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The first ever BródBall LGBT+ Softball Tournament will take place on 1 and 2 June 2024 to kick off pride month in the Republic of Ireland. Bród is Irish for Pride!
The tournament will feature teams from across the globe and takes place on the grounds of Ireland’s oldest university, Trinity College Dublin, a venue that is very close to our hearts as it is where we held our first ever LGBT+ Softball Open Day in 2022. The BródBall tournament is the first of its kind in Ireland and is being offered as an initiative of LGBT+ Softball Ireland. LGBT+ Softball Ireland promotes LGBTQ+ participation in softball throughout the island and advises on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies to Softball Ireland and the regional governing bodies across the island of Ireland. The organisation was instrumental in setting up Ireland’s first LGBT+ softball team in Dublin, The Stoneballerz in 2023.
BródBall is the latest initiative of the organisation and seeks to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ participation in softball in Ireland and to provide a forum to enhance collaboration and foster ties with other allied softball organisations and clubs that form part of the wider, global softball community.
BródBall is not just a softball tournament, it is a celebration of Ireland, of softball and of pride month! We have organised a series of social events across and around the tournament dates, beginning with our launch night celebrations on Friday 31 May. Let the games begin!!!
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The Teams
1 June @ 10am
2 June @ 10am
Tournament Day 1 Trinity College Dublin
Tournament Day 2
Trinity Iveagh Grounds
Full schedule is on the next page
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tournament schedule
Saturday (Trinity College) | Sunday (Iveagh Grounds) | ||||||||
HOME | AWAY | HOME | AWAY | ||||||
10am | Tucson Inferno | vs. | Raiders 1 | Field 1 | QOTN | vs. | Tucson Inferno | Field 1 | |
Raiders Underground | vs. | Stoneballerz | Field 2 | Stoneballerz | vs. | Gayzillas | Field 2 | ||
11am | Stoneballerz | vs. | QOTN | Field 1 | Raiders Underground | vs. | Gayzillas | Field 1 | |
Gayzillas | vs. | Yamamori | Field 2 | Yamamori | vs. | QOTN | Field 2 | ||
12pm | Raiders 1 | vs. | Raiders Underground | Field 1 | Tucson Inferno | vs. | Raiders Underground | Field 1 | |
Yamamori | vs. | Tucson Inferno | Field 2 | Raiders 1 | vs. | Yamamori | Field 2 | ||
1pm | QOTN | vs. | Gayzillas | Field 1 | LUNCH | ||||
Stoneballerz | vs. | Raiders 1 | Field 2 | ||||||
2pm | Raiders Underground | vs. | Yamamori | Field 1 | QOTN | vs. | Raiders Underground | Field 1 | |
Gayzillas | vs. | Tucson Inferno | Field 2 | Tucson Inferno | vs. | Stoneballerz | Field 2 | ||
3pm | Raiders 1 | vs. | QOTN | Field 1 | Gayzillas | vs. | Raiders 1 | Field 1 | |
Yamamori | vs. | Stoneballerz | Field 2 | ||||||
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team standings
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Social Events
Friday 31 May @ 8pm
Launch Party
Saturday 1 June @ 8pm
Food, Drinks and DJ
Table 45
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Sunday 2 June @ 7.30pm
Drag bingo and show
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Monday 3 June @ 4pm
Closing Party
Social Media
Please remember to tag us in your social media
posts across the weekend
Instagram is @lgbtsoftball
Use the hashtag
#BrodBall2024
Click the link to use our Instagram story frame
or here for our Instagram post frame
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full calendar of events
FRIDAY 31 MAY
8PM
Launch party: Pantibar
SATURDAY 1 JUNE
10AM
8PM
Hosted by
SUNDAY 2 JUNE
10AM
7.30PM
MONDAY 3 JUNE
4PM
Closing party: Street 66
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Tournament rules
- Please ensure your team is at their field for the first game each at least 15 mins before the start time. Teams may arrive from 9.30am.
- The tournament will follow WBSC rules except those listed below.
- Teams can only field 10 players but they may bat as many as they like. However, the batting order must remain the same throughout the game.
