How softball is helping to combat loneliness in London

When Dome Cleman and her husband left America, she made a different start for her new life in London.

“We went to the epidemic – we didn’t know anyone,” said Ms. Keman.

Since then, the couple joined a local softball team, formed their social circle on a diamond -shaped pitch.

And around 5,000 people from London who play every week have got a welcome, inclusive community as well as a healthy hobby.

“We found the Mi6 (Softball Club) and took us in,” said Ms. Keman.

“Softball for us and for me became my social circle – this is super social, everyone is really suited with each other.

“I am very grateful that I have found this community because it is my community in London. So, yes, we are really lucky.”

Softball originated in the US over a century ago and has two formats – Fastpich and Slipich – later more popular in the UK.

Different rules in SlowPitch, in which how the ball is thrown, allows the game to be mixed-sex (co-aid), which players quoted as one of its main draws.

Duncan Waugh, who plays for the Mi6 and National Softball League team veterans, said: “It is unique because if you go back to the states, it’s a very single-sex-powered game, just play boys and play girls to girls.

“Here, due to its balance it combines different strategies, different strategies and different levels of value to the board.”

“You really achieve the spirit of the community from playing with men and women,” said Gelske Huer, who plays for the Greater London Softball Mixed League (GLSML) Division 1 Team Mi6.

For Ms. Huer, who also play for legends, co-aid aspect “creates an atmosphere of quality and tolerance”.

He said that it was “very important to give people an outlet for competition in adulthood”.

He said, “Competition and levels are available for everyone – from novice to experienced players – and the competition and the room are high,” he said.

According to David Peters, who play for the fuzzy duck team, it is not just a penis balance that makes the game feel so inclusive.

“In most sports, as long as you are 35 or more or something else, you certainly are in the autumn of your game’s days,” he said.

“The great thing about this is that people are playing a decent standard in their 50s.”

He said that the softball scene in London was “actually a welcome community”.

While softball shares similarities with baseball, there are some major differences.

Softball is played with a large ball, and the ball is thrown underhand instead of overhand in baseball.

“Diamond” (the area of ​​sports) in softball is small in softball, with the base 60 feet (18.28 m) instead of 90 feet (27.43 m).

And softball games have a lower innings than baseball, which contains seven instead of nine.

John Boyd, CEO of Basballsoftball (BSUK), said Softball “had a lot of corporate psyche” in London “.

“If someone wants to walk through the Regent Park, you will see using 19 fields of softball for teams playing in many different corporate leagues,” he said.

“Because it is a mixed game – it is actually 50/50 – it creates a very positive atmosphere for the workplace and also from a social perspective.”

Inclusion is an important part of BSUK’s strategy, Mr. Boyd said.

A few years ago, the agency installed an LGBTQ+ panel to develop the game, which was to develop the game in “more modern than the binary-lingam-based game”.

He said: “[The panel] Came with this set of rules called the ‘including’ softball rule.

“This helped not only to promote two sexes, but also widespread participation from the entire spectrum.”

Those rules have since been “widely adopted during the game, which means that players have been classified as” small ball hitter “and” Big ball hitter “instead of men and women.