esf newsletter 2009, oct

OCTOBER2009

ESF - EUROPEAN SOFTBALL FEDERATION - 11rue de Larchant - 77760 Recloses - France

Public Relations: Michael Schmidt - e-mail: [email protected] - www.europeansoftball.org

Highlights of the XXIV ISF Congress The XXIV ISF Congress took place from October 22nd until

October 25th in Petro Gonzales, Margarita Island, Venezuela. Up to

19 European federations were represented. Among other issues,

the following were discussed:

A new ISF logo and website coming soon•A new constitution that took effect immediately•Election of regional vice Presidents by each regional confedera-•tion. Elected for Europe were Mr. Andre van Overbeek (NED) and

Mr. Ami Baran (ISR).

Changes to the playing rules. Outstanding change to rule 34 •regarding pitching.

Hall of Fame: European elected in the category of “Administra-•tor” was Mr. Slava Smagin (RUS).

REMINDER Deadline for presentation of motions for

Congress: Nov. 6th, 2009

The Deadline for presentation of motions for the next ESF

Congress, 5 - 7 February in Antalya, Turkey is November 6th,

2009. According to article 3.2 of the ESF Statutes, “... proposals ...

must be received ... by the Secretary General of the ESF at least

90 days prior to the date of the Annual General Congress.”

You can access important information related to the submission of

proposals of changes to the statutes, motions and other matters

by visiting the calendar event.

Entry Forms for 2010 Competitions DEADLINE: Jan. 1st, 2010

The Official Forms to enter 2010 competitions have been

released. The deadline for sumbission of these forms to the ESF

Secretary General is January 1st, 2010. The forms you will find at:

http://www.europeansoftball.org/node/151

If your federation would like to publish information on tournaments,

clinics, etc. in this newsletter please send your information and pic-

tures to Michael Schmidt at: [email protected]

Highlights of the XXIV ISF Congress

Golf and Rugby to Join 2016 Olympic Programme

A History of Softball in Spain

Mannheim Tornadoes Win German Championship

First Slowpitch Softball League for Malta

Invitiation Guiness World Record Softball Marathon

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NEWSLETTER

IN THE ISSUE

EUROPEANSOFTBALLFEDERATION

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Early in October, at the International Olympic Committee

(IOC) Session in Copenhagen, the sports of golf and rugby

sevens were confirmed for inclusion in the programme of the

2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“Both golf and rugby are very popular sports with global ap-

peal and a strong ethic,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge.

“They will be great additions to the Games.”

Golf was played at the Olympic Games in 1900 in Paris and

1904 in St Louis, while rugby was part of the Olympic pro-

gramme on four occasions be-

tween 1900 and 1924.

Softball and baseball had been

two of the seven sports being

considered for the 2016 Games to

fill the gap left when the sports

were dropped for London 2012

but not replaced. However, in

August 2009, the International

Olympic Committee Executive

Board announced that it was

recommending golf and rugby as

the two sports to be added to the

programme for 2016. So these

were the only sports voted on –

Yes or No – at the full IOC Session in Copenhagen.

There was some unease in Copenhagen that the chance to

choose two out of seven sports had effectively been hijacked

by the IOC Executive recommending golf and rugby in ad-

vance of the Session. Both the International Softball Federa-

tion (ISF) and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF)

sent delegations to Copenhagen in the faint hope of exploit-

ing that unease and getting the other five sports back on the

table. But that was never going to happen. Golf and rugby

were the richest of the seven sports on offer, and had the

international stars, such as golf’s Tiger Woods, that the other

five sports lacked.

It is widely predicted that the Olympic programme, now re-

stored to 28 sports for Rio de Janeiro in 2016, is unlikely to

change in the foreseeable future. The IOC has not enjoyed

the turmoil of campaigning by candidate sports over the past

four years, so while disciplines within some Olympic sports

may come and go from one Olympics to the next, the 26

Olympic “core sports” plus golf and rugby are likely to remain

fixed for some time to come.

So despite brave words about carrying on the fight for

2020, the truth is that both baseball and softball face a non-

Olympic future. What will that future hold?

As retiring IBAF President Dr Harvey Schiller pointed out

in a letter to member federations after the final decision in

Copenhagen, baseball is not as dependent on the Olympics

as some other sports. He meant softball, which had turned

down an offer from the IBAF back in March 2009 to become

one sport with male and female disciplines for purposes of

Olympic reinstatement.

And Dr Schiller is right. Baseball is driven globally by the

multi-billion dollar engine that is Major League Baseball,

even if not many of those dollars trickle down directly to

small and struggling national baseball federations. For the

leading baseball countries, there is a

more than satisfactory replacement

for Olympic competition in both

the IBAF World Cup and MLB’s

World Baseball Classic. And for

players from around the world,

the aspiration of playing base-

ball at the highest level remains

a possibility in the increasingly

cosmopolitan Major Leagues in the

United States.

