CARIBBEAN SOFTBALL CHIEF URGES OLYMPIC MOVEMENT TO SHARE ISF VISION
Carlos Lopez – “It is vital that softball’s positive momentum continues
– and that Olympic competition remains the pinnacle”
Plant City, Florida (USA); 9th June 2009: CONCACAS President Carlos Lopez believes softball’s Olympic status would help continue the positive momentum the sport has established to provide sporting opportunities both in his region and all across the world.
Also the president of the Puerto Rico Softball Federation, Mr. Lopez believes that the profile of Olympic competition will further boost softball’s initiatives to provide coaching and equipment in areas where funds are short.
The Central American & Caribbean Softball Confederation (CONCACAS) leader said, “It is vital that softball’s positive momentum continues – and Olympic status is an important element of that. The International Softball Federation has made a huge investment in this region, determined to help us use the sport as a tool for good and provide opportunities for groups who may not otherwise play sports. It fits in with Olympic values, and the Olympic competition has been the pinnacle for softball players throughout the world.
“Softball has become an integral part of Caribbean culture because it’s simple to learn and doesn’t cost much to play. Maintaining the sport’s progress would be boosted significantly by regaining Olympic Programme status that provided such a range of benefits from 1996 to 2008.
“There is tremendous excitement about the Youth World Cup in Prague in two months’ time, where we are hopeful our team will be a medal contender. The range of competing nations in the Czech Republic and the impact softball has had in the Caribbean underlines how vital the sport is to the people in this region.”
Puerto Rico is preparing for the ISF XII Men's World Championship too, which will also include Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Great Britain, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, reigning champions New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, USA and Venezuela. That tournament takes place July 17-26 in Saskatchewan, Canada.
In addition to Puerto Rico’s team at the 12-nation Youth World Cup in the Czech Republic, another participant will be the Dominican Republic, which hosts one of the ISF’s regional training centers, promoting the accessibility and virtues of softball to a wide range of audiences across the region. Fellow CONCACAS member Venezuela will take part in the August event in Europe as well.
Softball is particularly popular in the Caribbean among young people, where it is used as a way of promoting understanding and averting tension in built-up areas.
The sport’s profile in that region was also increased recently when Mr. Lopez’s colleague, CONCACAS vice president Roberto Espinoza, was elected third vice president of the National Olympic Committee of Nicaragua.
On-field, the Bahamas is currently organizing the English-speaking Caribbean Association Softball Tournament which will take place November 9-12 in Nassau.
And, the U.S. Virgin Islands recently played host to a men’s fast pitch softball tournament that Canada and Team USA used as a tune-up for next month’s ISF championship.
Softball was first featured in the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 and last year’s competition in Beijing was hugely successful with a total attendance close to 180,000 and a continuation of the sport’s excellent record of no positive doping tests at any of the Olympics since the sport’s debut on the world’s stage 12 years earlier.
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 ISF Director of Communications Bruce Wawrzyniak at brucew@internationalsoftball.com, +1 813 864 0100 or +1 813 453 8762 or David Alexander at David.Alexander@Calacus.com, +44 7802 412424