PROPOSAL FOR A REVIVAL OF THE WINTER CARNIVAL |
It’s generally accepted that the senior Winter Carnival (formerly VPBL Championship) has been dying a slow death. While symptoms have been there for at least twenty years, the malaise has threatened to become terminal and there is a very real chance that the time-honoured Queen’s Birthday series will cease to exist in the not-so-distant future. This situation is the fault of no organisation or no persons in particular. It’s been a gradual process that reflects elements of social change, a certain loss of prestige previously enjoyed by the series and the changing priorities, commitments and expectations of baseball players. The Victorian baseball community can either accept the inevitability of the eventual demise of the event or we can choose to do something about “reinventing” the Winter Carnival. With the series to be staged in Geelong next weekend, now would seem an appropriate time for baseball to reflect on what, if anything, could or should be done. As always, the players attending the Carnival will no doubt have a great time – and even be involved in some quality baseball. But we cannot kid ourselves that the Carnival any longer represents the pinnacle of achievement in winter baseball. The following proposal might be a useful starting point for discussion. It relates only to the senior winter component. The Junior Carnivals present a quite different set of circumstances. The proposal is posted on the Geelong Baseball Association website, but it does not represent the views of that association or of any other governing body. It is simply the musing of a baseball dinosaur with a fondness for the game and a belief that we can respond with imagination and build a unique “Winter Carnival” if the will and the commitment are there. The proposal is premised on the following assumptions:
VICTORIAN WINTER CUP It is proposed that the current Carnival be “re-invented” as the “Victorian Winter Cup” (or something similar in name), starting in 2010. The Winter Cup would still be played over the June long weekend, but with fundamental changes to structure and format. FORMAT The Victorian Winter Cup would be contested between two sides representing the elite of winter baseball – a METROPOLITAN “ALL-STAR” TEAM and a REGIONAL “ALL-STAR” team. Or, if you like, City All-Stars versus Country All-Stars. The series would be a best-of three nine innings games (with the Ten-Run Rule after seven). One game would be played on the Saturday, one on Sunday and the third – if required – on the Monday. To be eligible for selection in City All-Stars team, a person would have to be an active playing member of the Victorian Winter Baseball League, Ringwood and District League or Dandenong Baseball Association. To be eligible for selection in the Country All-Stars team, a person would have to be an active playing member of the Geelong Baseball Association, Latrobe Valley, Bendigo, North-Eastern, Sunraysia or Ballarat Baseball Association. The rationale for the selection of particular associations as "City" and "Country" is simple. The three "City" leagues operate within the Melbourne metropolitan area, the others in regional centres. Although I haven't checked, my feeling is that the "City" and "Country" combinations - as above - would have a roughly comparable number of teams and players involved. Where a player had dual registration (for “City” and “Country” leagues), he would be eligible for selection in either league, although his “home” league would have first call on his services. While the fundamental goal would be to showcase the very best of winter baseball, the series would consciously involve a strong social element and it would be structured and presented in such a way that recognised the rich history of Victorian Provincial Baseball. It is envisaged that a range of off-field activities would be provided. Included among them could be a Player Breakfast and Welcome (Day One), a formal dinner with comedian or guest speakers, a Players and Supporters’ Barbecue, a display and cavalcade of past VPBL greats. The weekend, in a very real sense, would be a celebration of winter baseball - past and present. Games on each day would start at 12.00 or 12.30. Under such a format, game time for the two teams would be reduced dramatically with an emphasis more on quality than quantity. One game a day would give players and supporters more time to socialise and/or do other things. The late start and early finish each day would create more time for travelling. Being held over a long weekend - albeit in winter - meams that there would be a degree of flexibility in the event of rain delays or washout. Three - or possibly two - games over three days should be able to be accommodated unless the weather was extreme. WHERE WOULD THE SERIES BE HELD? All winter associations would be invited - from year to year - to make bids to host the series. Bids would be considered by Baseball Victoria and a decision would be made as early as possible but no later than December 2009 and by September in subsequent years. Because only one ground would be required, it is feasible that alternative venues could be made available to those more equipped to host the current series. For example, Diamond Valley could host the series at Latrobe University or Ringwood could host the series at Knox. Yes, I know, the "getting away" factor has always been a consideration for players - but an elite competition should seek to utilise the best grounds and facilities that are available. SQUADS, MANAGERS AND SUPPORT STAFF Each squad would be limited to seventeen players (including a mandatory five specialist pitchers). Each squad would have an accredited Manager and a number of assistants and support staff to be determined. Baseball Victoria would call for applications for management positions early in each year. Managers would need to be appropriately accredited but would not need to currently hold management positions in baseball. The Manager of each team would be appointed by early to mid-March to allow time for a thorough selection process and some team training sessions. SELECTORS After appointment of the Manager, a Selection Panel (including the Manager and with a maximum of five members) would be established for each of the teams. The panel would ideally represent the interests of all Victorian winter associations. SELECTION OF TEAMS Selection