For softball, the outlook is less op-

timistic. The International Softball

Federation was a small organisa-

tion with minimal income before

the sport joined the Olympic programme in 1996, and the

growth of softball since then in both structural and develop-

ment terms around the world has been based on Olympic

dollars.

The ISF will have received about $8 million from the IOC

after the Beijing Olympics, but there will be no more cheques

to follow, and some of that money will have been spent on

the BackSoftball campaign that failed to restore the sport’s

Olympic status.

So the ISF’s generous support for softball development

around the world over the past two decades will now be

severely curtailed, and most national softball federations are

already seeing sharp reductions in external funding from their

governments and sporting agencies as a non-Olympic sport.

Slowpitch softball in those countries where the format is played

has never had much external funding or international profile,

and will be little affected by the Olympic decision. Women’s

fastpitch softball in the United States, based almost entirely

on college programmes where equal funding with male sports

is mandatory, will continue to prosper, as will women’s fast-

pitch in Japan, where there is a strong professional league.

Almost everywhere else, the sport is going to struggle,

and much will depend on how the ISF and the ESF can

adapt to the new situation and secure support from other

sources. Bob Fromer

olympia

Golf and Rugby to Join 2016 Olympic Programme at the expense of Softball and Baseball

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spain

The first teams created in Spain in 1972-73

were the Halcones in Zaragoza and the Azul

in Barcelona. After them came more teams

in different municipalities: Democrática, In-

dependiente, Piratas, Manila, Sant Boi and

the Antorchas in Valencia.

The first women to play the game were

girlfriends of baseball players who decided

to get in on the action by creating softball

teams.

The first official game was played in Valencia

and the first official Spanish Softball Cham-

pionship was in October 1975. The winner

was El Democráticas, coached by Javier

Iriarte.

In the late 1970s, El Democráticas appeared

for the first time in Europe, playing in Parma,

and in 1979, the Spanish National Team was

created by Javier Iriarte. In September of

that year, they participated in the Women’s

European Championship in the Italian city of Roveretto.

Ten years later, the Spanish National Team, now trained by

Giuseppe Mastropasqua, came back to another European

Championship in Denmark and finished fifth and in 1994, Spain

finished fifth in Group A at the last Open Women’s World Cham-

pionship in Canada. Meanwhile, the Spanish League was found-

ed in 1992 with six teams.

A History of Softball in Spain

During the last few years, Cadette and Junior National Teams

have been created. This year, our Cadette team finished

third in the European Cadette Championships in the Netherlands,

demonstrating the excellent level of young Spanish players.

The Spanish Federation of Baseball and Softball was founded

in 1943. Eleven Autonomous Federations are now part of the

Spanish Federation, with softball represented in País Vas-

co, Navarra, Aragón, Cata-

lana, Valenciana, Murcia-

na, Andaluza, Madrileña,

Asturiana, Gallega and Ca-

naria. País Vasco, Valencia

and Madrileña have male and

female teams, Andalucia and

Canarias have only male teams

and Galicia only female teams.

In Spain, there are about 25

female softball teams and

more or less the same number

of men’s teams.

Autonomous Federations seek

to promote the game in various

ways, with the intention of

increasing the number of reg-

istered members. Softball is

introduced in schools through

demonstrations, videos and

manuals so that students can

get to know the sport.

Photo: Franco Bagattini - www.fastpitch.it

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On the weekend of September 19-20, the Brauweiler Raging Ab-

bots, Haar Disciples, Mannheim Tornados and Neunkirchen Night-

mares met in Ratingen to determine the 2009 German Women’s

League Champion.

Going into the tournament, it was hard to declare a clear-cut

favourite, especially with the format being so different from the

regular season. The long first day would test the depth of pitch-

ing staffs, but if you got hot on the second day after doing badly

in the opening round robin, winning the championship was still

within reach.

Day OneThe first day demonstrated how close the top of German softball

has become. The opening games pitted divisional rivals against

each other, and South Division champion Mannheim, behind the

pitching of Mona Hörner and Meredith Felts, was in control from

the start against the Haar Disciples. North Division champion

Brauweiler also prevailed against Neunkirchen behind the domi-

nant pitching of Anna Neuser. A five-run second inning in which

both the Nightmares’ defense and pitching momentarily lost its

composure was enough for the Raging Abbots to secure the win.

However, the first round losers got into the win column in the

second round of games. Solid defense was the difference in the

Disciples’ 5-3 victory over Brauweiler and shaky defense spotted

the Neunkirchen Nightmares an early five-run lead that the Torna-

dos could never erase.

