From Our League Commissioner

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1 In this issue: League Commissioner... p.1 Important Dates... p.3 WESA 2014 Sponsors... p.3 Winter Social 2013 Pix... p.3 WESA Athlete Card Program.. p.4 New Scoring Plate... p.5 From A New Member... p.5 More Winter Social 2013 Pix.. p.6 D Division Team Size... p.7 WESA Group on Facebook... p.7 Pacific Cup Tournament... p.8 From Another New Member... p.8 New Commissioners... p.9 Together In Pride... p.10 Rookie Training Camp Pix.... p.11 Sun Run Road Closures... p.12 Newsletter Credits & Commission s... p.12 WESA Welcomes Our New 2014 Sponsors! From Our League Commissioner Welcome WESA members and Sponsors to our 36th Season of softball Together in Pride! Why does our League exist? What is our purpose? Of course it is to play softball. But there is a more meaningful purpose behind it all. It is not all about winning, it is not about your NAGAAA (North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance) player rating, and it is not about differences between being competitive and recreational. It is fundamentally about belonging and acceptance. This is accomplished by creating an atmosphere of friendly competition, free of discrimination of all kinds, especially ability. WESA has a long and rich history of acceptance and support. Being part of this League has enriched my life and it can enrich your life too. You will meet wonderful people and make life-long friends. You will develop skills you never knew you had. Ideally you should find an instant family of friends when you become part of a WESA team. A team that will accept you, teach you, encourage and support you. That is our League s mission. Please remember this and promote this. The energy of your team is up to you to create it. As we enter our 36th year, the Commission has been planning, strategizing and working diligently to ensure we are ready to play softball. This takes a very large commitment of volunteer effort. I want to thank my fellow Commissioners for being passionate about our League and devoting countless hours of their personal time to our mission. Last year we had a record 16 teams. We have been growing steadily since As we grow we have challenges. Together, we have made good decisions over the years and our League is successful and secure. We have survived our challenges and will continue to do so if we work in collaboration and focus on our purpose. This year, our membership numbers are down. As I write this article, we have 15 of 16 teams filled. It is not unusual for a mature league like WESA to plateau or experience changes in membership numbers. Our city is active with several LGBT sports leagues some are growing in popularity, some have reached a plateau and some are shrinking. This is cyclical and to be expected. As long as we are prepared we can move through these cycles and continue to enjoy amazing games of softball and spectacularly fun social events. I m hoping as this article goes to publication near draft day, that the League has a full roster of teams. The Commission is working hard to see that this happens. Alas, it comes down to the motivation and passion of each individual member. The best way to grow a league is members inviting new people to join. Our register with a buddy process has proven that this growth strategy works effectively. The League has a specific challenge and that is to recruit players who have a higher softball skill set to play in our C division. This has proven to be a consistently difficult task year after year. Recruiting skilled players to the higher divisions of play is a challenge that other softball leagues in Canada and the United States face as well. What can we do to overcome this? Do we grow from within and encourage the high skilled D players to move to C? This is a possibility and will take a dedicated effort by current C players and leaders to reach out to their fellow members with encouragement. C members can find a new buddy right here in our League, the D division is full of skilled players ready for a new challenge, ready for their game to be elevated. I as League Commissioner have limited influence over people s decisions and aspirations. I can encourage, I can suggest, but to make a member feel supported and accepted takes another members encouragement and guidance. We are a family. We all play for WESA. (cont d. next page) West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 1

