Passing of Russell Moffat
Russell Moffat started his softball career playing in Timaru for the Zingari Club. His sharp, analytical mind was attracted to softball scoring and he attained his SNZ scorers badge in the late 1970s.
By the 1980's Russell was attending National Tournaments as a tournament chief scorer and statistician and in 1985 Russell started his long association with the NZ Black Sox and Junior Black Sox teams, travelling with the gold medal winning Junior Black Sox. This was the first of many appointments as to those teams, including with the Gold Medal winning Black Sox in 1996 and 2000.
Russell moved to Christchurch in the early 1990s team scoring for the Canterbury Red Sox for many years as well as playing the odd game for the Richmond Keas Club. His distinctive presence was often seen and felt around the diamonds, not only in Christchurch, but around the whole country.
At this time, Russell also became the Deputy Chief Scorer and it was his foresight and work from this time that in some ways he could be called the father of modern softball scoring in New Zealand. Reluctantly taking on the NZ Chief Scorer role in 2003 with the passing of his good friend Dale Tamehana, Russell led a new way of thinking for the SNZ scoring panel, sharing knowledge and developing capability in other scorers. At the 2004 World Series as Chief Scorer, he introduced the team to one of his scoring mentors, John Joyce who instigated the formalised scoring system in New Zealand.
Attending the 2004 Athens Olympics as an official scorer was a highlight for Russell and an experience he has cherished since. His international experiences and achievements earned him a place not only in Softball New Zealand's Hall of Fame but also the ISF Hall of Fame. These honours he was characteristically humble about.
Russell was a mentor to many scorers and had an instinctive way of bringing out the best in any scorer. He believed that learning and self-development never stops and even as recently as 2020 when the WBSC scoring system was first used in New Zealand, he wanted to know more about it.
Russell Moffat leaves not only a huge gap in the softball scoring fraternity but also an even bigger legacy.
By the 1980's Russell was attending National Tournaments as a tournament chief scorer and statistician and in 1985 Russell started his long association with the NZ Black Sox and Junior Black Sox teams, travelling with the gold medal winning Junior Black Sox. This was the first of many appointments as to those teams, including with the Gold Medal winning Black Sox in 1996 and 2000.
Russell moved to Christchurch in the early 1990s team scoring for the Canterbury Red Sox for many years as well as playing the odd game for the Richmond Keas Club. His distinctive presence was often seen and felt around the diamonds, not only in Christchurch, but around the whole country.
At this time, Russell also became the Deputy Chief Scorer and it was his foresight and work from this time that in some ways he could be called the father of modern softball scoring in New Zealand. Reluctantly taking on the NZ Chief Scorer role in 2003 with the passing of his good friend Dale Tamehana, Russell led a new way of thinking for the SNZ scoring panel, sharing knowledge and developing capability in other scorers. At the 2004 World Series as Chief Scorer, he introduced the team to one of his scoring mentors, John Joyce who instigated the formalised scoring system in New Zealand.
Attending the 2004 Athens Olympics as an official scorer was a highlight for Russell and an experience he has cherished since. His international experiences and achievements earned him a place not only in Softball New Zealand's Hall of Fame but also the ISF Hall of Fame. These honours he was characteristically humble about.
Russell was a mentor to many scorers and had an instinctive way of bringing out the best in any scorer. He believed that learning and self-development never stops and even as recently as 2020 when the WBSC scoring system was first used in New Zealand, he wanted to know more about it.
Russell Moffat leaves not only a huge gap in the softball scoring fraternity but also an even bigger legacy.