USA: SOFTBALL / OLYMPICS - The International Olympic Committee has voted softball off its program for the 2012 games

Record ID: 335078

  • Title: USA: SOFTBALL / OLYMPICS - The International Olympic Committee has voted softball off its program for the 2012 games
  • Date: 2nd March 2008
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 29, 2008) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DONNA DE VARONA, ISF SPOKESPERSON, SAYING: "Since it was added to the Olympic calendar in 1996, two million new players have come on board, and that's the strength of being part of the superbowl right now. To stop it, to give it a death sentence now, I think it's a mistake and if what we
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA2ZVAUS3NHGGYIL8WVMY3TDAFC
  • Story Text: A new initiative by the International Softball Federation (ISF) aims to get the women's sport reinstated into the Olympic games.
    Called BackSoftball, the group hopes to get softball on the agenda by the 2016 games.
    Softball was first played in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but less than 10 years later in 2005 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted the sport off the program for the 2012 games by a 52-52 vote. Softball needed a majority vote to stay.
    Spokesperson for BackSoftball and former Olympic medalist, Donna De Varona said that two million women worldwide have joined professional softball teams since its Olympic debut, a testament, she said, that it should be an Olympic sport.

    "To stop it, to give it a death sentence now, I think it's a mistake and if what we're doing demonstrates to the IOC that this sport is here to stay and it's still growing despite the fact that we're not going to be in the games in 2012, I think they'll respond to that because so many members on the IOC are athletes that would like to embrace the sport and say, 'well you've met the criteria, we're going to help you," said De Varona.
    Reasons for softball's cut from the Olympics are varied, but many critics say it is because the sport is American-dominated and tends to get categorized as "women's baseball.".
    In the three Olympics since softball joined the Olympic program, the United States has won every gold medal, while China, Japan and Australia have been the other teams in the semi-finals each time. These statistics likely hurt softball's chance at the games, IOC President Jacques Rogge has sought to weed out sports that garner little international coverage or that have a limited global competitive balance.
    But De Varona said that the sport is growing everyday, citing leagues in the Middle East and Europe, and she said more importantly, softball gives an increased chance for women to be in the Olympics.

    "There was a mandate adopted by all the IOC members saying, we want equity in the Olympic movement. We want to have as many sports for women and disciplines as for men. This is part of the IOC mandate to include women and the fact that this sport has taken hold, when you mandate something from the top, whether it's internationally, or in the United States by Title Nine, which mandated more sports for women, you're going to see growth," said De Varona.
    For now, the ISF and BackSoftball are focusing on making softball a highlight of this year's games in Beijing. They're hoping that with the spotlight on their power-swinging women, the IOC will have a change of heart and allow softballers to come out swinging in 2016.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register