Flintoff & Dunn's
CLAXTON 2007 OVERVIEW
CLAXTON SHIELD - WHAT NOW?

Let me start, as promised, with a rating of the 2007 Claxton Shield from Thornlie, Perth, WA. It is a subject that I am very well qualified to comment about because I was present at EVERY game, while my wife and children also attended the vast majority of games at Baseball Park, Thornlie. Here is a simple rating system I have devised for the purpose.

 ITEM  OVERVIEW Score/10
1. 
EVENT MANAGEMENT		 The event manager, Shane Tonkin (who also happens to be one of Australia's finest pitchers of the recent era), did a SENSATIONAL job under a fair degree of pressure. Not only did he demonstrate the personality and talent necessary to undertake such a task, but he somehow managed to maintain a sense of humour during some testing moments. He applied amazing energy to the job and he NEVER stopped trying to attend to the needs of everyone he could to make the event a success. You couldn't ask for more from anyone. 10
2. 
PLAYING CONDITIONS		 Apart from the heat in Perth that could not be controlled, and it is a "natural feature" of hosting events in different locations, the quality of the playing diamond and the practice facilities etc. were all that could be expected. The diamond at Baseball Park looked great and it appeared to play the same way. It had good dimensions, good safety conditions and it produced almost zero negative effects on the games apart from "THE BOUNCE" that was a freak one-off happening. The prevailing winds usually made it tough to hit home runs, especially towards right field. I heard of zero complaints from players or coaches. 10
3. 
SPECTATOR FACILITIES		 Let us start by saying that this is a very new venue and it is still in the early stages of development. If Perth is given further opportunities to host such events, I have no doubt that it would be gradually improved and enhanced. Having said that, there was not much wrong with what was presented for this event. There was enough shaded, comfortable seating for anyone that wanted it and the viewing conditions were excellent. Toilets and other facilities were everything you could ask. Parking was good. If you wanted to find criticisms, additional shaded areas, an improved scoreboard and the addition of a video screen would be great... Yes 'Tonks', I know the budget is not unlimited!! 9
4. 
GAME-DAY ENHANCEMENT		 It was evident that the Event Management put a lot of effort into trying to produce a typical "baseball entertainment package". The music was fitting and there was enough fun between innings to suit most people. The pre-game stuff was pretty "low-key" but then that's the way some people like it. Apart from Trevor Schumm (who has another job anytime he needs it!) and Shane Tonkin himself (while doing 45 other jobs at the same time), the game announcing was "bland" at best and did not add much to the package. Some may have liked dancing cheer girls, a 7th innings stretch, fireworks and the like! 
The crowds were always good natured and security was never a problem.		 8
5. 
FOOD & 
DRINKS		 EXCELLENT - The overall pricing for this event was absolute "bargain basement". From the admission prices to the cost of food and drinks, this was a very cheap sporting package. In fact, compared with previous events of this type and other major sporting events in other parts of the country it was VERY reasonable. There was everything you could want at an event like this, it was top quality and it wasn't hard to access. 10
6. 
STAFF & 
HOSPITALITY		 OUTSTANDING - WA baseball was able to call upon something like 80 volunteers to help stage this event and, if this is a decent sample of the general populus in Perth, then they have set a new standard for friendliness, amenability and professionalism. Nothing was too much trouble for these people and they each did well-drilled jobs without a hint of disorganisation. I'm sure that Shane Tonkin had a lot to do with the overall organisation but most of the staff I met were "self motivated" types who knew exactly what they were doing... and they did it SUPERBLY! More importantly, I made some great friends among those I met like Kevin House, Don Baron (and wife), Dave Adamson, Barry Rochford (and wife) and Geoff (behind the bar) most of whom I fully intend to keep in contact with!
It may be a statement about "baseball people" in general, but these guys were GREAT!! 
Who can forget that WA baseball character "SPIDER", among other nice baseball people.		 10
7. 
LOCATION 
OF EVENTS		 I can't really comment about the overall quality of the venues at Rockingham or Mandurah because these games were, unfortunately, scheduled in conflict with the afternoon games at Thornlie. This is something that could be improved if we need to have "satellite games" at future carnivals but a lot depends on the host city and what best fits their individual baseball communities. I would have liked to take a look at those games, but I did hear that the baseball locals put a heap of effort into presenting themselves as well as possible. The main stadium at Baseball Park in Thornlie is about 20km south-east of Perth centre, but nothing is too difficult to drive to in Perth... it was not an issue! 9
8. 
MEDIA & MARKETING		 Firstly, Shane Tonkin (as Events Manager) and Baseball WA did a pretty fair job of providing media facilities for people like me with the assistance of that GREAT WA baseball pitcher Simon Eissens who set up the wireless internet facilities... thanks team! 
The other folks from Baseball Australia (Ben Foster, Brett Pickett & Pat Milmoe) were most helpful, as was James Watson from Baseball Victoria... many thanks! Now, we all know that marketing and promoting our beloved game of baseball is the toughest gig in sport and, when we find the magic key to unlock the mega-media like TV and newspapers, we know that we will be back in business as a significant sport in this country! I'm not going to "mark down" this event because it struggled to saturate the media any more than most others have struggled in the past. This is a "team effort" for everyone in Aussie baseball. 
Like all of the abovementioned 'Flintoff & Dunn' did our level best to publicise the event.		 9
9. 
SPECTATOR ATTENDANCE		 Along similar lines to the above Item 8, I'm not going to "mark down" this event just because they have struggled to burst the Thornlie venue at the seams with an unexpected throng of new baseball fans... genuine baseball supporters in Australia have become realistic enough to know that this NEVER happens... no, not even at Blacktown... or in Melbourne where record sporting attendances are a part of our culture!! No doubt the overall spectator numbers were somewhat affected by the fact that the host team WA lost from the start and quickly fell out of contention... this would have undoubtedly cost some numbers from the showcase night games. There were pretty healthy crowds on opening night and for the Grand Final, but in between it was mainly those usual numbers of "baseball addicts" that have become commonplace around the country... not just in Perth. 9
10. 
HOST CITY 
IN GENERAL		 Rating high among the numerous reasons why the Claxton Shield MUST be allowed to take its magic to a different baseball centre each year is the opportunity for people from different Australian baseball communities to mingle in a different host city. The opportunity to travel to a new host city each year is a GREAT thing for baseball people to get a feeling and flavour from different baseball cultures. People (and former players) who remember those great days when the event did move around the country have a lifetime of stories and friendships that they would not have if the event was anchored in one or few places!
You can now count me among those people whose lives have been enriched by travelling to this event with some new friendships to take away that I would not have had if this event had not been hosted in Perth, just as we did from the first year at Blacktown!
Perth is another terrific baseball city... a little warm for some, but magnificent people!!! 
As long as you can identify the right place(s) to stay, it is slow-paced and relaxed and quite easy to get around. It has many other great attractions for holiday makers and all of the other fantastic features of life in Australia... did I mention the MAGNIFICENT people?		 10

