HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

We hope you all had a relaxing summer break with friends and whānau. 

It has been an interesting start to the season, with over half of our games rained out in the first half of the season. However, that hasn’t dampened our spirits and we’re looking forward to another successful and exciting term of baseball with the Wellington City Pirates. Here’s a quick update and big thank-you to our families and supporters. 

2023 DEVELOPMENT

Our players have had some remarkable development opportunities this season despite being unable to run our Tuesday night Development League. Our players and volunteers have gone from strength to strength, and Pirates continues to be one of the strongest clubs in the Wellington region with strong representation in regional and national squads. 

• WBA THROWING & HITTING CLINICS - This Summer Wellington Baseball (WBA) arranged for Daisuke Hiro and Taiyo Konishi to run a series of throwing and hitting clinics for our region. Over half of the participants were from the Pirates. WBA and WCP also arranged a special one-day clinic exclusively for Pirates, with Daisuke spending an entire day developing our players. Special thanks to WBA president Debby Murphy for arranging this opportunity.
   
• WBA UMPIRE CLINIC - In December WBA hosted an umpiring clinic to develop and upskill volunteer umpires across the region. Huge thanks to Ash Brown, Ethan Brown, Zak Broadway, and Duncan McGarry for attending and volunteering to help develop our club umpires.
   
• ‘MID-SUMMER BLAST’  - A number of Pirates players and coaches participated in Southern Cross Baseball Academy’s mid-summer baseball tournament in Levin. Coaches Regan Taouma and Joe McGarry managed the 16U Titans and 16U Kings, and former 16U Pirate Zak Broadway was an assistant coach for the 14U Kings. Both the 14U and 16U Kings squads made their respective finals, and the 16U Kings won the tournament! Special congratulations to Pirates players Arlo Maxwell and Cooper Taouma who were named to the 14U ‘all tournament team’, and Micah Taouma and Duncan McGarry  named in the 16U ‘all tournament’ team. Well done!

REPRESENTATIVE SELECTION

In addition to development opportunities this summer, Pirates players and coaches continue leading and playing at elite national and international levels.

• NEW ZEALAND U15s  - In December three players - Ben Willocks, Noah Sipeli, and Jake Charity – represented NZ at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup 2024 Oceania Qualifier in Guam. In addition, our 16U club manager Clayton Willocks served as assistant coach for the squad. 
   
• BASEBALL NZ NATIONAL SHOWCASE - After a strong showing at Baseball NZ’s December national showcase, Duncan McGarry remains in the selection process for the NZ U-18 National Team. 
   
• 2024 LITTLE LEAGUE - Pirates coaches and players will represent Wellington Region in Little League International competition. Coach Clayton Willocks will manage the 16U squad, and Pirates Club players Micah Taouma, Ben Willocks, and Duncan McGarry will travel to Auckland in early February and challenge to represent NZ at the Pacific Little League regional tournament later this year. Coaches Regan Taouma and Joe McGarry will lead the 14U squad in their competition later this Autumn. 

SUNDAY TRAVEL LEAGUE 

The weather created a frustrating start to the season, with multiple rain-outs limiting game time for our 14U and 16U Sunday Travel League teams in Term 4. This was a challenge for all Wellington teams, and means there will be several Sunday double-header competitions through Term 1 to ensure our Wellington regional players can make up for lost game-time. 

The competitive season recommences tomorrow - Sunday 28 January - with 14U and 16U games against Central Sports Club at the Plimmerton Domain. 

You can find the 2024 Term 1 Draw HERE.

In Term 1 we’ll also be looking to develop momentum ahead of our 2024-2025 season and will look to begin recruiting and gaining interest for 12U players next year. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming news later this Term. 

SUPPORT & FUNDRAISING

It takes a community to run a sports club and we’re so grateful for our sponsors and supporters. Once again this year we’ve had incredible support from local businesses and sports charities. Thanks to them, we’ve been able to invest in new equipment, keep our registration fees affordable and attend tournaments. 

Once again our Pirates whānau of volunteers have also been awesome. We are grateful for your help with scoring, umpiring, uniforms, communications, signage and more. Thank you!

STAY IN THE KNOW

Go to piratesbaseball.nz for everything you need to know about the Pirates club and baseball season.  

For regular updates and club news, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.