2 Double From Our League Commissioner (cont d.) This year, the League will hold C+D Mixer games during some evening time slots at our historical home of Brockton Oval in Stanley Park. The purpose of these games will be to bring together players from both divisions, to bust the myths that exist in our League that C division is not fun and D division is not competitive. Nothing could be further from the truth, yet I hear rattling on this topic all the time. What change is required for our League to continue to grow and be successful? Structurally, not much in my opinion. The structure of our League is ideal. We are set up for success given the rules we have and how we have organized our League. We should take into account our League s extensive history and learn from it. This is not the first time WESA s been at a crossroads. Over the years we ve altered our structure from one division ( ) into two divisions ( ), only to revert back to one division ( ), and then a second return to two divisions (since 2004). What we need more of is member involvement and understanding. Essentially, our league is semi-professionally organized. Ten Commissioners put in countless volunteer hours of effort to create an entire League from scratch, every year, and set it in motion. 15 Coaches will work very hard all season to foster a positive and friendly team environment. The average member just shows up and plays. Every aspect of our League (i.e. fields, umpires, jerseys, equipment, schedules, sponsors, social events etc.) is planned and provided for you. Don t get me wrong, I find the work I do as League Commissioner very rewarding. I just request that you fully understand all the parameters that go into the decisions we must make. This understanding could lead to more involvement from our members. More involvement means more commitment and passion and that builds momentum for our sport and our League. Once upon a time our League played on gravel fields at a West End elementary school with donated equipment. Those humble beginnings were born from a grassroots membership initiative. Their passion, energy and belief in our sport and this League made it what it is today. Even though we are much more professional now, we would benefit from more grassroots member involvement. What I ask of you is to help your team by fostering a good-spirited team dynamic and help your League by believing in our sport and our mission as a League. If you are skilled player then it is your opportunity to teach. If you are a new player then it is your opportunity to focus, learn and give it your best effort. If you are a social butterfly, then it is your opportunity to plan team events and ensure everyone is having a fun time. If you are diligent organizer, then it is your opportunity to help your coach and organize your dugout by getting your teammates ready. If you want to help the C Division grow, then we need scouts to identify the talented D Division players and mentors to teach them and welcome them in to C Division for the 2015 Season. If you have energy and gumption, then it s your job to volunteer: scorekeeping, field set up and take down, clean and organize our equipment bins, join the fundraising efforts, teach a skills clinic, etc. the opportunities are plenty! Now that I ve presented my strategy, I want to hear from you. Start a discussion with me or other Commissioners. Bring us your questions and your suggestions. Let us see where our League can improve and continue to grow! Darcy Simpson ~ WESA League Commissioner Commissioner@WESA.net West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 2

3 Important Dates Saturday, February 8 th Online Reservation open for Members Wednesday, February 12 th Online Reservation open for Public Tuesday, February 25 th Online Reservation closes Wednesday, February 26 th Registration Welcome Junction 6pm to 9pm Saturday, March 8 th Rookie Training Douglas Park 10:30am Tuesday, March 11 th Coaches Conference 7pm Saturday, March 15 th Rookie Scrimmage Douglas Park 11am Saturday, March 22 nd Draft Day & Numbers time 3:30pm WESA 2014 Sponsors Our WESA Sponsors have been extremely supportive of our League and this year that support continues. Thank you to all our 2014 Sponsors for your generosity you have allowed us to develop an amazing League: s (Field) 1. Celebrities Nightclub 2. Junction 3. PumpJack s (Team) 1. barrette (salon) 2. Celebrities Nightclub (2 teams) 4. Dahl & Connors Lawyers 