRESIDENT

Thank you all for your support again this season. It’s been a real pleasure seeing our club continue to thrive, welcoming new players and club members and watching our seasoned players grow their game.

In addition to thanking our sponsors, I'd especially like to acknnowledge our behind-the-scenes team. We all know that it takes a village to run a successful sports club and we’re so grateful for our Pirates whānau and volunteers. Recently we’ve acknowledged some of our special Pirate Heroes in a social media series and I’d also like to personally thank you here -

Coaches & Officials	Josh Broadway, Clayton Willocks, Lee Graham, Craig Le Quesne, Joe McGarry, Regan Taouma, Matt Charity, Jason Parry and Michael Schlaug
Committee Members	Clayton Willocks, Sophie Gray, Craig Le Quesne, Jodi Willocks
Valued Supporters	Sophie, Thomas (& the entire Gray whanau) (BBQ), Josh Broadway (website), Jodi Willocks (website & comms), Kerri Cox (social media), Matt Charity (grounds & maintenance) Joe & Katrina McGarry (photography)
WBA & WCC	Thanks also to the team at Wellington Baseball Association for organising the Wellington Regional competition and Wellington City Council for our ballpark and storage at Ian Galloway Park.

I’m so proud of everything our club has achieved, inspired by our talented young Pirates, and hugely grateful for the support of you all and for the generosity of our returning sponsors.

Soon, we’ll look ahead to next season and will be in touch to gauge community interest. But first, our committee and extended team will take a well-deserved break!

Best of luck to our players trialing for the NZ 15U team this weekend. Take care this winter, stay safe and remember to support our awesome sponsors.

See you all next season & bring a buddy with you!
Clayton

🏴‍☠ ⚾