On Saturday 15th September, Pauline Connington, attended her last official Board meeting as Rounders England Vice Chair. After dedicating over 15 years to Rounders and 10 years to the National Governing Body, she was presented with a memento of her time served with Rounders England. Rounders England CEO, Alison Howard commemorated Pauline’s commitment outlining her time with the organisation.
When Rounders England worked on the segmentation of people playing Rounders, three types of customer lifestyles evolved:
- Passives – play regularly but have no desire to increase, need encouragement to continue, can easily lapse
- Committed – play regularly but would play more. Have the potential to lapse if they are not organised
- Evangelist – play at every opportunity, recruit and act as advocates. Hugely passionate about Rounders
For me, Pauline is the perfect evangelist, and this is her journey…
In the early 2000’s Pauline started and ran the Hull Works Sports Association Women’s Rounders league. This is when I first came across her, as her quest was to set the league up in the most effective way. We had many conversations around league related matters.
In 2007 Pauline qualified as a Preliminary Umpire, then progressed this by earning her UKCC Level 1 and Level 2 Coaching qualifications. Most recently, in 2017, she achieved her National Umpiring Award.
In 2008, when the organisation was the National Rounders Association, Pauline did some temporary work in the newly established office in Sheffield. This must have whet her appetite for a deeper involvement in the organisation, because in July 2009, she was appointed to the Board for a term of one year.
In 2010 Rounders England introduced a new Board structure with fixed terms of office. At this time, Pauline was voted in, by the members, as an Elected Director. Subsequently, she then became the Safeguarding Champion and Vice Chair on the Board.
Between then and now, in addition to her Board responsibilities, Pauline has volunteered tirelessly for Rounders England – including umpiring, coaching, selecting for the England Squads, supporting and being the Board member presence at many events.
And as Pauline’s term as Vice Chair comes to an end, so does the term start for some new Board Members. We get to give a big welcome to Ali Smith and Kate Halfpenny. Both ladies love Rounders, both for different reasons. Interesting in their own right, you can read more about them on the board webpage.
