International Rounders

Mark Linfitt the International team manager has over the past few years developed a programme of international matches at various levels from Under 13 upwards and players from member clubs and schools all over the country are involved.

Matches are played against Wales at various school girl levels as well under 21 and adult levels. Northern Ireland and Scotland at schoolgirl levels.

It must be emphasised that selection is only available to players whose school or club are members of the National Rounders Association.

An adult squad early in 1998 travelled to the West Indies to play several matches :- click here for separate report and in October 1998 teams from St. Helens and Sheffield travelled to Rome to play an exhibition match as part of a Sport for All event -; click here for separate report.

Plans are already in place for matches in 1999 and the Mark Linfitt is endeavouring to establish Satellite Centres in various parts of the country to provide coaching for players as part of a feeder system for the international squads.

For further details of the international programme, satellite centres etc. contact Mark Linfitt via The National Rounders Association's National Office, 38 Hardy Street, Kimberley, NOTTINGHAM, NG16 2JX

West Indies Tour

The England Rounders Team returned home from the West Indies proudly clutching two trophies. One won when England beat the West Indian team and one when they cruised to victory in an eight team tournament to mark a successful conclusion to the first ever tour to the Caribbean by England Ladies. Earlier in the tour England had won all five of their warm up matches as they worked hard to acclimatise to the 90 degree heat and erratic bounce on the hard pitches before the serious competition began.

England won over the support of the local people on the island of Bequia, their base for the tour and the headquarters of the Caribbean Rounders Association. When fierce storms flooded the pitch and caused the cancellation of Sunday’s matches, large crowds still turned up to witness the opening ceremony and the address by the Sports Minister for St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The England team staged a demonstration of their skills in the pouring rain to the delight of the crowd who were hungry for action and disappointed that the first rain on the island for four months had disrupted the days events.

The schedule was hastily re-arranged to play the International match on Monday, the same day as the knockout tournament. England therefore had to play four matches in one day in fierce heat, a testament to their fitness. They triumphed, winning them all with a display of powerful hitting, fast bowling and disciplined fielding which thrilled the large crowd.

In the International Match v The West Indies Representative Team, Bowlers Michele Golland & Wendy Wadeson destroyed the W.I.'s innings twice as England romped to an 11 - 1 victory. England's rounders were shared by Natasha Clark, Angela Jones, Claire Winnall, Alison Goring, Carol Neale, Rachel Owen & Michele Golland. This performance earned the praise it was given and deserved the message of congratulations received from the British High Commissioner.

In the K.O. competition, the side had to dig deep into their energy reserves, as all of the hard work & training paid off. Despite obvious fatigue they won in the final in a sudden death style play off after bowlers had dominated the match. Alison Goring found the extra energy to hammer the winning rounder in the fading light, earning a standing ovation for herself and the team from a crowd who by the end were chanting for England.

Rounders is held in high profile in many parts of the Caribbean. The international match on Monday was featured on the TV news in the Grenadines with highlights and interviews being shown throughout the Caribbean. This tour has significantly increased the sports profile. We heard earlier during the opening ceremony how work was going on to widen the participation in rounders by including it in school curriculum’s as we already do in the UK.

The England Team’s presence and performances have generated tremendous enthusiasm in the West Indies. Thousands of fans treated this England team as local heroes, demanding autographs and photographs and cheering them everywhere they went. As the England players now turn their attention to the domestic season the management are left pondering this success as they search to find the key to generate the same enthusiasm into the British media. After all how often does an England Team come home from the West Indies with a record like this... played 9, won 9, rounders scored 66, rounders conceded 18.

England Squad : - Michelle Golland (Sheffield), Sara Pye (Market Drayton), Hannah Harvey (Chorley), Alison Goring (Rotherham), Wendy Wadeson (Derby), Kerry Timmis (Leicester), Bridget Briody (Bristol), Angela Jones (Oldham), Natasha Clark (Captain, Skipton), Claire Winnall (Market Drayton), Rachel Owen (Shrewsbury), Carol Neale (Leicester).

Geoff Blackham

Eurolathlon 1998 - Rome

The National Rounders Association were privileged to be invited by the Centro Sportivo Italiano to be present at the Eurathlon in Rome in early October. The NRA provided two teams to demonstrate the sport of rounders and a Dutch korfball club provided two teams to demonstrate their sport. The rounders group comprised one team from St. Helens and one from Sheffield. The group travelled on Friday 9th October and on Saturday morning took part in a conference for Italian sports professionals to ask questions after Brian Mackinney had explained what was involved in playing rounders and the role of the NRA. The Dutch organiser did the same.. The set up was very impressive, the auditorium having earphones at each place for simultaneous translation into Italian, Dutch or English. Both groups were presented with a statuette by the Centro Sportivo and the one presented to the NRA will be used as a trophy at a tournament in 1999. Both English clubs presented momentoes form their towns. On Saturday afternoon both groups were taken on a conducted tour of Rome. On Sunday morning the two sports demonstrated their sports in the Villa Borghese with St. Helens and Sheffield drawing their game 4 -4. (see separate report). Both groups joined in playing each other's sports with the rounders players being at something of a disadvantage as virtually all the Korfball players were at least 6 feet tall. And that was only the girls, the men were even taller ! The Korfball players soon adapted to rounders showing that the game can be picked up quickly. In fact during the game between a mixed side from korfball and the English girls, Tako Poelestra who was bowling sent a ball which was missed by Lesley Tew and when the back stop threw the ball to Angelique Klompmauer she fell backwards whilst catching the ball but still managed to throw the ball towards first base and Tako already moving to first base caught the ball and put Lesley out. The Villa Borghese is a large park near the centre of Rome with a museum and many other attractions and activities , and a large number of Romans visit the Villa at weekends. In the afternoon all the participants were able to join in with Aria Aperta, a Sport for All promotion by the CSI (Sports Council) of Rome. The group returned home on Monday afternoon. Unfortunately, the differences in culture between Britain and Italy may make the introduction of rounders difficult. In Britain we have a Minister of Sport which acknowledged the role of sport in society. Italy does not have this recognition by government and in fact sport is governed in the main by the International Olympic Committee.

Brian Mackinney