5. Fountainhead Pub 6. Junction 7. Numbers ( Double Gold 2 teams) 9. Oasis Bar & Grill (NEW) 10. Pacific Spirit Massage 11. PumpJack 12. Score on Davie 13. Sotheby s International Realty Canada 14. TRG Realty 15. Vancity Lofts (NEW) s (League) Holiday Inn & Suites & UnWind West Coast Room (NEW) 3. Princeton Bar & Grill (NEW) 4. Saige Consulting Sponsorship is not a given each year nor is sponsorship automatic. This Commission like past Commissions have developed good, mutually beneficial, open and honest relationships with each and every sponsor. Together, WESA and our Sponsors have been successful. We are a social league, we are loyal to our sponsor businesses, and we encourage that all year long. Please support our sponsors with your business and specifically thank them for being part of WESA! Darcy Simpson ~ WESA League Commissioner Commissioner@WESA.net 1181 Saturday, December 7, 2013 Team Practices Between Draft Day & Opening Day; check with your coach after Draft Day Wednesday, April 23 rd Jersey Pick-up Oasis Bar & Grill 6pm Sunday, April 27 th WESA 36th Annual Opening Strathcona Park Saturday, June 14 th 27th Annual WESA Celebrities Nightclub 7pm Saturday & Sunday, July 19 th & 20 th WESA Cup League Strathcona Park Saturday & Sunday, August 30 th & 31 st 35th Annual Pacific Cup International Softball tournament Saturday, September 6 th Annual Awards Celebration Holiday Inn Wed., October 1 st Annual General TBD Dates may change as required and WESA will let you know if they do. West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 3

4 Double WESA Athlete Card Program for Discounts & Promotions! This season we are re-launching our WESA Athlete Card Program*. Every member and sponsor will receive one of these cards (pictured to the left) to identify themselves as part of WESA. Several sponsor businesses have agreed to offer either a promotion or discount upon showing this Athlete Card in their place of business. In essence, the purpose of this card is very much like a loyalty or rewards card that you may use for your consumer acquisitions. They provide a method for you as a member to identify yourself at a sponsor business, and they provide the sponsor an ability to see how many dollars are spent in their business. As you know, without our sponsors our league would not be nearly as successful as it is today. We encourage our members to keep this Athlete Card in their wallets and use it regularly as it will also be good in the off season! It is a Win/Win situation for both members and sponsors, facilitating an enhanced relationship between WESA and our business partners. We want to help our business partners be successful and this program will help our league grow and develop. Each sponsor has received a unique promotional offer sheet with what they have agreed to offer as a promotion or discount, so our business partners are aware that this Athlete Card is in circulation and they are expecting customers to show it. Here are the 2014 participating sponsors and benefits: 1. barrette 10% DISCOUNT on services; 2. Dahl & Connors Lawyers 10% DISCOUNT on legal fees [excluding disbursements & taxes] for a full Wills Package, consisting of a Will, Power of Attorney, and Representation Agreement [*please advise that you have a WESA Athletes Card when making the first appointment]. Offer ends December 31, 2014; 10% DISCOUNT on legal fees [excluding disbursements & taxes] for a regular Purchase, Sale or Re-finance of Property [*some exclusions apply; * and you must advise us of your WESA Athletes Card when requesting a fee quote]. Offer ends December 31, 2014; 3. Fountainhead Pub 10% DISCOUNT on food; FREE NACHOS with order of a Team Pitcher; 4. Holiday Inn & Suites UnWind West Coast Room (NEW) - 15% DISCOUNT on food; 5. Junction 15% DISCOUNT on food; 6. Numbers FREE ENTRY before 11pm; 7. Oasis Bar & Grill (NEW) FREE PITCHER of In addition, our website features a new page and it details every promotion or discount that our sponsor business partners are offering us. This page should be viewable on your mobile device as well. If you are wondering where you can use your Athlete Card then please visit WESA.net for all the details. Visit the WESA sponsors as often as you can, show your Athlete Card and personally thank our business partners for their generosity and support. beer for the team after every game (minimum four players); 5% CREDIT earned by WESA for every regularly priced food & beverage order during