So after two rounds, all four teams were tied with identical 1-1

records. Every team could still finish in first place and go directly to

the final – and every team could still finish fourth and be eliminated.

In the next round, Neunkirchen made quick work of the Disciples

Mannheim Tornadoes Win German Championship

in a 4-0 victory to ensure their place in the final. Meanwhile, the

Tornados spotted Brauweiler a four-run lead in the first inning on

walks and poor decision-making on defense but tied the game in

the fifth and put it away in the sixth inning.

With the win, the Tornados finished the first day in second place

and would have to face familiar foe Haar Disciples on Day Two for

the right to advance to the final.

Day TwoAt first, the Disciples kept the Tornados close and the game was

still deadlocked at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when the

Tornados’ offense exploded for nine runs, capped off by Brittany

Barnes’ three-run home run to deep left field.

So the Mannheim Tornados advanced to the final to take on the

Neunkirchen Nightmares, who had beaten them the previous day

and eliminated them the year before from the Final Four tourna-

ment, ending a string of fourteen consecutive appearances by the

Tornados.

Mannheim opened the scoring in

the top of the first inning when

Georgia Tech alumna Whitney Hum-

phreys issued a bases-loaded walk

to Friderike Meinck. The Tornados

steadily increased their lead, scoring

Simone Gunst on a wild pitch in the

third inning, adding two runs in the

fourth on an RBI single by Meredith

Felts and an RBI ground out by

Christine Bruckner and getting their

fifth run in the fifth inning when

Christina Lipp’s groundout scored

starting pitcher Mona Hörner.

Hörner dominated the Nightmares

through five innings, striking out

seven while only giving up two hits

and three walks. But she ran into

trouble in the sixth.

germany

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From Softball Caronno Wave, Italy:

This team is planning an attempt to break the existing Guinness

Longest Softball Game (Softball Marathon) record during the up-

coming year 2010.

The existing record (which is in the process of being filed with

The Guinness World Record organization) was obtained in 2009

in Wasketeau, Alberta (Canada), and is 115 hours and 3 min long.

Our goal is to play for 120 hours; the attempt to break the record

will take place at the softball field “Francesco Nespoli” of Caronno

Pertusella (VA) – Italy.

The game will start on June 1st 2010, at 20.00 and will finish on

June 6th 2010 at 20.00.

The game will be played by about 50 players, who will remain at

the softball field during the whole game. We will provide food,

Guiness World Record Softball Marathonbeverages, tents and other facilities (access to locker rooms and

showers) for all players. The Participants will receive all of these

accommodations free of charge. Transportation to and from the

field will be at their (players) expense.

The final decision for the attempt will be made by the end of

November 2009, depending on how many players sign up for the

event.

We are asking players from European countries, both male

and female, who might be interested in playing in “the long-

est softball game” to get their application form by e-mail at:

[email protected], fill it and return it to the same address.

Players will be chosen on first come, first served basis. Every

applicant will be notified whether he or she has been accepted or

not. Best regards, Giorgio Turconi, Softball Caronno Wave

A lead-off triple for the Nightmares by Arlene Quinn, followed

by a walk by her sister Breedge and an RBI single by Nina Possling,

ended Hörner’s shutout bid and the Mannheim coaching staff

replaced her with Meredith Felts, who proceeded to walk Whitney

Humphreys to load the bases. Suddenly the tying run was at the

plate with no outs. But Felts kept her cool and struck out the next

three Nightmare batters to end the threat. A quick one-two-three

inning in the seventh inning sealed the Tornados’ ninth National

Championship.

The two finalists also raked in the individual awards, with Arlene

Quinn collecting the Best Hitter Award with a batting average of

.500, Whitney Humphreys being recognized as the Best Pitcher of

the weekend with a 0.00 ERA and Mona Hörner deservedly being

awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy for her 1.79 ERA, her

tournament-high three wins (including the win in the final) and

a .455 batting average. Oliver Samstag, Germany

The first Slowpitch Softball National League in Malta started

play on October 11. The league has three teams that will play

a total of six games. The teams came together after a series of

promotional events and games organised by the Malta Baseball

& Softball Association over the summer.

Robert Mifsud, Director of Softball for the Malta Baseball & Soft-

ball Association, said: “This is a result of the hard work carried

out by the individual clubs to promote softball over the past few

months. While the plan is to continue with the slowpitch league

annually during October and November, other tournaments will

be held during the first half of each year.”

In the coming months, the clubs will also be promoting fastpitch

softball Mario Debono, Malta Baseball & Softball Association

First Slowpitch Softball League for Malta... Mannheim Tornadoes Win German Championship

invitation

esf newsletter 2009, oct

Documents

olympic games

esf congress

sports of golf

esf statutes

esf secretary general

rugby sevens

annual general congress

competitions deadline