Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ slow-pitch softball community since 2001.
Who we are
Sydney Outfielders is an LGBTQIA+ mixed-gender slow-pitch softball league based in Sydney. We welcome players of all skill levels and sporting backgrounds, from people picking up a bat for the first time to experienced players. Our summer season brings members together for weekly games, alongside training sessions and social events throughout the year.
Ohana · 2016
Our league formed in 2001 to give Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ community a welcoming place to play softball, build friendships and take part in sport. Its beginnings reach back to a group of touch footballers who tried softball at the 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam and brought their enthusiasm home.
Outfielders · 2004
We are community-run and not-for-profit, with members volunteering their time to keep the Association running. Fun, inclusion and respect guide what we do, both on and off the field. Our commitment to community before competition means making room for different abilities, backgrounds and experiences, and supporting people who have not always felt welcome in sport.
Pink Mitts · from the club archive
Our history
1998
The Amsterdam Gay Games
Our origins lie with the Proud Open and Out Footballers Touch Association, known as the POOFTAs. The group travelled to the Amsterdam Gay Games in 1998, but touch football was not on the programme. They entered the softball competition instead, taking to the diamond with wooden bats and little experience of the game.
Back in Sydney, the newly named Sydney Outfielders joined the Eastern Suburbs Slow-Pitch competition. First- and third-place finishes over two seasons helped turn an unexpected introduction to softball into an enduring club.
The 1998 Amsterdam Gay Games, where our softball story began.
2001
A league for our community
Inspired by LGBTQIA+ softball leagues overseas, Brett B. championed a dedicated competition in Sydney. Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ Summer Softball League began in 2001 with eight teams, creating a place where members of our community could play together.
Players, captains and volunteers have sustained the league ever since. Alongside the competition, training, social occasions and community events have helped generations of members find friendships and develop confidence on the field.
Community charity game · 2013
2023/24
Our first Mardi Gras parade
On 2 March 2024, Sydney Outfielders joined the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade for the first time. Members took our softball community onto Oxford Street, with choreography, handmade signs and a float brought together by volunteers.
The entry was months of shared work, from rehearsals and costumes to sound, transport and parade-night logistics. It began a new way for members to celebrate the Association together beyond the diamonds.
For our 25th season, we updated our logo to incorporate the full intersex-inclusive Progress Pride flag. The design recognises the breadth of our LGBTQIA+ community, including intersex members, and reflects the community before competition ethos we strive to put into practice.
The identities below are part of that visual history. Our teams, colours and membership have evolved, while the purpose remains: a welcoming softball community where people can participate, support one another and enjoy the game.
Logo evolution
From the players who first took up softball in Amsterdam to the members joining us today, the Outfielders have grown through people sharing their time, ideas and love of the game. We carry that history into each season by welcoming new players, supporting our teams and keeping our community at the heart of the Association.
After each game, players choose one teammate who made the biggest positive contribution through their play, effort and teamwork.
MVP of the Year
Recognises the strongest season-long Match MVP record, adjusted for games played. Players must attend at least 60% of games to be eligible.
Captains’ Award
After each game, captains nominate one player from the opposition who impressed through their overall softball performance: batting, fielding, base running, pitching/catching, game awareness and consistency.
Slugger of the Year
Awarded to the player who records the most home runs during the season.
Iron Diamond
Recognises players who achieve 100% game attendance across the eligible season.
Diamonds in the Rough
Recognises the greatest measurable improvement over the season.
Rookie of the Year
For a first-season Outfielder who makes an outstanding all-round contribution. Batting 30% · MVP results 30% · attendance 20% · volunteering/community contribution 20%.
Returning Player of the Year
For an existing Outfielder with an outstanding all-round season. Batting 30% · MVP results 30% · attendance 20% · volunteering/community contribution 20%.
Community & leadership
Photo of the Year
Celebrates a photograph that captures the spirit of the Outfielders: our people, softball and community.
Community Spirit Award
Recognises a member who makes the league welcoming, inclusive and supportive. Members can nominate people who have made a meaningful difference through encouragement and contribution to league life.
Volunteer of the Year
Exceptional volunteering across the season. Consistency of involvement 40% · range of contributions 30% · impact 30%.
Captain of the Year
Recognises strong team leadership and contribution to the wider league. End-of-season member survey 60% · organisation and reliability 25% · league/community contribution 15%.
Team awards
Team Spirit Award
Opponents rate teams after each game on sportsmanship and respect, encouragement and positive conduct, and inclusivity.
Volunteer Team of the Year
Recognises the team’s volunteering, taking participation and contributions into account relative to team size.
Diamond Dollar Award
Awarded to the team that raises the most money through its allocated weekly raffle.
Competition Winners
Awarded according to the official season standings and finals results.
The Libby S. Perpetual Trophy
Introduced in 2007/08, the trophy honours Libby S., founder of the Pink Mitts. It celebrates the warmth, generosity, humour and sportsmanship she brought to our community.
It recognises someone who helps others feel included and supported, encourages them to be themselves and makes the game more joyful.
Remembering Libby +
From a former Pink Mitts captain
For those who never have the pleasure of meeting Libby, you truly missed out on meeting someone very special. Before Outfielders, Libby put a team together for the 2002 Gay Games, attracting players from Australia, USA, Switzerland and the UK. During the week of 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 the competition - that being inclusiveness, togetherness, support, fun, enabling and constructive.
Libby warmth, openness and friendliness create 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.
From her friend Jacqui N.
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 ‘parked their thighs’ which then led her onto how we might nee to marinate them to make them better, or that we better put sunscreen on them, otherwise they would end up as crackling, etc - funny segues that I loved which then became a part of the team dialect.
Our lifetime members have given exceptional time, care and energy to the Outfielders. Elected by members at the AGM, they are part of the story we are proud to carry forward.
