FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2003

NEW DATES CONFIRMED FOR OCTOBER EVENTS IN CHINA

Dates for the VII Jr. Women’s World Championship (19-and-under) were finalized today as October 12-20, and the XXI International Softball Federation (ISF) Congress was set for the 21st-25th. ISF President Don Porter made the announcement about the new dates for both events, which will take place in Nanjing, China.

“After discussions with the Chinese Softball Association, the organizing committee, and within the ISF, these dates have now been finalized,” Porter said, referring to the fact that this is the third set of dates for the events, after the original dates had been changed due to the outbreak of the SARS virus. From August 12-17, Mr. Porter will meet with Chinese officials in Nanjing and Beijing, including Chinese Olympic Committee and Beijing 2008 officials.

Porter noted that all of the teams previously entered will participate, with the exception of the Czech Republic and Italy. However, he stated that Kenya will fill one of those spots, giving Africa representation in the event and Kenya its first appearance in this particular ISF event.

Mr. Porter added that, “Several other teams have expressed an interest in participating as well, but the ISF has not made a decision on that as of yet.” He noted, however, that ISF Code caps the number of teams that can participate in a World Championship at 16, meaning only two more could be added if the decision was made to put anyone else in.

The Jr. Women’s World Championship, a 19-and-under fast pitch competition, will be held at the stadium on the just completed Pukou Campus of Nanjing University of Technology. Participating teams include: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. Japan is the defending world champion. The Congress brings together representatives from the ISF and all of its member federations/associations, representing 124 countries.

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.