Once again, the local softball league never fails to fail when it comes to doing even the bare minimum to support gender equality in the male-dominated sport of mixed softball.
To the SL Captains –
2024 Softball Leinster Committee
as you know, the current SL committee thinks that a max. 5 (“5:5”) gender split in line-ups is how
co-ed slowpitch softball should be played in our league.
However, after the constructive discussion on the topic at the 2024 Captains’ Meeting, we understand
that a considerable number of teams/clubs may find this a challenge in the 2024 season, not least
because the move to max. 5 (“5:5”) for Prem and D3 in the 2023 season still has to settle.
The “constructive discussion” was probably not constructive, but instead a whinge-fest of how hard it is to recruit (even though they’ve known about this issue for literally years). I was a part of these discussions year after year and it never changed much. The same people cry and complain that their team will fold and games will be forfeited and they can’t recruit enough players and so on. It’s not supported by any evidence. In fact, as 2023 showed, when gender-equal 5:5 lineups were the rule for the Premier and D3 divisions, teams found players. (Also, this isn’t “co-ed” softball, as it’s not associated with any educational institution, it’s “mixed” softball – a minor thing, but as we’ll see later, words do matter.) What stands out as particularly nonsensical is the idea that enforcing the World Baseball Softball Confederation standard rule of a gender-equal lineup of 5:5 “still has to settle”. What does that even mean, “still has to settle”? I want to know who came up with this phrase, as it has no meaning and is totally disconnected from any reality, as this was completely successful in 2023 for the Premier and D3 divisions.
There seem to be a number of factors that play into this, from challenges in recruiting, esp. non-male
2024 Softball Leinster Committee
players, to retaining and developing new players, and integrating them into what are sometimes
long-established teams. Outside factors such as a lack of facilities at public pitches further add to this.
The use of the term “non-male” is a problem for me. It defines genders solely in relation to male-ness, lumping all others into “non-male”. This is the first time I can remember the league’s use of “non-male”, and I hope it is the last, as this needs to stop now. An alternative would be “women or gender non-conforming”. If we are meant to address an issue of gender imbalance, let’s use terms that aren’t going to perpetuate that imbalance. If they were trying for inclusion, using “non-male” not only misses that mark, it makes things worse.
It is our aim as the SL committee to support the teams/clubs in recruiting, retaining and developing
2024 Softball Leinster Committee
new players, but of course, it is also up to each team, and player, to contribute to this aim, which may
mean sitting out the odd inning in order to keep the team, the league and our sport viable here in
Ireland in the longer term.
I hope this is a swipe at the dearth of middle-aged men who refuse to get off the pitch so a woman or gender non-conforming person can play, to achieve an equal lineup of 5:5. Unfortunately, the real-world impact is to continue to ask women or gender non-conforming players to sit out while a man makes up a 6:4 lineup through a special rule that we choose to maintain, which does not conform to the World Baseball Softball Confederation standard for gender equality. Congratulations! For another year, you’ve guaranteed fewer women and gender non-conforming players will see the field.
The registration data for 2023 shows that on average, there has been a healthy number of recruitment
2024 Softball Leinster Committee
of non-male players, and we hope that this trend will continue in the coming season, across all teams
and clubs.
For the 2024 season, however, we recognise that enforcing penalties (such as automatic outs) for not
playing max. 5 (“5:5”) across all divisions might cause too many games to be played with a handicap,
or even not at all.
Therefore, while we will consider a max. 5 (“5:5”) line-up the default for all divisions, there will be no
penalty for D2 and D1 teams for fielding a max. 6 (“6:4”) line-up in the 2024 season. For Prem and
D3, the max. 5 (“5:5”) requirement introduced in 2023 remains in place.
I challenge the validity of the idea that “too many games” would be played shorthanded with an automatic out penalty, or forfeited entirely, and I suggest that whomever has put it forward is not acting in good faith. It is unsupported by any evidence, and is even less likely if the league is being honest when saying there has been a healthy recruitment of women players.
The implementation of gender-equal 5:5 lineups for the Premier and D3 divisions was successful in 2023. The league still refuses to implement this change across all divisions for 2024. Why exactly? Because this new committee is exactly the same as the old committee, paying lip-service instead of providing action, slapping rainbow layers on top of logos, while continuing to support the patriarchal ideologies that have dominated the sport of mixed slowpitch softball in Ireland. Years of resistance to gender equality in lineups, and using the same tired arguments with no evidence, wins again.