THE NORTH COBURG REBELS AND PRESTON PIRATES BASEBALL CLUBS
ANNOUNCE INTENT TO ESTABLISH A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
The Boards of the Preston Pirates Baseball Club and the North Coburg Baseball Club have resolved to establish a Strategic Partnership between the two Baseball Clubs.
The intent of the Strategic Partnership is for the two Clubs to work together across the combined geographic region of each Club while retaining the identity and history of both Clubs.
The Preston Pirates founded in 1910 have since the 1980’s operated during the Summer Season only and the North Coburg Rebels were founded in 1986 as a Winter Season Club, expanding into the Summer Season in recent years.
The Preston Pirates will retain the new baseball diamond and club rooms at Charles La Trobe College in Bundoora when completed in late 2022 and focus on the Summer Season. The North Coburg Rebels will retain the Parker Reserve diamonds and club rooms and focus on the Winter Season.
With North Coburg Rebels fielding limited teams in the Summer Season the intent of the Strategic Partnership is for players in the 1st – 4th at both Clubs to be able to move between the two Clubs. This is subject to discussions with Baseball Victoria and if this is not permissible an alternative has been identified and is possible.
For the Senior Women’s team currently fielded by the Preston Pirates and the junior teams fielded by both Clubs the intent is to play as combined teams where appropriate and permissible. Again, an alternative has been identified and is permissible.
The Preston Pirates will train and play out of Parker Reserve alongside the North Coburg Rebels the home of North Coburg Baseball Club from the start of the 2022-2023 Victorian Summer Baseball League Season in October 2022 until the Christmas break at the end of December 2022.
From the return post the Christmas break in January 2023 the Clubs will continue to train together alternating between Bundoora and Parker Reserve with games fixtured across the two locations for all teams across both Clubs. (Subject to the new Baseball Diamond and Club Rooms at Charles La Trobe College being completed ready by early 2023).
“This is not a merger of two Clubs rather the formation of a Strategic Partnership which allows for the facilities of the two Clubs to be shared and for the easy movement of players within the Summer Season where both Clubs will continue to field teams and for the easy movement of players to the Winter Season where only the North Coburg Rebels will field teams with the intent of easy transition of players from summer into winter” said Myles Foreman, President Preston Pirates Baseball Club
“In challenging economic times and the decline in community sport participation as players and volunteers post the COVID lockdowns this is an exciting opportunity for both clubs to confront these challenges for the betterment of the community of both Clubs and to attract and retain players and volunteers to the baseball community” Foreman added.
The Boards of the two Clubs will now conduct a joint information session at 7.30pm on Wednesday 17 August 2022 in person at Parker Reserve and online via Zoom. This is an opportunity for the communities of each club to be provided with additional information and to seek clarification and share thoughts before the Boards of both Clubs finalise a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two clubs.
“The formalisation of a Strategic Partnership ensures we have a strong year-round pipeline for players from starting juniors all the way through to seniors to get the very best from their baseball both on and off the field” said Paul Clarke President North Coburg Rebels Baseball Club.
“North Coburg and Preston have closely aligned ideals and plans on how best to move forward, especially in a post Covid world. We feel this partnership will go a long way to nurturing and fostering baseball in our region.” Clarke added.
The intent is for the Strategic Partnership to evolve over time with a review at the end of the 2022-2023 Summer Baseball Season to be undertaken in conjunction with the combined communities of both Clubs before resolving how to evolve the Strategic Partnership across future years.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP INFORMATION SESSION
7:30pm WEDNESDAY 17th AUGUST 2022
To attend In Person
North Coburg Rebels Club Rooms
Parker Reserve
Keady Street, Coburg North
To attend Online Via Zoom
You must register in advance for this meeting using the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcoceyqpj4iH9fHmVdlualxnxPlfMgnp-rz
For further information:
Paul Clarke
President - North Coburg Rebels Baseball Club
committee@rebelsbc.com
Myles Foreman
President - Preston Pirates Baseball Club
presidentofpbc@gmail.com