FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2002

SOFTBALL CONFIDENT IN ITS PLACE IN THE OLYMPICS
Worldwide Visibility and Continued Growth
Keeps Sport Ranked High

Don Porter, President of the International Softball Federation (ISF), commented today on the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Program Commission's recommendation to drop three sports from the 2008 Olympic program in Beijing, including softball. The Federation, the international governing body for the sport, also provided an analysis to complement those remarks, in testimony to the sport's place in the Olympics.

"It's important to realize that this is only a recommendation, not a conclusion," Mr. Porter said. "We intend to continue our ongoing efforts to promote our sport and all its successes around the world so that everyone - the voting IOC members included - will see that our information shows this recommendation to be an uninformed one. I certainly question the train of thought behind taking out a women's sport, which is what the IOC has supported."

At least half of the ISF umpires are female; 37% of the ISF's member federations have a female President and/or Secretary General; and 120 women play softball in the Olympics. Mr. Porter also boasts of the ISF's Anti-Doping Program, pointing out that since the inception of softball in international and Olympic competition, the sport has not had one positive test.

Mr. Porter added that, "We are obviously disappointed by this news. At the same time, we overcame not even being in the Olympics, so I'm certainly convinced that we'll maintain that place for 2008 and beyond by attacking this challenge head-on. Contrary to what attempts to eliminate sports from the Olympics would imply, we are not at the bottom of any lists that would support such an action. One need only look at the numbers and the facts and there will be no doubt that we're a solid Olympic sport."

Softball ranked in the top ten in attendance out of the 28 sports at the 2000 Olympics, with a total that was just over 50% more than the sellout crowds attracted at softball's Olympic debut in 1996. Furthermore, the television exposure given to the sport at the Games in Sydney ranked in the top 15 of the 28 sports. And, in between the '96 and '00 Games, the ISF had TV coverage of a marquee event, the IX Women's World Championship in 1998 in Japan, whose previous occurrence (1994) had been broadcast to more than 38 million people.

The ISF ranks in the top half of the summer international federations in terms of membership (number of national federations) with 124.

Presently, close to six million athletes play softball. The ISF organizes and conducts - among numerous other competitions - world championships in women's, men's, junior women's, and junior men's play, and softball is on the program of more than a dozen multi-sport games. The recently concluded ISF X Women's World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada) is considered the Federation's best to-date. Sixteen countries participated and over 50,000 fans attended. The magnitude of the event was also seen in the 100 media credentials issued and 600-plus volunteers. Traffic to the ISF website tripled during the event, compared to the weeks prior.

Mr. Porter pointed out the Federation's commitment to growing the sport worldwide, indicating that approximately half of the ISF's annual budget goes toward development. The ISF distributes softball equipment - with a total value of over 200,000 U.S. dollars - annually to develop the sport. He also mentioned the ISF's current efforts in helping the Hellenic Amateur Softball Federation develop a team for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

The softball community worldwide is being asked to voice their displeasure with the Program Commission's recommendation, via the IOC website. From www.olympic.org, fans, players, coaches, umpires, and all of those connected to the sport can click on Public Suggestions and complete the electronic forms that will allow them to register their support of softball in the Summer Games.

In addition to the IOC, the International Softball Federation, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2002, is also recognized by the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

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