Jocelyn "Joyce" Mavis Lester, (born 22 March 1958) is an Australian

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

player and coach. A

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

, she joined the Australia women's national softball team in 1977, and captained it from 1985 until its bronze medal win at the

1996 Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, when she retired from international competition. . She played professionally for the first time in Japan from 1996 to 1999, and thereafter coached softball in both Japan and Australia. She was named to the world all-star softball team in 1986 and 1989, and has been inducted into the Queensland, Australian and world softball halls of fame.

Personal

Lester was born on 22 March 1958 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

as the youngest of four children. Her mother was a housewife and her father was a firefighter and later a

fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

officer. She often played softball in the backyard with her sister at home, using a net that her father had built. She attended Geebung State School and

Wavell State High School Wavell State High School is a coeducational public secondary school based in Wavell Heights, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school has a total enrolment of more than 1500 students from years 7–12, with an official count of 1674 ...

, where she excelled in sport, especially high school softball. After finishing high school, she attended the North Brisbane College of Advanced Education (now part of the

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

), where she graduated with a Diploma of Teaching and a Bachelor of Education. She later studied for and received a graduate certificate in linguistics from the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland is a public research university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, the sixth largest city in the Australian state of Queensland Founded in 1967 after a successful campaign by the local Darling Down ...

. She taught

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

full-time during her Australian softball playing career, and as of 2017, she is the Director of International Education at Trinity Anglican School. Since 1996, she has lived in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

with her husband, Chris Wighton, a singer, songwriter and youth worker. They had met in primary school and had a brief relationship after she left high school. They later re-connected in 1996, after he had split up with his ex-wife.

Career

Lester joined the under-16's Queensland softball team as a replacement

, after her predecessor had broken her thumb; she had never played in this position before. She was a member of the open Queensland team from 1975 to 1996, captaining it from 1983 onwards. She was part of eight teams that won the

Gilleys Shield The Gilleys Shield is a trophy symbolising the Open Women's Championship of the Softball Australia organisation (formerly known as the Australian Softball Federation). The competition's full name is the Mack Gilley Shield. History In 1947, Qu ...

, seven of which she captained. She was also a member of her club team, the Rebels, which won the national club championships in 1984, 1986 and 1987, and was named Most Valuable Player there in 1990. She was first selected for the Australia women's national softball team in 1977 and became its captain in 1985. As a catcher and

, she represented her country at 235 international games and five ISF Women's World Championships. At the 1986 world championships in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, she achieved a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .313 and a perfect

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

of 1000, leading her to be named into the World All Star team. She was once again selected for the all-stars in 1989 after the Intercontinental Cup in Italy. She retired from international competition after the national team's bronze medal win at the

. In 1996, she signed up with Sagawa, a Japanese softball club near

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, the first time she had played the game professionally. She coached the game in Japan from 2000 to 2004, and was the

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...

softball coach for the

Queensland Academy of Sport The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland. Its headquarters are currently located at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in ...

from 1998 to 2008. She has served on the

International Softball Federation Map of member states., 400px, right The International Softball Federation (ISF) is the former international governing body for the sport of softball with its world headquarters and training centre at Plant City, Florida. The ISF is a non-profit ...

Athletes Commission and has been the Australian players' representative at the

International Softball Congress The International Softball Congress (ISC) is a non-profit association for the promotion and administration of men's and boys fastpitch softball throughout North America with athletes coming from all over the world. The ISC was formed in 1958 as ...

three times. She was a softball commentator at the 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens, and 2008 Beijing Olympics. She has advocated for greater funding and resources for women's sport, and has suggested that mothers should take their children to see women playing sport more often.

Recognition

Lester was inducted into both the Australian and Queensland softball halls of fame in 1996. In 2000, she received a Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

and an

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

, and was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

. She was inducted into the World Softball Hall of Fame in 2001. The Joyce Lester Shield,

Softball Australia Australia's softball history began in 1939 when Gordon Young, Director of Physical Education in NSW, began to promote the game in schools and colleges. In 1942, during World War II, US army sergeant William Duvernet organised softball as a recr ...

's under-23 women's championship, is named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Joyce 1958 births Living people Australian softball players Olympic softball players for Australia Softball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Softball players from Brisbane Sportswomen from Queensland Olympic medalists in softball Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees People educated at Wavell State High School 20th-century Australian sportswomen