the season which WESA can use at a future event; TEAM FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES: Teams are encouraged to host fundraisers during the season. Oasis will print event tickets for teams to sell and the tickets will be good for a burger & beverage combo each. Teams will keep 50% OF TICKET REVENUES; 8. Pacific Spirit Massage 20% DISCOUNT off of massages from RMTs James Goranko, Devon Lachance, and Robin Perry; 9. Princeton Pub & Grill (NEW) - Team Special: With every 5 daily special breakfasts ordered, the 6th daily special BREAKFAST IS FREE! Teams of 12 will get 2 FREE DAILY SPECIAL BREAKFASTS with 10 paid daily special breakfasts; 10. Saige Consulting SPECIAL PRICING available until August 31, Contact Colin at Colin@SCG.ca for details; 11. Score on Davie 10% DISCOUNT on food; 12. TRG Realty - $500 MOVING ALLOWANCE for buyers or sellers; *NO information about members will be collected, stored, or shared with the use of this Card. The Card is simply a way for WESA Members to legitimately identify themselves for promotions or discounts being offered from participating Sponsors. The WESA Athlete Card is non-transferrable nor assignable. Darcy Simpson ~ WESA League Commissioner Commissioner@WESA.net West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 4

5 New Scoring Plate for 2014 For additional safety, this season we are introducting two (2) plates at Home: the Home Plate and the Scoring Plate: The Home Plate is for the Catcher; The Scoring Plate is for the Runner. The runner must touch the Scoring Plate to score. If the runner touches the Catcher s Plate, they will be called Out. If the catcher touches the Scoring Plate, the runner will be called Safe. As usual, the commitment line is the point of no return; once it is crossed, the player cannot go back to Third Base, the player must continue to the Scoring Plate to score. Diagram courtesy of Scott Fullerton Diagram courtesy of Scott Fullerton Kevin Bastedo ~ WESA Rules & Regulations Commissioner RulesAndRegulations@WESA.net From A New Member I'm standing at the plate holding my bat with a light grip, I analyze the field and with a BANG all the boys perk up and aggressively yell, "Mine!" as they run hard to catch my ball...dream come true!!! Being self employed and working from home means seclusion and inactivity and as such, I've joined WESA for the opportunity to be more active while meeting new friends. I played softball a few years ago in Victoria and loved it. Getting a group of like minded people outside on a weekly basis to soak up the sun, get some exercise and have some laughs is a fantastic way to enjoy a Sunday! Good luck to everyone this season and I look forward to meeting you all as the weeks go by. D Arcy Henneberry ~ WESA C Division New Member People in Pictures p.3 - WESA.winter.SOCIAL.2013 (L to R, Top to Bottom): Clay Dubé & Brent Brown; Jason Wilhelm & Justin Mui; Peter Archibald & Ryan Tripp; Jason Wilhelm, Scott Fullerton & Cole Bennett; Denis Gour & Gio Branco; Sydney Malcolm & Darcy Simpson; Erin McClarty & Dwayne Drobot; David Millington & Dean Mitchell. West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 5

6 Saturday, December 7, 2013 (cont d.) West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 6

7 Double WESA 2014 Team Complements for D Division We currently have 165 D division members. This translates into enough players to have 11 teams of 15 members each (our typical complement of players per team is 14). Having 15 members per team would be large teams for sure bigger than we have ever been. As more members join D division, they will be waitlisted and perhaps added to teams as members are injured or withdraw (which can also be typical). We can also use these waitlisted members as spares. If three more players joined D division, then we would have 168 members in D division which could translate into 12 teams of 14 members. Adding a 12 th team of up to 14 players each is an exciting possibility and continues WESA s growth, but there are both pros and cons for that this season. The Commission debated the pros and cons as we are cognizant that some coaches will not be comfortable with such a large roster of players; five people on the bench if everyone showed up to a game to be rotated into the lineup are a lot! While many on the Commission seriously considered going to 12 teams for D Division, the feasibility of this is limited at this point in that so much of our preparations