Friendship, Sportsmanship, Citizenship,  Leadership and Scholarship.

In 1968, Clairemont Bobby Sox formed to provide a positive athletic experience for girls in the Clairemont area.  As a member of the national Bobby Sox organization, Clairemont emphasized the five character traits of Friendship, Sportsmanship, Citizenship,  Leadership and Scholarship.

For various reasons, Clairemont Bobby Sox disolved after the 2002 season, and reformed as Clairemont Girls Fastpitch.

Clairemont Girls Fastpitch decided to retain these five important tenets of good character. Every season one girl from each team is selected as best reflecting the five "ships."  The awardee is presented with a Five Ship trophy in honor of her selection.

Kyrstin Gemar began playing softball at Clairemont Bobby Sox in 1993.  She progressed through the various age divisions, improving in both skill and character along the way.  In 2000, she was selected as an All-Star player for the first time in her softball career.  Kyrstin played at Clairemont Bobby Sox for eight seasons, before transitioning to Clairemont High School softball.

As her high school and college schedule permitted, Kyrstin returned to Clairemont Girls Fastpitch to help coach and mentor young players.  She felt that it was important to give back to the league that had been such an important part of her life.

On November 1st, 2009, Kyrstin, along with college teammates Ashley Neufeld (Brandon, Manitoba, Canada) and Afton Williamson (Menifee, CA) drowned in a submerged vehicle outside of Dickinson, ND.

In 2010, in honor of Kyrstin's accomplishments and her positive support of the league, the Five Ship Award was renamed the Kyrstin Gemar Five Ship Award.

"Keep Your Eye On The Ball"

Kyrstin Gemar, who prepped locally at Clairemont High School (HR & BA season team leader), played for Grossmont College during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.  As a freshman in 2006, Gemar was named an All-Pacific Coast Conference second team selection and was the Grossmont team Most Valuable Player.  As a sophomore in 2007 she was the team’s captain and was voted again team MVP.  Additionally, she was selected to the All-PCC first team as a third baseman.  Offensively her .444 batting average, 16 doubles, seven home runs, 39 runs batted in and .818 slugging percentage were among the Top Ten in the state of California in each offensive category.

Kyrstin matriculated to Dickinson State University in Dickinson, North Dakota.  After sitting out the 2008 season due to an injury, she played for the Hawks in 2009 as a junior where she was primarily the team’s Designated Player (DP).  During the ’09 campaign, Kyrstin played in 38 games (30 starts) with a .475 batting average, four doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 38 runs batted in, and a slugging percentage of .925.

Photo from 3/17/2009 (Trinity Christian College @ DSU - Trinity 1, DSU 20).
Text was read at Grossmont College Jersey Retirement Ceremony, held 2/19/2010.

For more information about the loss of Kyrstin, Ashley, and Afton,
please read Teammates Lost Under the Stars by Elizabeth Merrill, ESPN.

Video of Kyrstin hitting a home run at Dickinson State University.