- Courtesy runners are allowed only for injured players and must be the same courtesy runner throughout the game.
- Captains are required to attend a captain’s meeting at 9.30am on Saturday and Sunday for teams starting at 10am and 10.30am for teams starting at 11am.
- Captains should ensure that all players have filled out the player registration form in advance of the tournament.
- The tournament is open format - ie there are NO GENDER-BASED rules. All runners are awarded ONE BASE for a walk.
- All players will hit the 12" ball (52/300). Game balls will be provided by the umpires at each game.
- Bats will be inspected and approved for use by the umpire. All bats should conform to ASA and USA standards and bear the stamps of one or both of those.
- Games will last for 50 mins and will start on the hour. No new inning after 45mins, and games will count back to the previous full inning if they end on an incomplete inning. Games that do not start on time must still end on time.
- Batter will start with a 1 and 1 count.
- Each team will play each other once over the course of the tournament. Some teams will be much stronger than others so we would ask that those teams are mindful of this and play according to the spirit of the tournament.
- Results should be reported to the captains WhatsApp group at the end of each game by each team captain. Scores and standings will be updated regularly throughout the tournament on a page that will be added to this document.
- The home and away team is as set out in the schedule - the first team listed is the home team. Every team has 3 home and 3 away games.
- There is a 7 run limit in all innings except for the final inning of the game (which will be judged by the umpire).
- Team standings: Teams will be awarded 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss. Standings will be decided by (1) points; (2) head-to-head if teams are tied; (3) run difference.
Ground Rules - Trinity College Dublin Only
- There is a home run fence on Field 1 and a natural boundary on Field 2.
- There is a limit of 1 over the fence home run per game per team. Any batter that hits an over the fence home run after the first is out.
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Venue Information - Trinity College Dublin
- Click on the map to the left for map links to the venue for Day 1 - Trinity College Dublin.
- There are several entrances to Trinity College grounds, all of which will be open on the day of the tournament so you can take whichever entrance is most convenient. There is no parking available at Trinity College.
- There are toilets and changing facilities on site, located just to the side of the Pavillion Bar which overlooks Field 1.
- All teams will have at least 1 hour for lunch, and we will endeavour to ensure all teams have 2 hours off. Lunch is not provided as part of the tournament but there are several restaurants and delis within walking distance of the venue.
- If you are consuming alcohol, please do so discreetly and responsibly. LGBT+ Softball will have customised beers for purchase on the day - BródBeer but there are also stores nearby where beers and cider can be purchased.
- Please refer to the ground rules in the tournament rules section for this venue.
- Please note, the Softball Leinster official photographer will be here on Saturday taking photos for most of the day. These photos will be shared with LGBT+ Softball and we can then share them with the relevant team captains. We may also use some of these for promotional material. If you or any of your players do not want your photos to be used, please let us know. Softball Leinster will not be using these photos for any purposes and will just be handing them to us for use and redistribution to the teams. The photos usually take a couple of weeks to be sent so don’t expect them over the course of the weekend :)
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Venue Information - Trinity iveagh grounds
- Click on the map to the left for map links to the venue for Day 2 - Trinity College Iveagh Grounds.
- There is just one entrance to Trinity College Iveagh grounds which is indicated on the map. There is plenty of parking available at Trinity Iveagh Grounds.
- There are toilets and changing facilities on site, located in the club house as you enter the facility.
- All teams will have at least 1 hour for lunch, and we will endeavour to ensure all teams have 2 hours off.
- There will be a food truck on site from 12-2pm from which you can purchase lunch with all dietary requirements catered for.
- If you are consuming alcohol, please do so discreetly and responsibly. LGBT+ Softball will have customised beers for purchase on the day - BródBeer (if there are any left from the previous day!!!). Alcohol will only be served in stores from 12.30pm on Sunday.
- Please refer to the ground rules in the tournament rules section for this venue.
Concertika brings together an international community of artists and music professionals for a unique celebration of music.
