Who We Are & Why We Play

The Burderop Bombers consist of players based at Burderop Park, Wroughton, as well as family and friends. The Bombers continued focus is to turn players into teammates, on and off the pitch. The team is persistent in character, with a proud history of bringing players brand new to softball into the league.

Our History

The Bombers began life as Halcrow Havoc in the early years of the Swindon Softball League. The Havoc were based at Burderop Park (as the Bombers are to this day), which at the time was the headquarters of engineering consultancy Halcrow Group Ltd. The original team primarily consisted of players employed by Halcrow, but with a notable increase in players from outside the company, the team was renamed The Burderop Bears in 2009. The Bears had a series of successful years at a time when the Swindon League had expanded to its largest size since its start-up.

As a result of local companies struggling to retain staff, the league saw a drop in both players and teams, in the 2011 and 2012 Seasons; the Bears being no exception. In 2011 the Bears joined with the National Trust Sonics to form a combined team that lasted for two seasons. This team (competing as the Sonics) achieved success, finishing league runners-up in 2012. Following a further demise in player numbers, the remaining Sonics and Bears joined the enduring Dodgers for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. A large influx of new players based at Burderop Park saw the Dodgers’ roster grow significantly through these two seasons, leading to a logical split and the rebirth of the Burderop Team, as The Bombers, in 2015. The Bombers rode a wave of momentum in 2015 that took them to the Final Game of the season and second place in the league table. The team has remained largely unchanged ever since and continues to bring new players to the League and softball in general. So much so that the Bombers were able to support the creation of a new team, the Swindon Spitfires for the 2019 Season.

What The Future Holds

We’re having to take a break as the Bombers in 2021. Due to circumstances around the Covid-19 pandemic, we don’t have enough players to field a team. So as we have done in the past, we are merging with the Dodgers to form the Bodgers. Our plan is for this to be a one-season arrangement and to be back on the field as the Bombers in 2022.

League Honours:

🥈 Runners-up: 2012 (as Sonics), 2015