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BackSoftball brings hope for Olympic future
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“If this was cricket, she would have been penalized,” my father protested as my parents and I watched USA and Japan play during the Olympic semifinals on Universal Sports. U.S. second baseman Lovieanne Jung was fouling off pitch after pitch and the stagnant play was irking my father. Both my parents are the antithesis of conventional ‘sports fans,’ but for some reason softball always peaks their interest. Unfortunately, this may have been the last time we will be able to watch these remarkable women play as Olympians. In 2005 softball was dropped from the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee by a single vote.
In a recent interview with International Softball Federation President, Don Porter, from ISF headquarters in Plant City, Florida, Porter claims softball’s evaluation report from the International Olympic Committee in 2005 was more positive than negative. Softball was in the middle of the 28 sports, but when a sport needs to be dropped criticisms surface. Some IOC members believe softball is dominated by the U.S., which is now invalid since Japan won the gold over the U.S in Beijing. Many IOC members don’t fully understand the game. “IOC members told me that they thought we were women’s baseball, which we are not. We are a totally separate sport with a separate international federation, but some IOC members weren’t aware and didn’t know,” states Porter. For whatever the reason, in October 2009 the IOC is voting to reinstate softball back onto the 2016 Olympic Program.
BackSoftball was launched by the ISF in June of 2007 to find ways to gain support. It includes a ten-point blueprint to develop the sport employing the standards the IOC uses to evaluate Olympic sports for the Olympic Program. BackSoftball is comprised of a number of individuals on the IOC and various National Olympic Committees, corporate business, media, governments, and athletes. “We have people serving on our Task Force who are working with us to help find ways and give input towards giving us favorable consideration next year when the IOC votes on the program.” It’s a matter of achieving certain goals which include increasing television exposure, increasing the number of youths in the sport of softball, providing equipment and coaching to various countries where it is needed, and increasing the number of dedications federations.
There are currently 131 national federations and the ISF is trying to increase the number to at least 150 by October 1st 2009. Developing softball in countries where the opportunities for females to play sports are limited is a major objective for the ISF. Many countries disapprove of women’s athletics, but softball is a sport to which these countries can adapt. Porter is looking to increase softball’s involvement in certain regions, especially in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. “We would like to develop softball more in Muslim countries and the Middle East. This past year we brought Jordan into the Federation. We are working right now in two or three Middle East countries including Afghanistan, Iran, and the Sudan in Africa.”
The proliferation of national federations has been a consequence of the ISF’s continual assistance, providing equipment, coaching and umpire instructors to various countries in need. The ISF has spent over 2 ½ million dollars in softball equipment in over 70 countries. “Many African countries have economic problems. That’s why we provide all the free equipment and all other support to develop in these African countries to help them get the sport started.” Every month the ISF sends coaches from the United States and various national federations worldwide to teach the game of softball. U.S. left fielder,Jessica Mendoza, and former Head Coach, Mike Candrea, trekked to London and Italy to teach clinics this past September. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association has been cooperative in becoming available for clinics.
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Olympic Softball garnered substantial exposure in Beijing with a little over 180,000 in attendance. According to BackSoftball's website, the attendance total through the first five-and-a-half days of play surpassed the grand total for the entire competition in Athens. The ISF is working on increasing media expsoure to other softball events, such as the Pan American Games and the World Cup, by expanding television coverage, whether it is only on the national or local level. “We have to work toward trying to find ways to get more attention because in certain regions of the world softball is not known at all.”
BackSoftball, through the ISF, is gaining more interest and recognition in various countries. This international initiative is establishing softball as a universal sport, and thus a deserved Olympic sport. For Porter, the ISF, and BackSoftball, it is a constant work in progress to expand and reinstate softball for the 2016 Olympic Games.
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