FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2003

OLYMPIC SOFTBALL GAME SCHEDULE REVEALED
Sport Moves Toward Its Third Appearance in the Games of the Olympiad

ATHENS, GREECE – The game schedule for the eight qualified teams that will play at the Olympic Games next August was announced by International Softball Federation (ISF) President Don Porter at a press conference here today, just under 11 months prior to the 2004 Games. Softball is the first team sport for Athens to have announced their competition schedule.

The competition goes from August 14-23, with play opening that first day with a 9:30 a.m. game between 2000 Olympic silver medallist Japan and 2000 & 1996 bronze medallist Australia. There will be 28 games in the round robin portion of the competition, the last one being Japan vs. China at 7:30 p.m. (local time) on Friday the 20th. The semi-final games and the bronze medal game will be played on Sunday the 22nd with the gold medal game and medal ceremony the next day.

Of note on the schedule is the host country, Greece, making their Olympic softball debut in the final contest of Day 1, when they face China. A number of the Greek National Team athletes were in attendance at today’s press conference, as was Linda Wells, Head Coach of the Greek softball team.

The significance of the United States vs. Japan game at 12 Noon on Wednesday the 16th is the rematch between the two teams that played in the gold medal game in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. When Canada takes on Chinese Taipei on Day 1, it will mark the latter team’s first Olympic softball game since the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). The full schedule accompanies this release.

All games will be played at the stadium where construction continues at the sports complex at the old airport of Hellenikon. “The progress to-date has put the venue at about 80% complete,” said the ISF President, who, along with Secretary General Andrew Loechner, was, “very pleased with the progress, and the image and stature of the venue.”

Detailed information on purchasing tickets for the 2004 Olympic softball competition can be found on http://www.tickets.athens2004.com/en. More on the 2004 Olympic softball competition is available at http://www.internationalsoftball.com.

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.