The Softball Australia Annual General Meeting (AGM) held today has formally inducted three members into the Hall of Fame, one new Life Member and the Vivienne Tripplett Umpire of the Year awarded.

Brenda De Blaes, Michael Gibson and Scott Rindfleish are the newest members of the Softball Australia Hall of Fame, all three bringing a wealth of international experience from the Men's, Women's and Umpiring side of the game.

Leigh Evans has been awarded Life Membership to Softball Australia following outstanding service to the game through his role as an Umpire, in particular to Australian Umpires having spent 17 years as part of the National Program.

Courtesy of an outstanding Tokyo 2020 Olympic campaign, Kyira Cox has been awarded the Vivienne Tripplett Umpire of the Year, she was rewarded for her hard work and astute officiating with appointment to Homeplate in the Gold Medal Game.

Hall of Fame – Brenda De Blaes

Brenda was playing number 247 for the Australian Women’s team, Brenda played for Australia between 2009 and 2016, debuting at the 2009 Canada Cup. Brenda played 17 tournaments and 120 games for Australia.

Brenda played in four World Championships and retired in 2016 at the conclusion of the World Championships.

Hall of Fame – Michael Gibson

Michael was player number 44 with the Australian Men’s softball team. Michael played 93 games for the Aussie Steelers across 22 tournaments.

Michael participated in four World Championships between 2000 and 2013. Michael was part of the Aussie Steelers leadership group in a time where the program was going through a cultural change.

Hall of Fame – Scott Rindfleish

Scott was an international umpire from 2004 through to 2019. Scott has officiated at three senior world championships and one Olympic Qualifier. This includes the 2010 Open Women’s World Championships and the 2013 and 2019 Open Men’s World Championships.

His career highlights include being the Plate umpire for the Bronze medal game at both the 2010 Women’s World Championships and 2019 Men’s World Cup.

Life Member – Leigh Evans

Leigh has been part of the National Umpiring program for 17 years. He was first appointed to the National Umpiring Committee in 2008 after previously spending four years as assistant to the committee. Leigh’s major contribution to the program and committee has been to the technical aspects of the game resulting in the Australian Umpiring program being a leading program around the world. Leigh has led the evolution of the national rules exam and the development of the Umpiring Rule Book. His major achievement included the move to an online rules assessment which has made the exam more accessible to umpires across the country.

Leigh has performed the function of Tournament Chief Umpire and Assessor at Australian National Championships for the past 11 years.

Leigh was inducted into the Softball Australia Hall of Fame for his performance on the diamond in 2015.

Leigh’s contribution to softball in Australia is demonstrable and substantially advanced the sport in this country.

Vivienne Triplett Umpire of the Year Award – Kyira Cox

After a 2020/21 season disrupted by COVID-19 cancellations, Kyira Cox was the only Australian Umpire to be appointed to an international meeting, none bigger than the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Kyira’s performance on diamond earned her the coveted Plate Umpire appointment the Olympics Gold Medal Game and was the perfect representation for Australian Softball. Her demeanour on and off the diamond was exemplary and to be selected for the biggest stage in sport over international calibre umpiring is nothing short of outstanding.

Over her many years of umpiring, has shown a commitment to not only her own umpiring career but those she works with, mentors, and helps develop. From club to the National level, Kyira has the strength and drive to be the best she can be and works to instil those qualities in the next generation of umpires moving through the pathway.