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venue map
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Social nights information
FRIDAY 31 MAY|8pm
Our launch party will be held in Dublin’s PantiBar on Capel Street, owned by iconic Dublin Drag Artist and LGBTQ+ rights activist, the Queen of Ireland, Panti Bliss. PantiBar is a popular drag and dance bar. We have the downstairs area reserved for our launch. Kick off is at 8pm sharp so we can all get home at reasonable times for the start of the tournament the next morning!
SATURDAY 1 JUNE|8pm
Table 45 is a stunning new venue, opened in March 2024 by gay couple, Dan and Dan, and their stunning dog who can often be seen roaming around the venue. We have the entire place booked for the evening, with a DJ from 9-11pm. Table 45 serve stunning cocktails and delicious Irish-South American fusion tapas style food ! They are offering discounted drinks with 10% off from 8-9pm and 10% off all food orders from 8-10pm. We will also be holding the raffle that evening with some great prizes up for grabs!
SUNDAY 2 JUNE|7.30pm
Dublin’s iconic and longest established queer venue, the George are hosting us on Sunday evening for their famous Drag Bingo and Show. They have given us a large area on the first floor but please ensure you arrive promptly, if you get here beyond 8pm, there will be a cover charge on the door of €10 but get in for 7.30pm and there’ll be no cover charge. Once you’re in, you can get a stamp if you need to leave for food or anything else (but you may still have to queue to get back in!).
MONDAY 3 JUNE|4pm
Street 66 have supported us from the get go and we are delighted that they agreed to host our closing party on Monday. This is a public holiday in Ireland so the city should be quite busy (not like you’re normal boring Mondays!). We have an area booked off in 66 from 4pm to ensure we close BródBall in style!
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Concertika brings together an international community of artists and music professionals for a unique celebration of music.
Raffle supporters
Raffle draw to be held on Saturday 1 June in Table 45. Huge thanks to our raffle prize sponsors.
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All events and resources below have live links for further information.
queer dublin
Ongoing events and resources
Dublin Pride have a store and it’s open Tuesday to Saturday from 10.30am to 5.30pm for all your Dublin Pride souveniers! It is located on Clarendon Street, Dublin 1, just off Grafton Street, click here for the map location.
National Museum of Ireland Pride 2024 Rainbow Trail (1-30 June, €Free)
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Glendalough Night Hike - 30 May (€Free)
Out and About Gay Hiking Group arrange a series of hikes around Dublin and surrounding counties for members of the LGBT+ community. On Thursday 30 May, they are hosting a night hike in Glendalough. This hike is stunning so if you can make, I’d highly recommend. Glendalough is a bit of a drive from Dublin so you may need to rent a car or plan out public transport options (or contact Out and About and see if anyone is car pooling, they often do).
They have other more local hikes at various times around the tournament dates. All hikes are free to attend, no booking is required and Out and About welcome tourists.
Cultural events (after the tournament)
Reeling in the Queers: Tales of Ireland’s LGBTQ Past
Saturday 8 June @ 3pm, University College Dublin (€Free)
An Evening with Margaret Atwood, Mary Robinson and Laurie Anderson
Sunday 9 June @ 7.30pm, Bord Gais Energy Theatre Dublin (€30-45 (depending on seat))
Queer and Feminist Legacies of Ukrainian Women's 1980s Cultural Production
Tuesday 11 June @ 11.30am, Trinity College Dublin (€Free)
The Secret History of Gay Dublin | Walking Tour
Saturday 15 June @ 3pm, Dublin City Centre (€15.99)
Focus on the stoneballerz
The first ever LGBT+ Softball open day, held in Trinity College Dublin on 5 May 2022
First pre-season trainings of the Stoneballerz in 2023
The Stoneballerz went on to tie at the top of their division in year 1, an amazing achievement! They continue to go from strength to strength and LGBT+ Softball couldn’t be prouder!
First LGBT+ Team to play together in a tournament in Ireland (Belfast, 2023)
Ireland’s first LGBT+ Softball team launches and they win their first league game on 1 May 2023, the first of many wins....
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Bródball 2024
Ireland’s first LGBT+ Softball Tournament.
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