Softball - Olympic exclusion was wake-up call for sport 12/06/2009 |
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Softball's surprise Olympic Games exclusion in 2005 was a major wake-up call that forced the sport to change and fight to come back, its international federation chief said on Thursday.
Softball is one of seven sports seeking inclusion for the 2016 Olympics, together with karate, squash, golf, baseball, rugby and rollersports, after it joined baseball in 2005 as the first sports to be taken off the programme since 1936.
Softball and baseball will not feature in the 2012 London Olympics.
"This was a wake-up call for us," Don Porter told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the sport's presentation to the International Olympic Committee next week.
"It meant we had to work harder and I believe we have done what the IOC has demanded from us," Porter said.
Porter said the federation had since 2005 modified the sport to make it more attractive to fans and television.
The changes include a 20-second clock on the pitcher and a rule change on intentional walks to speed up play.
The ISF also distributed $3 million worth of playing equipment to 70 countries, including in Africa and the Middle East where the sport is not widely played, and signed up honorary IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch in their Back Softball campaign.
The sport has also never been tainted by doping, Porter said. The IOC will vote on the inclusion of a maximum two new sports in October.
GUARDED OPTIMISM
"I am guardedly optimistic," Porter said of the vote. "I want to be optimistic but we are guarded because we know we have to do everything possible to convince all IOC members. But we feel we have done all that the IOC wanted us to do since 2005."
Olympic exclusion for a smaller sport could spell financial disaster with the loss of millions of IOC and sponsorship funds as well as global media exposure.
Softball ceased being on the Olympic programme after its final appearance in last year's Beijing Games, getting a taste of what it means to be off the Olympic radar in the past 10 months.
"Globally, being an Olympic sport adds credibility and exposure and that gives you opportunities to expand, make in-roads to countries where it is not being played, acquiring sponsorship," Porter said.
"The loss of financial support is a problem but the important thing is the Olympics give our sport recognition," he said.
(Source: Reuters)
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