has already been done based on 11 teams in D Division. Given our current format of 20 games per team per season (up from 18 games per team in 2012), we would be looking at one of the following logistical issues: Extend the Season to 22 games per team: Based on current field permits from the Vancouver Parks Board, we currently do not have the ability to move our WESA Cup Playoffs weekend back to the final week in July. This would mean compressing the schedule to include 22 games over 10 weeks more than two extra game slots per week. Basically, this means scheduling games on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Brockton Oval in Stanley Park which leaves very few options and available slots for make-up games due to cancellations or unsafe field conditions due to inclement weather. Unbalanced schedule: To remain at 20 games per team during the season, each team would play nine other teams twice, and two teams only once. There could be some teams who have issue with this when it comes to season standings and qualifying for GSWS after 10 games. There must be a cut-off for when teams qualify so individuals can figure our vacation time, funds, etc. to attend GSWS. So, considering the options above and what has already been completed; time contraints; additional time and effort required for re-drafting game schedules; as well as the fact that a significant number of spares were used last year due to many teams with absent players; there was a good and sound argument toward expanding D division team rosters to 15 people this season. The Commission appreciates that not everyone will agree with this but it is the most logical situation given the parameters considered. WESA Group Page on Facebook WESA Commission ~ Commission@WESA.net If you have a Facebook profile and haven t joined the WESA group page on Facebook yet, look us up and join the group. The WESA group page is best suited for sharing stories, posting softball-related events & notices, and sharing general interest & fun information about softball, our League, and our Members. If any member has any questions, comments and or suggestions about governance matters, operational issues, policies & procedures, etc., then we encourage checking out the website at and or approaching any Commissioner in person to discuss the issue, or simply send an to Commission@WESA.net. This ensures the entire Commission receives your message and is able to discuss and respond accordingly. Our individual s are also listed in the credits on the last page! People in Picutres p.6 - WESA.winter.SOCIAL.2013 (L to R, Top to Bottom): Nelson Santos, Dwayne Drobot, Darcy Simpson & Lance Sandover; Daniel Villeneuve, Sheldon Gibson, Mal & Alexis MacLeod; Lance Sandover & Justin Mui; Shane Breakwell, Ed Brown, Robert Vosburg & Ryan Lee; Erin McClarty; Group Shot; Lance Sandover, Peekaboo, David Millington & Dean Mitchell; Denis Gour & Greg Lawton; Scott Fullerton, Greg Elzinga & Art Gullett; Harper Wellman & Jared Keen; Timber Montieth & Greg Shepherd. West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 7

8 Double Pacific Cup International Softball Tournament 2014 The Pacific Cup International Softball Tournament celebrates this year its 35 th Anniversary of great softball in the Pacific Northwest this year. These years have not been easy. Participation from our friends South of the border has been dwindling and this is a shared trend with other Canadian tournaments in Montreal and Toronto. In fact, these tournaments have already taken a break after many years of decreasing participation. We don t want that for our tournament. We want our Pac Cup to be a healthy, growing tournament with participation from our friends in Seattle, Portland and beyond. We want a tournament where the participants want to come back. But what exactly do we need to do? In order to understand what our customers want we created a survey open through Facebook, and through private to previous participants. The results were the following: 78% of our participants want the Pac Cup during Labour Day Weekend 67% of the respondents don t want the tournament open to non-glbt leagues. About 83% of the participants don t think that the cost of the tournament affected their decision to participate. However, those who said to be affected were in their majority non-vancouver players. An overwhelming 91% don t want to change the format of the tournament. 