would be based
solely on merit. The VWBL, Ringwood District and the Dandenong Associations would each be invited to submit the names and playing credentials of twelve players to be considered for selection in the “City All-Stars” (total of 36). The six provincial leagues would each be invited to submit the names and playing credentials of six players to be considered for selection in the “Country All-Stars” (total of 36). Final squads would be selected by the end of April or early May. Depending on the location of players and their availability, this would provide time for the squads to get together for training and orientation purposes. Provision would be made for squads to replace any selected player becoming unavailable through injury, illness or personal circumstances at any time up until the long weekend. Selection in the Winter Cup “All-Stars” would not guarantee any player selection in any Victorian Provincial or Australian Provincial team UNIFORMS While there is an argument for the teams to wear their own association uniform in the “All-Star” games, Victorian baseball already has a low profile and would be far better served by having the teams looking fully professional decked out in striking, colourful new uniforms. This would require an initial funding outlay but uniforms would be returned by players at the end of each series. Perhaps players could be awarded with a series cap, embroidered T-Shirt and some documentary recognition of their involvement in the series. FUNDING Aside from the considerable cost of up to fifty uniforms, it is proposed that squad members (including officials) of both teams have their reasonable accommodation and travel expenses paid for. To help meet the start-up and ongoing costs, a seeding grant should be sought from a government instrumentality such as Tourism Victoria. Corporate sponsors would be sought. Some of the existing VPBL “development” funds could be directed to this purpose, Baseball Victoria (and its sponsors) may be able to make a contribution. Each association could be asked for a contribution if deemed appropriate. Travel and accommodation discounting be sought for supporter groups from particular associations. PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY It is absolutely vital that intensive promotion of the series be organised at local, regional, state and even national baseball level. Aside from the fact that the series itself would showcase the very best in winter baseball, it might also serve as a model for other states seeking to develop their winter competitions. It is strongly suggested that the Victorian Winter Cup secures a high profile baseball patron, such as Graeme Lloyd or Peter Moylan (both played winter baseball in Victoria). Victoria is fortunate in that it has a number of baseball identities who are readily recognisable in baseball circles - in Australia and overseas. The likes of Jon Deeble, Phil Dale and Phil Allen are among the people who might be interested in coming on board to help in promotion of the Victorian Winter Cup. To maximise community and family attendance, admission to games should be free or by way of a gold coin donation. IN SUMMARY Any radical and ambitious project such as the Victorian Winter Cup will of course present its challenges. Following are some of the considerations that would need to be dealt with by creative minds in the baseball community: - The tyranny of distance. This would not apply to the City All-Stars team, but it would for the Country All-Stars. How could we best get players together from the various regional associations to meet and to train prior to the series? What happens if, say, the series is in Latrobe Valley when one selected player is from Sunraysia and one from North-Eastern? - What happens if no player from a particular league makes the team for a couple of years running? Are the league and its players likely to lose interest and find that support is waning in their region? One way to deal with this might be to rotate the series between all centres who can provide at least one quality baseball field and decent facilities. - Some individual clubs and associations might question the worth of making a commitment to helping stage a series that might only last for two games. If they were providing the workers and taking the risk on catering, it may simply not be financially viable. Hence the suggestion of running associated social events that would keep the largest possible number of people involved. - The selection process would necessitate players being nominated very early in the winter season, with limited form upon which to base judgments. That is probably unavoidable and would place the onus on selection panels to be as diligent and thorough as possible. - The timing of the proposed Victorian Winter Cup might be debatable. There is an argument that such a series could be held at the end of the winter season - a week or two prior to the start of summer. However, by that point, players will be preparing for the summer season and may already have summer practice and practice match commitments. Further, the Queen's Birthday weekend is an eminently sensible time for the winter leagues to take a break from their mainstream playing schedule.
Ideas such as this proposal may already be doing the rounds in baseball circles. I don’t know. There may be a far better way to go forward in seeking to revive the flagging fortunes of the Winter Carnival. Quite possibly. But the first stage in any process is surely to get some thoughts out there and see where they lead. Victorian baseball is going through a significant phase in its development. With so much energy being expended on competition re-structure, unification, strategic plan, an expanded Claxton Shield and a range of other developments, the time could not be better for a re-evaluation of where we are at with what was - and still can be - the flagship of winter baseball. The Victorian Winter Cup.
Kingsley
Collins
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