SOFTBALL CANADA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
OFFICIAL CATEGORY (Chronological Order)
2017 RANDY SOULIERS (ST. JOHN’S)
Randy Souliers had a very successful umpiring career that spanned 23 years and over 1500 games. He began umpiring locally in 1982 and covered more than 100 Softball NL Provincial tournaments before retiring in 2005. Players and coaches had a lot of respect for Souliers’ professionalism both on and off the field, and throughout his involvement he showed leadership skills by promoting, developing and fostering softball officiating in NL and in Canada.
At the national level, Souliers was a working umpire at seven Canadian Championships including two Junior Men’s (1989 and 1992) and five Men’s (1990, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2003) and obtained his WBSC Certification in 1998. From there, he umpired at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg later followed by the 2004 WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship in New Zealand. He served as Softball NL Umpire-in-Chief from 1997 to 2000 before becoming a Softball Canada Instructor/Evaluator, leading to his involvement in updating and digitizing Umpire Manuals for Softball Canada’s Officiating Development Committee. He went on to supervise a large amount of Provincial and Canadian Championships, including the 2001 Canada Games and was the umpire liaison for a pair of WBSC World Championships held in St. John’s – the Women’s event in 1994 and Junior Men’s in 1997.
As a Softball Canada Instructor/Evaluator, Souliers conducted several Level IV clinics across Canada, and was recognized as one of the hardest working members in the officiating program with an attention to detail and work ethic that was second to none. His strong organizational skills in producing overheads and PowerPoint files have helped set the standard for umpiring clinics across the country. Souliers was organized, punctual and smooth in his presentation style, and was always looking ahead to the end result and planning for the successful outcome for participants.
Bios: Softball Canada
