FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2004

OLMPIC VENUE HOSTS ITS FIRST EVENT NEXT WEEK
Czech Republic, Great Britain, Greece, & Russia
to Play 5-Day Tourney In Athens Facility

The brand new stadium in Athens, Greece that will host the softball competition at the Olympic Games in August will get its first use starting Wednesday (March 24) as the Test Event is held over a five-day period. Four teams will take part in the competition, which runs through and including Sunday, March 28.

“We’re excited to see the culmination of long hours and hard work pay off with this event, which will christen what might be considered the best of the three venues that Olympic softball will have been played in, following the competition later this summer,” said International Softball Federation (ISF) President Don Porter. “I’ve been to the site a number of times throughout the building process, including as recently as just a few weeks ago, and I’m confident that all who play, coach, umpire, report from, and spectate there will view it as world-class.”

Providing the opportunity to test the venue facilities and technology to be used in the Games in August, as well as the grounds and other workings of the venue, the event is free and open to the public, giving Athenians an opportunity for a sneak peak at their Olympic team.

“We’ve been working extremely hard to get ready for August,” said Linda Wells, Head Coach of the Greek team. “It will certainly be exciting to have this opportunity to show the fans and media in Athens the progress our team has made on the field. We can only benefit from the opportunity to play on the same field that we’ll be competing on in the Olympic competition.”

For fellow participants Czech Republic, Great Britain, and Russia, the event provides an opportunity to measure themselves against an Olympic-caliber team. The Czech Republic and Russia competed at the 2002 ISF Women’s World Championship and Great Britain played those two and six others at last summer’s European Championships. While the event might be a test for the venue, the anticipated level of play means that the participants are also sure to be tested.

Media members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

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