 

Total out of 100:  

94

That is an 'A+' by our calculations and this is a great credit to all involved, especially Shane Tonkin, Trevor Schumm, Baseball WA, all of those fantastically friendly volunteers and others in Perth. I would certainly suggest that anyone who spoke negatively about this event is looking hard for faults and/or has an alternative agenda. Trust me, all of the genuine baseball people I met in Perth LOVED IT... even though it is impossible to please everyone about everything!!

We must not forget that Shane Tonkin and the people at Baseball WA would all get ever better at hosting such events at a developing facility if they were given future opportunities. So, after all that praise, would 'Flintoff & Dunn' like to return to Perth for the Claxton Shield in 2008? TOO RIGHT... we'd be there in a heartbeat to renew acquaintances with our new found friends and to enjoy another great week of baseball!! But, are we suggesting that this should happen... NO!... it remains against the tradition and principles that have underpinned Australia's greatest and most prestigious baseball event. 

So folks, WHERE NEXT FOR THE CLAXTON SHIELD?

If you are intelligent enough to comprehend the implications in the "Rating Table" above or what is not written between the lines, there are numerous very good reasons why this event MUST NOT BE ANCHORED ANYWHERE!! Presuming that our new National League is not too far away, decisions about the future of the Claxton Shield are possibly more important than ever before. Personally, I'd like to find a way for the event to continue, even after the new National League is established, as a separate short carnival in its current format, or maybe with some slight modification... eg. without professional players if it is held after they return to the US... I'm not entirely sure, but I'd like it to be maintained somehow as a separate entity! 

I'm not sure where it was arising from, although I'm betting BIG on vested and/or parochial interests, but there was a somewhat disturbing and certainly annoying groundswell of "rumour" during the tournament in Perth that our Claxton Shield would be heading back to Blacktown for 2008... and maybe beyond that? You could almost sense the rumour emanating from those who, quite unnecessarily, chose to find fault in nearly everything that happened in Perth. Some tried to compare the "slick" running of the event at Blacktown with the "fledgling efforts" of the people in Perth. This, my baseball friends, is PATHETIC at best and DISGRACEFUL at worst!! I'm not suggesting that it should happen, but you give the Eskimos in Alaska FOUR successive years to host the event and I reckon they'd get pretty good at it too!!

