Softball Australia Chief Executive Officer David Pryles has informed the Board of Directors of his resignation and will depart the organisation in December 2021.

Pryles has accepted the role of Chief Executive Officer at Hockey Australia following three and a half years steering Softball Australia through many significant achievements.

Beginning in 2018, Pryles developed and launched the Fully Loaded Softball format which was shown live on FOX SPORTS Australia (and across the world) in 2019, along with the Australia Pacific Cup, as part of the sport’s first formal broadcast deal.

He leaves the sport in a strong financial position and has built an impressive stable of commercial partnerships that provide value to all members of Softball Australia.

Pryles was instrumental in the One Softball governance project and organisational restructure which has enabled the sport to invest more in grassroots participation to grow the membership base.

He also spearheaded the successful Back on Base grants campaign which delivered a further $60,000 investment into grassroots Softball clubs around the Country.

On diamond, Pryles oversaw the High Performance program, the highlight of which was a return to the Olympic Games following a dominant display at the Asia/Oceania Qualifier in 2019.

“David has made an impressive contribution to all facets of our sport and leaves Softball Australia well placed for our next phase of growth,” said Softball Australia Chair Richard Lindell.

“We’ve seen significant progress in the commercial, governance and marketing space under his leadership, as well as the development of a national participation strategy. He has made a huge impact on our sport and while we’re sad to see David move on, we’re incredibly grateful for his contribution and wish him all the best at Hockey Australia.”

Pryles says he is optimistic about the future for Softball in Australia.

“I’m very proud to have held the position of Chief Executive Officer over the past three and a half years at Softball Australia,” said Pryles.

“It’s been great to see the sport grow and develop in collaboration with our Member States and Territories and dedicated staff. I’m confident they’ll continue to achieve outstanding results for Softball in Australia.

“My thanks to Richard and before him John Hollingsworth and Peter Jon Hartshorne and the entire Board of Softball Australia for their mentoring and leadership, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for the sport.

“A final thank you to the staff at Softball Australia for their fantastic work and support, and to the members for embracing the many changes we’ve implemented for softball - your dedication to grow the game is second to none.”

Pryles will conclude his employment with Softball Australia on Friday 10 December 2021 and looks forward to working with the incoming CEO prior to his departure.