FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 July 2002

IT ALL STARTS TOMORROW

This is the last in a series of eight releases leading up to the International Softball Federation's X Women's World Championship, to be played July 26 - August 4 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, from which four teams will qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Today's feature looks at the opening of the event. (All previous releases in this series of eight can be viewed from the Press Releases page on the ISF's official website.)

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN (CANADA) - Everywhere you turn, it's softball. The city is buzzing here in the Western part of Central Canada and the hotels are all filled as play gets set to begin tomorrow in the ISF X Women's World Championship.

This morning began with the Technical Meeting, attended by ISF officers and staff, members of the host organizing committee, heads of delegations, coaches, umpires, and special guests. Among the many activities included in the approximately 90-minute session were: finalization of rosters, remarks by the Technical and Protest Commission Chairperson, a review of the Opening Ceremonies, and the coin toss (to determine choice of innings and dugout).

The Opening Ceremonies tomorrow begin at 5:45 p.m. at Bob Van Impe Stadium. The festivities commence with the Parade of Participants. Leading this will be the Canadian, Saskatchewan, and Olympic flags. Those will be carried by three ISF Hall of Famers who are all from Saskatoon, Eugene McWillie, Ed Bitz, and Bob Van Impe. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police - dressed in their red serges - will then follow. A Saskatoon Police Pipe and Drum Band will then be introduced. Next in the procession will be the teams and umpiring crew, the former led by flags and team signs carried by batgirls. Certain dignitaries will then be brought out such as ISF President Don Porter, Mike Chambers from the Canadian Olympic Association, Caroline Jones from the Provincial Government, and Softball Canada President Kevin Quinn. After the Canadian national anthem and words of welcome, the host committee will be introduced, followed by the athletes oath, and the opening pitch, which will include a representative from event title sponsor Co-op and Softball Saskatoon President Dwight Marschessault. The ceremonies are expected to take approximately 45 minutes. By then though, we will already be six games into the action.

Play gets underway tomorrow with a 10:00 a.m. tilt between the Netherlands Antilles and the Czech Republic at Gordon Howe Park, and pauses for the Opening Ceremonies following the 3:00 United States vs. Italy matchup in Bob Van Impe Stadium. The full schedule of games can be found on the internet by clicking Schedule at the top of the screen on any page at www.2002womensworldsoftball.com.

Some of these teams will be getting right back into action after having just concluded play this past weekend in the 9th Canada Cup in British Columbia. That tune-up opportunity was preceded by one in Honolulu, Hawaii earlier this month, the U.S. Cup. The U.S. team won both events.

The International Softball Federation, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2002, is the governing body of softball internationally as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). The ISF organizes and conducts world championship competition in women's and men's fast pitch, junior women's and men's fast pitch, women's, men's, and coed slow pitch, and women's and men's modified pitch. Softball (women's fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. There are 125 affiliated countries in the ISF and over 40 million 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.