In any case people, we are being distracted and seduced to COMPLETELY MISS THE POINT here! Even if, and it is possible, that Blacktown in NSW can host the Claxton Shield bigger and better than any other venue in Australia, is this really what the event is all about and what it is traditionally designed to do for AUSTRALIAN baseball? I did hear a man who I greatly respect in Australian baseball, who prefers the event at Blacktown, doubt what this event has done to benefit baseball in WA? Well, I would answer this by saying that, even if it was only a conservative 5% benefit, it sure beats the ZERO% that they have been getting for all these years while it has been anchored on the other side of our vast country!! If you are unable to see or accept this as an undeniable fact, then MR. MAGOO suddenly finds himself out of a job!!

I'm hearing that there is going to be a "bidding system" for State Associations to host the Claxton Shield in future? If this is the case, who is responsible for this piece of progressive (NOT!) thinking?... I need to make sure to reject his next application for a job as a rocket scientist? It may be news for "that someone" that Australian Baseball is not to be compared with the total commitment of the bigger cities world-wide that might like to bid for the Olympic Games or Soccer World Cup!! No, Australian baseball is under-resourced for both money and administrators and it is an incredibly brilliant way for us to WASTE these meagre resources by insisting that any type of bidding system is required... give me a break!!? Of course, if you want to be a conspiracy theorist, which I'd prefer not to waste my time doing, you could suggest that it is a not so cunning nor well disguised way to ensure that only the most well-resourced venue has any chance to be successful... perhaps like Blacktown Olympic Park for instance?!! If this is a joke, then it's not even remotely amusing!!

Look, if it's all too hard for everyone, I'll give you the simple answer... allocate the event to Australia's major baseball capital cities on a ROTATIONAL basis... set the timing well in advance so that each city can lobby for funding, prepare venues etc. AND (now here's a novel idea) HELP THEM OUT with funding, marketing resources and whatever else you can!! If any city chooses to "default" on their place in the rotation, they can be deferred and replaced by the next city in the rotation who is prepared to be host. I'm not sure about the viability of staging the event at any other regional centres, but these could be considered from time to time, or at the end of each full rotation of the major baseball capitals. 

I want you all to understand how long this has taken me to prepare, but here is a head start for you:
2008 - Adelaide, 2009 - Brisbane, 2010 - Melbourne, 2011 - Sydney, 2012 - Perth... repeat the sequence!

Not only would this serve its primary function of allowing each baseball State to raise the profile of our sport among its broader baseball community, and hopefully beyond, but it also provides an opportunity for those centres to lobby their respective governments for improved baseball facilities etc. This acts like a ripple effect in the baseball pond that expands and improves the sport generally. There is much more to it than this, but if you need 'Flintoff & Dunn' to expand on the bigger picture, then we are wasting our collective breath as AUSTRALIAN baseball supporters. It is not primarily important that the event is held at the best possible venue in Australia, it is vastly more important that the Claxton Shield can be used to promote the game... other venues will not be sub-standard, this is a red herring used to camouflage lack of endeavour!!

You see, I'm not even penalising Blacktown for having the event FOUR years in succession... and Melbourne must wait it's turn after staging the event in 2002. We will be critical (if not pleasantly surprised) if the Claxton Shield returns to Perth in 2008, but if it is re-established at Blacktown it will only serve to fuel 'Flintoff & Dunn's' attack on those who have been entrusted with trying to progress our game... for AUSTRALIA... yes, that means the entire country called AUSTRALIA!! 

History has, unfortunately, schooled us not to expect too much from the people we entrust to run baseball in Australia, but I'm going to remain optimistic. The fact that this event was FINALLY moved to Perth is a positive sign that someone is getting the message... let's just hope and pray that this message does not become blurred by other unimportant and/or irrelevant interests that have always hung like a millstone around the neck of Australian baseball. It annoys the heck out of everyone I know that baseball in Australia cannot seem to get the respect it deserves as the greatest game on earth, but it annoys us a whole lot more if we continue to "shoot ourselves in the foot" with short-sighted decision making... or a lack of imagination, ability or energy (or all of those) that always leads to making the easiest, not the best, decision!

Whether you agree with us or not, we would love to hear your opinions!