Surfers Paradise Baseball Club

Last updated

Surfers Paradise
Surfers Baseball.png
Information
League Greater Brisbane League  (Southside)
Location Benowa, Queensland
BallparkSir Bruce Small Park "BenowaDome"
Founded1987;36 years ago (1987)
Nickname(s)Bluewave
League championships1987, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2018
ColorsBlue and white
PresidentTony McPhail
Uniforms
Kit baseball cap.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body baseball.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit trousers beltonwhite.png
Kit trousers.png
Kit baseball socks.svg
Current
Kit baseball cap.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body baseball whitepiping.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit trousers beltonwhite.png
Kit trousers.png
Kit baseball socks.svg
Alternative

The Surfers Paradise Baseball Club is a baseball club based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League, Gold Coast and Far North Coast competitions. [1] The club was also host of the 2008 Pan Pacific Masters Games. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

John Carpenter, Mitch Wikum and Steve Meeham founded Surfers Paradise Baseball Club in 1987. That year the club entered three teams in the Brisbane metropolitan competition, and in their first season won the A-Grade title. This was achieved through the assistance of ex-Claxton Shield players from other states including: Larry Montgomery (NSW), Gary Coward (SA), Lance Wegner (VIC), as well as other quality players from around the Gold Coast and Brisbane region. [5]

The idea for a junior competition on the Gold Coast, or at least Surfers Paradise, was initiated by Steve Meeham who advertised in the local paper for junior players. [6] With mixed responses from players of all age groups, the competition attracted 60 kids between the ages of 10 and 14 years plus one father - Gary Edwards. With Gary's help, Steve split up the children into 5 equal sides, and rolled out a competition on Saturday mornings. [7]

The five junior sides - Giants, Dodgers, Dragons, Reds and Sharks – attracted great success in the '88 to '89 season, and by the '89 to '90 season the number of kids playing baseball at Surfers Paradise had doubled. By the start of the '90 to '91 season, there was an abundance of young players with not enough coaches to manage them so the competition was forced to expand and teams were created in the areas where the kids lived such as Runaway Bay, Nerang and Palm Beach. [8] [9]

The first junior representative players to come from Surfers Paradise were Brandon Pollard, Trent Durrington, Shane Edwards and Adam Wardrop. All four boys were selected in the QLD U/16's squad in 1990 with each of them progressing to more senior representative teams over the years including National and Junior selection, as well as Australian Senior team selection for Trent and Brandon. Trent now runs a Training With the Pro's program out of the club every year in December. [10]

On 21 December 2008 the team played in the Commissioners Cup at the Beenleigh Hawks baseball club and lost to the shield's incumbent, the Redcliffe Padres 4–3. [11]

Notable players

Managers

Presidents

Life Members

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast, Queensland</span> Australian coastal city

The Gold Coast is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nation's largest non-capital city, and Queensland's second-largest city after Brisbane. The city's central business district is located roughly in the centre of the Gold Coast in the suburb of Southport, with the suburb holding more corporate office space than anywhere else in the city. The urban area of the Gold Coast is concentrated along the coast sprawling almost 60 kilometers, joining up with the Greater Brisbane Metropolitan Area to the north and to the state border with New South Wales to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfers Paradise, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Surfers Paradise is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Surfers Paradise had a population of 26,412 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morningside Australian Football Club</span>

The Morningside Australian Football Club, nicknamed the Panthers, is an Australian rules football club based at Jack Esplen Oval in the suburb of Hawthorne in Brisbane. The club consists of Masters, Amateurs, Women's, Junior and Senior football sections. Its senior team competed in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) competition from 2011 to 2013 and now is a member club of the Queensland Australian Football League. Its junior sides compete in the AFL Brisbane Juniors (AFLBJ) competition. The club also caters for young girls and boys by running Auskick skills clinics, which are held at the beginning of the season and do not involve competitive games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bundall, Queensland</span> Suburb of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Bundall is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Bundall had a population of 4,523 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports on the Gold Coast, Queensland</span>

Sport on the Gold Coast has a rich history. As a popular tourist destination leisure sports like Golf, but most particularly sports associated with its famous beaches, have always been popular. A number of surf clubs line Gold Coasts beaches, who host a variety of swimming and athletic events collected into surf carnivals along with competitions evolved from methods of surf life saving.

