FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2004

ANDERSON BAT COMPANY JOINS
ISF BAT CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
Manufacturer Is Ninth Participating Company

Anderson Bat Company is the International Softball Federation’s (ISF) newest partner in the world governing body’s bat certification program. The Placentia, California-based company joins eight other manufacturers in a collaboration with the ISF that is the only way to have their bats allowed to be used in competitions such as the Olympics, world championships, world cups, and qualifying tournaments, among others.

The agreement requires Anderson Bat Company – like the other participating manufacturers – to have their bats laboratory-tested first before being submitted to the ISF, to show that they meet with the current bat standard, set by the Playing Rules Commission. Those bats that pass testing are then listed on the Equipment Standards page on the ISF website (www.internationalsoftball.com) and from that point on, allowed to be used in the various worldwide competitions.

Anderson Bat Company will be providing softball equipment to be used for worldwide distribution as part of the ISF development department’s ongoing efforts to grow the game in areas where the sport is still in the building stage. Along with the use of their bats in the various tournaments, the equipment VIK (value-in-kind) provision also gives Anderson – like the others currently participating – an opportunity for global exposure for their brand.

The ISF commits approximately one-third of its annual budget to development and has provided over (USD)760 thousand dollars worth of softball equipment globally over the last two years.

“We are ecstatic about our partnership with ISF and look forward to building future relations with ISF,” said Ed McIntosh, Anderson Bat Company Director of Sales and Marketing. “We appreciate the opportunity that this relationship offers us.”

The above-mentioned page on the ISF website, which also bears the company logos of the participating manufacturers, gives athletes, coaches, and umpires preparing to go to an ISF competition a resource to consult, to ensure that they’ll know what can (and cannot) be used at the event they’re headed to. Players who bring a bat to an ISF competition that is not on the approved list – meaning a successful test result has not been submitted for it or it’s made by a manufacturer that does not participate in the ISF’s bat certification program – will have their bat(s) taken away until the conclusion of the event.

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