Our Beginnings

Surprisingly, the Sydney Outfielders was originally started by a group of footballers - the 'Proud Open and Out Footballers Touch Association', otherwise known as POOFTAs.

In 1998 the Gay Games were to be held in Europe for the first time, and with an estimate of a quarter of a million people from all over the world in attendance, our footballers didn't want to miss the opportunity to be part of the celebration and excitement. Touch football was not part of the Amsterdam Gay Games V competition calendar and POOFTA's decided to enter a softball team.

With hardly any experience, the team rallied together with an enthusiastic spirit and carried their wooden bats into the diamond to the momentous roar of the watching crowds.

That year they didn't win a medal, but did end up establishing Sydney's first gay and lesbian softball team.

On their return, the now named Sydney Outfielders, entered into the Sydney Eastern Suburbs Slow-pitch competition. Again their enthusiasm and competitive nature shone through, and in only two seasons placed themselves with a first and third placing.

Our 'Libby Stowe Perpetual Trophy'

Libby Stowe

In the season 2007/08, Sydney Outfielders introduced the 'Libby Stowe Perpetual Trophy' in honour, and memory, of Libby Stowe; original captain of the Pink Mitts. The trophy is awarded each year to the winner of the Summer League, with a plaque added to the trophy. We believe this award will drive teams to win in a sportsmanlike fashion each season, taking home a trophy named after an individual that embodied the spirit of the game.

A few words from Libby's Pink Mitts' current captain:

Earlier this year I approached our committee requesting a way we could remember Libby Stowe, one of Outfielders players and the original captain of our team the ‘Pink Mitts’ or now known as ‘Libby’s Pink Mitts.

For those who never had the pleasure of meeting Libby, you truly missed out on meeting someone very special. Before Outfielders, Libby put a team together for the Sydney 2002 Gay Games, attracting players from Australia, USA, Switzerland and UK. During the week of the games, Libby was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her determination, fighting spirit, wonderful sense of humour and gentle sportsmanship inspired her team to a bronze medal for the competition.

Pink Mitts was created just after the Gay Games as the girls were desperately wanting to play more softball and for the spirit of the team to continue.

Libby’s involvement in the first year was interrupted only intermittently by her chemotherapy (she did play when she felt up to it) and suffering from the effects of chemo. Incredibly courageous for someone who was recovering from having one whole breast removed considering the amount of batting/throwing involved in the game.

Libby passed away in January 2006, and I feel it would be appropriate to name a Trophy in her honour for the spirit of how she was in the world, embodies the type of competition we as a sporting group (Outfielders) are trying to create in competition – that being inclusiveness, togetherness, support, fun, enabling and constructive.

Libby’s warmth, openness and friendliness created a sense of inclusiveness in the team. She had a gift in making people feel comfortable in being themselves which invited people’s active involvement and engagement with playing and having fun – and as a result – improving their game. I guess her main goal though was to encourage people and make them feel comfortable. She did all this with a generosity of spirit and wonderful sense of humour.

Her very close friend Jacqui Norris gave me these words describing their friendship.

“Libby had an open heart and was incredibly warm, generous, intuitive, insightful and supportive – and very funny – she would crack me up with her insights and humour. She has this funny knack of ‘mis-hearing’ what people said – one classic was in the Sydney games, someone commented that in running to first base they had ‘corked their thighs’. Libby misheard this as ‘porked their thighs’ which then lead her onto how we might need to marinate them to make them better, or that we better put some sunscreen on them, otherwise they would end up as crackling etc. Funny segways that I loved and then became a part of the team dialect.”