There are several Australian rules football leagues in regional Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast United FC</span> Australian soccer club in Queensland

Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first era of Gold Coast United senior teams competed in the Brisbane leagues until the club disbanded after the 1979 season, allowing Broadbeach United Soccer Club to form its first senior team in 1980 at the same grounds.

Brent Renouf is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Brisbane League</span>

The Greater Brisbane League or formerly the Greater Brisbane Baseball Board league (GB3) is the largest baseball league in the Australian state of Queensland and covers all teams from Brisbane North, South, West, Metro as well as three Gold Coast teams. These are from age groups Little League (U12) through to seniors. It is run by the governing body of Baseball Queensland.

Sir Bruce Small Park is a sporting facility located in Benowa, a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland in Australia. Its baseball facilities are home to the Surfers Paradise Baseball Club, current premiers of the Greater Brisbane League. It has hosted many high-profile Australian baseball events such as the Masters Games and University Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfers Paradise Australian Football Club</span> Football club

Surfers Paradise Australian Football Club is a Gold Coast based club competing in the AFL Queensland QAFL Australian rules football competition.

Steven McLuckie is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League (AFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robina Roos</span>

Robina Roos Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The team currently competes in the SEQAFL Div 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayne Zorko</span> Australian rules footballer

Dayne Zorko is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). Zorko is a five-time Merrett–Murray Medallist and was selected in the 2017 All-Australian team. He was also the Lions' leading goalkicker in 2016 and 2017. Zorko served as Brisbane Lions captain from 2018 through to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Australian rules football on the Gold Coast</span>

Australian rules football on the Gold Coast, Queensland can be traced back to the Gold Coast Australian Football League that was established in 1961. The city's interest in the sport has been heavily linked to the Southport Australian Football Club, the Brisbane Football Club and more recently the Gold Coast Football Club. The highest form of the sport played on the Gold Coast is the Australian Football League's team the Gold Coast Football Club, who were admitted into the competition in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast and District Rugby Union</span>

The Gold Coast and District Rugby Union, or GCDRU, is the local governing body for the sport of rugby union on Australia's Gold Coast. The GCRU runs a club rugby competition for men's teams with three senior grades, as well as a junior club competition that caters for teams grouped by age from under 6 to under 18 and Girls/Women's 7's on a Friday night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfers Paradise Apollo S.C.</span> Football club

Surfers Paradise Apollo Soccer Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. The club currently plays in the Football Queensland Premier League, the second flight of men's soccer in Queensland and the third flight of Australian soccer. Since the club was formed in 1978, Surfers Paradise Apollo have won 3 premierships, 3 championships and one president's cup within the top-flight Gold Coast regional competition, as well as a variety of second tier honours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coomera Cubs Baseball Club</span> Baseball club in Queensland, Australia

The Coomera Cubs Baseball Club is a baseball club located on the Gold Coast in Queensland, that participates in the Greater Brisbane League and the Gold Coast Baseball Association League. The club is also a host to the annual Summer Classic.

Molly Ritson is an Australian rules footballer who played for Brisbane and Gold Coast in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerang Eagles S.C.</span> Football club

Nerang Eagles Soccer Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Nerang, Queensland, Australia. The club play in the Football Queensland Premier League 3 − South Coast, the fourth flight of men's soccer in Queensland and the fifth flight of Australian soccer. The Eagles won the inaugural Gold Coast top-flight premiership and championship in 1975.

References

  1. ↑ GBL Major League Ladder
  2. ↑ Masters Games 2008
  3. ↑ [Killoran, M. (4 November 2008). Former top US player pitching in. Gold Coast Bulletin.
  4. ↑ Galliott, E. J. (2 November 2008). Japanese return for Masters glory and fun. Gold Coast Bulletin.
  5. ↑ Gold Coast History, Gold Coast Bulletin
  6. ↑ Williams, J. (10 February 2007). Benowa big leagues. Benowa Garden News, p.4.
  7. ↑ Surfers History
  8. ↑ Gold Coast Baseball Association
  9. ↑ [Mahoney, D. (16 November 2008). Mudgee hot for Redsox. Mudgee Guardian, p.45.
  10. ↑ Trent Durrington School of Baseball
  11. ↑ Padres Retain Commissioners Shield Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.