4 options were given as social events to take place during the tournament: a Drag Show/Talent Show, a Karaoke night, a trivia family feud event and a T-Dance. 81% of the answers favour a T Dance / Drag Show / Talent Show event. The social part of the event originated several comments with a common denominator, our guests, local or not, want a fun tournament. Given these answers, we have a clear path for our Pac Cup. The 35th Pac Cup will take place during Labour Day Weekend, in Softball City. The cost of the tournament will be $300 Canadian dollars, which makes it the most affordable tournament fee in the Pacific North West. Also, several social events will be organized at Softball City (as requested by our guests) and at our sponsors facilities. We will need your participation as volunteers and as players. Please help us not only to maintain our tournament, but help us on making it a successful and fun tournament. Miguel Mondaca ~ WESA Vice Commissioner ViceCommissioner@WESA.net From Another New Member Hi All! I m a 29 year old East Van thug and I am beyond excited to get to know everyone at WESA! For the last few years I ve played slo-pitch in the SundayFunday league at Douglas Park. While I will miss the friends I made there, a unicorn can only run with donkeys for so long and it was time to move on. My sign-up partner is gentle giant/scruffy dreamboat/master blanket thief Peter Haughton (a.k.a. Sweet Pete). Peter and I heard about WESA through several friends and we wanted to come see for ourselves what all the fuss is about. Though Peter is a true rookie, he is also one of those infuriating natural athlete types, and I am sure his softball skills will surpass my own by the end of the summer. He is also intensely proud of the way his bum fills out a mini skirt, so I m sure he ll gladly participate in the WESA Pageant under the name Phyllis McMuffin (you heard it here first!). Cheers to a great season! Steev Letts ~ WESA D Division New Member West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 8

9 Who Are Our New Commission Members? For those of you who don t know me, I m a transplant from Winnipeg seven years ago and an Alumni of UBC. I just finished five years at KPMG and have my Chartered Accountant designation. My goals for the Treasurer position include ensuring an accurate financial record is maintained and facilitating easier creditcard payment processes for registration and events. Now that the boring stuff is out of the way and I control all the funds to this here association, my first three demands are as follows: 1. Each Softball Sunday will begin with Ed Brown cracking my back in a minimum of five different places, followed by a ten-minute massage from Robin Perry; 2. All rookies will play their first two regulation games in booty shorts, and Colin Bell will only be eligible to play as Ursula Major for the entire season (using wild rice for breasts none of that cheap white stuff); and 3. In the event of a tie game, both teams will select five members to participate in a boat race drinking game at home plate to determine the winner (with Darcy Simpson to referee and determine if a best of three is necessary). but in all seriousness, I m excited to be taking on this position for the next two seasons and will hopefully be able to bring a fresh perspective and some new ideas to the league as I enter my second year being involved in WESA. If you see me out at the bar, I m easily swayed towards a game of darts or pool, and I m not half-bad either! A Big Thanks goes out to John Lauder, Treasurer , for providing a clean set-up books and templates to follow to make the transition much easier. Though it may seem like a foreign language to some of you, the financials for the league are fairly straight-forward, so if you ever have questions feel free to approach the Commission and we will ensure you get your answers in a timely manner. Adrian Pape ~ WESA Treasurer Treasurer@WESA.net Hi! I'm Erin McClarty, and this will be my fourth year playing in ball with WESA and all the lovely people involved in this fantastic organization. Last year, the opportunity to serve as the Technology Commissioner came up and I sort of shuffled into the role. I'm not a web developer but I have been working in the Information Technology Industry for over 10 years and have picked up enough to feel I can do the role. My goals are to maintain the existing infrastructure that was lovingly built by the previous and first Technology Commissioner and to educate and