Following the announcement of her withdrawal from the role of Director of Umpires for Softball Europe, Carolien Stadhouders wrote a letter for the Softball community.

Dear softball friends,

Yesterday the announcement of my withdrawal as Director of Umpires was published on this website. Today I want to take the opportunity to briefly reflect on my years in Softball Europe/ESF.

After I received my international umpire license in 1995 I have been working many tournaments for the European Softball Federation. My time on the field as active umpire has given me numerous wonderful memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Thank you fellow umpires, for your camaraderie and friendship on and off the field!

When I quit umpiring on an international level in 2012 I was invited to join the Technical Commission (TC) group of European Softball Federation as Umpire In Chief (UiC). In this capacity I had the opportunity to work off the field running various tournaments every year. It was a new, exciting challenge to work together with UiC’s and TC’s, facilitating the umpires to be the best they can be.
Thank you ESF umpires, UiC- and TC-colleagues for your cooperation in good and in tough times! It has been a true pleasure to work with all of you.

End of 2016 I accepted the role of Director of Umpires for ESF/Softball Europe. In this role I had the honor and pleasure to work closely with our President Gaba Waage, Technical Director Mike Jennings and Treasurer Eddy van Straelen.
Thank you all three for the confidence and trust that you have given me! Your support in these past years has been so very valuable to me in fulfilling the role of Director of Umpires.  

My special thanks go to Hans Hornstra and Raoul Machalet, my partners in the Umpire Management Team. Without your help, your sound advice and hard work we would not be where we are today. Maybe even more important, I want to thank you both for your friendship and your dedication.   

And last but certainly not least, I thank Bert, my husband, who I met on the softball field, for always believing in me and supporting me. We both are very lucky and blessed to share so many good memories of softball together.

Finally, I want to wish my successor Raoul and his team lots of success for the future. I am convinced that they will do a great job for European umpiring. I am glad that I can continue to contribute to this job in the role of WBSC Regional Umpire Coordinator.

Carolien Stadhouders