WORLD TOUR AT AIPS CONGRESS IN MILAN
ISF President: “The AIPS Congress is a great opportunity to promote the BackSoftball messages”
Milan, Italy; 29th April 2009: The International Softball Federation (ISF) is continuing its global mission to convince the International Olympic Committee of the compelling case for softball to return to the Olympic Programme by attending the 72nd International Sports Press Association (AIPS) Congress in Milan this week.
ISF Director of Communications Bruce Wawrzyniak will be telling AIPS delegates about the huge progress softball has made in promoting and developing softball across the world, particularly in third world countries such as Gambia, where an African Softball Forum was recently held, and the Middle East, where softball is becoming increasingly popular among Muslim women who are not otherwise permitted to play team sports.
He will also be talking to delegates about the ISF’s commitment to the youth of the world, using softball as a transformational tool to build communities and promote peace and development; and its exemplary record of no positive doping tests in women’s international softball.
This is the fourth time AIPS member Mr. Wawrzyniak has attended their Congress and he will also work to build stronger links with the organization on behalf of the ISF during his time here this week.
ISF President Don Porter said, “AIPS is a hugely important organization at the heart of the Olympic and international sports movements and we have a great relationship with them and their members. Attending this Congress once again will give us a great opportunity to promote the BackSoftball message and underline why softball deserves to return to the Olympics in 2016.”
This summer's ISF XII Men's World Championship accreditation application specifically includes a slot for AIPS members and last year the ISF used the AIPS Congress in Beijing to launch the BackSoftball Progress Report.
BackSoftball Athlete Ambassadors Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza – both two-time Olympic softball medalists – also recently met outgoing AIPS 1st Vice President Carlos Garcia at the SportAccord conference in Denver, USA.
The 72nd AIPS Congress, hosted in the Milan Marriott Hotel, is expecting to attract more than 350 sports journalists from the 116 nations who have registered. The attendance of members of the Olympic and Paralympic Family is anticipated as well.
Softball was first featured in the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 and last year’s competition in Beijing was very successful with a total attendance close to 180,000 and a continuation of the sport’s excellent record of no positive doping tests in women’s international softball since testing began in 1982.
A final decision on which sports will be added to the current roster of 26 at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be made at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen in October this year.
Further information is available in the OTHER DOCUMENTS section of www.BackSoftball.com.
For more information please contact David Alexander at David.Alexander@Calacus.com, +44 7802 412424.