empower the Commission and Coaches to use the tools that have been set up to improve communication with WESA members. Lance Sandover (Special Events Commissioner) is also making noise about a splashier WESA Pageant online presence. We ll see what we can do! Erin McClarty ~ WESA Technology Commissioner 2014 Technology@WESA.net I have lots of people asking why I joined WESA here's the long and short Before playing WESA, I didn't even think playing softball would be fun again. I stopped playing after years of mixed co-ed, tournament teams, work teams, etc. and started golfing (haven't stopped that yet either). One day at work Sydney Malcolm asked me to come out to a couple practices and well, the rest is now history. I played for half a season, 1st ever game was a skirts vs towels game with Steam 1 (Darcy I think I was playing against you as well). I tell people when they ask, about the fun, pageants, all the extras that make this league, even down to our Draft Day Party you meet so many people in just a short time! This is now my 8th season of WESA and hopefully more to come. My goal as the Member-at-Large for C Division is basically to help out our league and its members with our continued success and growth for the future. We are all here to compete, but again, we all want to have fun while playing ball. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me - that's what I'm here for. Feel free to me or the Commission at Commission@WESA.net as well! See you all on the ball field. Sam Prasad ~ WESA Member-at-Large C Division 2014 CMemberAtLarge@WESA.net West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 9

10 Who Are Our New Commission Members? (cont d.) Hello all! I'm your new D Member-at-Large for the 2014 Season! When I started thinking of what to write here, I realized that this year was my seventh year in WESA! Wow time flies by! Last year was my first time coaching and I really enjoyed the experience. Being on the Commission will be a new experience for me and an opportunity to give back what the league brought me. Double Together in Pride Robert Vosburg ~ WESA Member-at-Large D Division 2014 DMemberAtLarge@WESA.net (From Wikipedia) A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. Logos are either purely graphic (symbols/icons) or are composed of the name of the organization (a logotype or wordmark) Logo design is an important area of graphic design, and one of the most difficult to perfect. The logo (ideogram) is the image embodying an organization. Because logos are meant to represent companies' brands or corporate identities and foster their immediate customer recognition, it is counterproductive to frequently redesign logos. The earliest incarnation of the WESA logo that I could find is from 1982 from The Final Score Weekly, the association s newsletter of the day (you can read old WESA newsletters off the website under Documents Public Newsletters if you re interested). There have been several variations of the WESA logo over the past 35 years, and totally different ones too. But the principle logo from 1982 (and presumably designed prior to that too) has always been a mainstay of our visual embodiment. If it isn t obvious enough, where else can you find a softball association s logo which depicts: a ball diamond with its 1st, 2nd, 3rd bases & home plate shown; with the capital letters of West End Slo-pitch Association (WESA) right spot on those bases/plate; and showing a softball flying out from home base? Nowhere except with WESA! Last year s incarnation of the logo included an update to include a wordmark on a home plate with a slogan banner but still keeping our traditional 30+ year old logo incorporated into it. The banner was a good addition to help us acknowledge our 35 th Anniversary and can be used in the future for other slogans as required. Thanks to longtime member, and the first Technology Commissioner, Sheldon Gibson who has been amazing in cleaning up, redesigning, and refreshing our logo over the past few years (since maybe as far back as 2006?). You might wonder why the slogan on the banner has been updated to Together in Pride? Simply put, through continuing and extensive research and sifting through hundreds of pages of documents (kept by past League Commissioner, multi-year Coach, drag Dive-ah, and Lifetime Member, Art Gullett) we have found many documents from the League Commissioners during the 80s and 90s who signed their name along with Together in Pride. It