Bob Henning Among Crew Selected to Work ISF Worlds

Editor’s note: We bumped up this news item posted late last week, as we wanted to send along our personal congratulations to umpire Bob Henning, who has been selected to work the upcoming 2009 ISF World Championships in Saskatoon in July.

Bob Henning has a wealth of officiating experience and obtained his Level V Certification in 1988. At the national level, he officiated in six Canadian Championships and has served as Umpire in Chief or Deputy Umpire in Chief of various other events. His international experience includes the 1993 IV ISFJunior Men’s World Championship as well as various other tournaments

Bob is well known to many of us on out west as one of the organizers behind the successful Red Rock tournament, which will return to Carson City, NV after a one-year hiatus.

(click logo to visit the official ISF XII World Championships website)

The ISF is pleased to advise that the following umpires (listed alphabetically by country) have been selected to umpire at the XII World Men’s Championships in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada from July 17-29, 2009:

Reinaldo Lanzavecchia – Argentina – Latin America
Leigh Evans – Australia – Oceania
Lou Davis – Canada – North America
Frank Omoe – Canada – North America
Bob Henning – Canada – North America
Gary Skjerven – Canada – North America
Jan Hora – Czech Republic – Europe
Jens M. Jakobsen – Denmark – Europe
Gianluca Magnani – Italy – Europe
Shigeo Kamata – Japan – Asia
Juan Jose Fajardo – Mexico – Latin America
Wiremu Tamaki – New Zealand – Oceania
Mark MacFarlane – New Zealand – Oceania
Santos Vazquez – Puerto Rico – Latin America
Teboho Vincent Maoeng – South Africa – Africa
Keith Kearney – USA – North America
Scott Thomas – USA – North America
Armando Jose Rodriguez – Venezuela – Latin America

Editor’s note: This story appeared in the Financial Post on December 2008.
From:

Kathryn Willms, The StarPhoenix
Published: Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Two years ago when the announcement was made that the 2009 ISF world men’s softball championships were coming to Saskatoon, Keith Mackintosh made himself a deal. If he made the 2009 team, he would put off retirement and finish his career at home. His presence at Tuesday morning’s tournament press conference tells the rest of the story.

“I’m going to be the old man on the team,” says Mackintosh, who will be 41 when this summer’s tournament rolls around. “So the decision had to be made. I was obviously happy to be representing Canada in my home province, in my surrogate hometown. It was good but definitely mixed emotions. I was ready for retirement I think. So one more year in the sun and hopefully it’s a good one.”

The Melfort native remembers being in the stands when Saskatoon last hosted the tournament in 1988. Twenty-one years later, Saskatoon is the first-ever two-time host and Mackintosh has become part of the Canadian softball tradition. He has five Canadian senior men’s titles under his belt, two All-Canadian titles and has been a member of the national team for many years, an experience highlighted by a win over the U.S. in the gold medal match at the Phillippines’ world championships in 2002. When the anthem cut out halfway through the podium ceremony, the Canadian team or “seventeen grown men balling their eyes out,” as Mackintosh puts it, silenced the arena with their acapella finish in — what Mackintosh calls — “the most glorious moment of my sporting career.”

Mackintosh will be looking for gold again this July alongside the two other Saskatchewan players who have been named to the national team. Veteran Dean Holoien and rookie Trevor Ethier will pitch for the Canadians. Saskatoon’s Ethier made the team after an impressive performance at this summer’s nationals where he was named MVP and threw a shutout in the final.

“I’m very happy for Dean and I but I’m ecstatic for Trevor,” says Mackintosh. “I think it’s the most well-rounded team Canada has put on the field in the last few championships. We’re deep in every position. I think we have the best four pitchers on the planet right now wearing our colours. Every guy on our team can hit. It’s funny, even (Ethier) and (Holoien) can hit. There’s not too many teams that can say 15 of their 17 guys can go to the plate and get a hit if they need to.”

The coaching staff, led by Mark Smith, has implemented a rigorous fitness routine over the past four years to address the changing face of the sport. Once dominated by the Canadians and the Kiwis, a number of countries have since stepped up the plate to become softball powerhouses.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hat tip, SoftballNewLA.com

From:

(click logo above for original news story)

Dave Kirkpatrick | 12th February 2009

AIMING FOR THE DOUBLE: McLeans Ridges’ Nick Shailes, contemplating his next venture overseas.

HE’S either been too old for national youth teams, or two young to make the open side, but now is the right time for Lismore’s Nick Shailes to star in the Australian men’s softball team.

The 23-year-old McLeans Ridges resident should play a leading role in Australia’s world championship campaign in Saskatoon, Canada, in July.

Shailes has previously been named the ‘world’s best batter’ and has selected in the ‘all world’ team in the past two years.

He spends three months of the year playing overseas and is now on the hunt for a big double – a world series ring in the International Softball Congress and a world title with the Australian team.

“I’ve been playing on the Australian team for the last couple of years, but I haven’t played at the world titles, because they are held only once every four years,” Shailes said.

“I’m 23 at the moment and it has been hard to make it into that open team because it has always been the wrong year. I’m either too old for the junior team, or too young for the open men’s team.”

Shailes will play for NSW at the national titles in Sydney next week and then start contemplating his next venture overseas.

He’s switched his northern hemisphere clubs in the off-season and will leave Townline, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the United States, for the better-credentialed Aspen Interiors, in Saskatoon.

“Townline were around the number 10 team in the world while Aspen are ranked second in the world and so there is a very good chance of winning a world series ring with them, and that is my aim,” he said.

“At certain tournaments there are crowds of between 3000 to 4000, and as soon as you get to the ISC world titles, you are looking at 6000 to 8000 in the grandstand, which is pretty crazy.”

Coincidentally, Shailes will be playing in the same Canadian city, Saskatoon, where the world titles will be held and should be able to provide the Aussies with plenty of ‘local’ knowledge.

“Hopefully, I’ll be heading over there in early June and spend about six or seven weeks there acclimatising before it happens,” he said.

Australia is ranked number three in the world behind New Zealand and Canada, but Shailes said the chances of causing an upset were ‘good’.

“We are going in as the underdogs, but we are looking good for world titles,” he said.

The Australian team includes two of the best pitchers in the world in Canberra’s Andrew Kirkpatrick and Adam Folkard, who hurl the ball at speeds ranging from 125km/h to 135km/h, and a strong batting line-up that includes Shailes.