FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 04, 2003

ISF ADDS SEVENTH MANUFACTURER TO
BAT CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
Partnership Serves Bats Permitted At Competitions
As Well As Equipment Donation Program

DeMarini is the newest manufacturer participating in the International Softball Federation’s (ISF) bat certification program, it was announced today. The program is the only way for a company’s bats to be allowed to be used in ISF competitions.

After bats pass ISF-required lab testing, participating manufacturers submit the results to the ISF to be added to the lists of approved models. In exchange for the opportunity to have their bats used at ISF events, the manufacturers compensate the ISF with the former’s choice of cash or value-in-kind. In the case of the latter, equipment provided by the manufacturer to the ISF is used for the world governing body’s development department’s equipment distribution program, which provides softball equipment to countries in various stages of developing the sport, in turn giving the company an opportunity to gain exposure globally for its equipment. The ISF commits close to half of its annual budget to development and has provided close to 650 thousand dollars worth of softball equipment globally over the last year and a half.

“This is a very important area to us,” said ISF President Don Porter. “We appreciate companies like DeMarini getting the testing done to meet the requirements to allow our athletes to use top-level equipment in our competitions, as well as their providing us with the equipment that helps us continue our development efforts, which are at the core of our continued goal of growing the sport around the world.”

The ISF’s Playing Rules Commission adopted bat certification standards effective January 1, 2002, setting 1.20 BPF (Bat Performance Factor) as the maximum allowed for all bats used in ISF World Championships, World Cups, and the Olympic Games. Also included are the qualifying tournaments for both the World Championships and the Olympics. Bat testing analyzes, but is not limited to, weight, rotation point, center of mass, center of percussion, moment of inertia, barrel wall thickness, coefficient of restitution, average BPF, and BPF.

Approved bats and the company logos of the participating manufacturers get listed on www.internationalsoftball.com for athletes, coaches, and umpires preparing to go to an ISF competition to consult, to ensure that they’ll know what can be used at the event, and what cannot. Players who bring a bat to an ISF competition that is not on the approved list will have their bat(s) taken away until the conclusion of the event. The list of manufacturers and their bats can be found at www.internationalsoftball.com.

The ISF’s equipment efforts are also aided by individuals, colleges, universities, teams from various levels, and softball programs that send used equipment for the development department’s allocation to countries around the world. Both the list of donors to-date and information on the used equipment program are on www.internationalsoftball.com.

DeMarini is part of Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods Co.

The International Softball Federation is the world governing body of the sport as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). Softball (women's fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. There are 124 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of participants in the sport worldwide.

For more information, please contact ISF Director of Communications Bruce Wawrzyniak at brucew@internationalsoftball.com or (813) 864-0100, ext. 229.