made total sense to revive this slogan for the banner once we finished celebrating 35 years of WESA in This was presented to the Commission and it was agreed upon to re-adopt it so there we have it, WESA Together in Pride as always and again! (WESA Logos from left to right, top to bottom: 1982, 1982, 1984, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2013) Justin Mui ~ WESA Secretary 2014 Secretary@WESA.net People in Pictures p.11 - Rookie Training Camp Attendees (L to R, top to bottom): All attendees (not all in group picture) alphabetically Corey Allen, Doug Anderson, Kevin Bastedo, Clay Brown, Jaycee Campbell, Paul Camporese, Greg Carey, Christian Cheung, Ryan Cheys, Logan Chinski, Darren Dudar, Jay Dunlop, Greg Elzinga, Andrew Fong, Bryan Gidinski, Jeff Gonek, Denis Gour, D'Arcy Henneberry, Miguel Mondaca, Karl Hinderks, Patrick King, Terry Knee, Steev Letts, Michael Lu, Kris Mangion, Erin McClarty, Laine McDonald, Justin Mui, Adrian Pape, Corey Pinder, Sam Prasad, Jonathan Ricci, Trevor Richards, Doug Senini, Darcy Simpson, Mike Steen, Robert Vosburg, & Heywood Wu; Erin McClarty keeping it dry under the brollies; Mike Steen, Greg Carey & a very cold Adrian Pape; Robert Vosburg & group of rookies; Jeff Gonek at bat; another group of rookies; group listening to Darcy Simpson; Miguel Mondaca & Keiran Morris. West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 10

11 WESA Rooking Douglas Park Saturday, March 8, 2014 West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 11

12 WESA Opening Day & Vancouver Sun Run Road Closures WESA s The Dusty Bag 2014 Editor: Justin Q. Mui Masthead & Headers: Contributors: Darcy Simpson, D Arcy Henneberry, Miguel Mondaca, Steev Letts, Adrian Pape, Erin McClarty, Sam Prasad, Robert Vosburg Pictures: Justin Mui If you have an announcement, are interested in writing an article, contributing photographs, have feedback for WESA, etc., this is the forum for it! Opinions expressed in by-lined articles or columns are those of authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the current WESA Commission. WESA 2014 COMMISSION Darcy Simpson League Commissioner Commissioner@WESA.net Miguel Mondaca Vice Commissioner ViceCommissioner@WESA.net This season, WESA s Opening Day coincides with the Vancouver Sun Run so many downtown streets will be closed to faciliate the route. Please be cognizant of road closures so you can plan alternate routes to get to Strathcona Park in time enough before your game starts. The following streets will be closed during the specified times on Sunday, April 27, 2014: Georgia Street Seymour to Bute (start area) 5:00am 10:30am Bute to the Causeway (including all streets crossing Georgia) 8am 10:30am Lions Gate Bridge: access fr/pender St only 8:00am 10:30am Various Downtown Streets All streets within the area bounded by Dunsmuir/Melville to Robson, Seymour to Bute 5:00am 10:30am Denman Georgia to Robson 8:00am 10:30am Robson west of Denman to Stanley Park 8:00am 10:30am Beach Avenue, Stanley Park to Hornby St. 8:30am 11:30am Stanley Park Stanley Park N Lagoon Dr 6am 11am Ryan Park Lane/S Lagoon Dr 6:00am 11:00am Pacific Boulevard Nelson to Abbott 5:00am to 1:30pm Abbott to Quebec 7:00am to 1:30pm Expo Blvd-closed fr/quebec to Terry Fox Way 7:30am-9:00am Bridge Closures Burrard Bridge all northbound traffic closed 8:30am noon Cambie Bridge closed to all northbound traffic 8:30am 1:00pm South Vancouver W 2nd Avenue-Burrard to Fir 8:30am noon Fir Street W 2nd Ave to W 4th Ave 8:30am noon W 4th Ave/W 6th Ave Pine to Cambie 8:30am noon Quebec, Keefer & Abbott Streets closed to all traffic 7:30am 1:00pm Copyright The Vancouver Sun Kevin Bastedo Rules & Regulations Commissioner RulesAndRegulations@WESA.net Shane Breakwell Membership Commissioner Membership@WESA.net Erin McClarty Technology Commissioner 2014 Technology@WESA.net Lance Sandover Special Events Commissioner 2014 SpecialEvents@WESA.net Adrian Pape Treasurer Treasurer@WESA.net Justin Mui Secretary/Communications 2014 Secretary@WESA.net Sam Prasad Member-at-Large C Division 2014 CMemberAtLarge@WESA.net Robert Vosburg Member-at-Large D Division 2014 DMemberAtLarge@WESA.net Commission: Commission@WESA.net General Contact: Info@WESA.net Website: WESA.net Newsletter Submissions: Communications@WESA.net For more information check out the Sun Run site at the Vancouver Sun website: West End Slo-pitch Association 2014 ~ Together In Pride ~ 36 th Season Since 1978! WESA.net Page 12