1 April 2010

FORMER 1ST VP HONORED
Clovis Lodewijks, who retired as International Softball Federation 1st Vice President at the XXIV Congress last October in Venezuela, was presented with the ISF Medal of Honor this past weekend. ISF President Don Porter bestowed the honor on Mr. Lodewijks at a ceremony in his home country (Netherlands Antilles). The event had a tremendous turnout made up of family, friends, and government & sports officials, including the prime minister, governor, minister of sport, and National Olympic Committee president. National softball federation presidents from Aruba (Mr. Karel Williams), Panama (Mr. Melitón Sánchez), Puerto Rico (Mr. Carlos Lopez), and Venezuela (Mr. Jesús Suniaga) were all on-hand as well. There was also a large number of letters and emails from colleagues of Mr. Lodewijks. Prior to the ISF Congress late last year, the Medal of Honor had only been given to ten recipients since its debut in 1990.

Joining family members with Mr. Lodewijks (seated) this past weekend were Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister Mrs. Emily de Jongh-Elhage (left end), ISF President Don Porter (white shirt, red tie), and Netherlands Antilles Governor Mr. Frits Goedgedrag (next to Mr. Porter).

VENEZUELA WINS SA GAMES SOFTBALL
Before a full stadium and a national TV audience, Venezuela defeated Colombia in the gold medal game of the softball competition at the IX South American Games. Held in Medellin, Colombia, the multi-sport event featured women’s fast pitch softball, which saw Argentina take home the bronze medals. Peru finished fourth at the competition that wrapped up late last week.

The official event website is www.medellin2010.org.

One week from today the 9th Central American Games begin, with both men’s and women’s softball taking place in Panama.

Large crowds watched the South American Games softball competition, as seen in the photo above of a Colombia vs. Argentina game.

THAILAND HOSTED YOUTH EVENT
The Amateur Softball Association of Thailand staged their annual Youth Softball Championship in Bangkok. The fast pitch tournament featured over 30 teams. Made up of (age) girls under 19, girls under 16, boys under 19, and boys under 16, the event had teams participating from clubs, universities, and schools around the country. The 2010 Thailand Softball League is now underway and will continue on the weekends through June. The league has 16 men’s team in the major division, seven in the minor division, and eight teams in the female division.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MASCOT NAMED
The organizing committee for the ISF XII Women’s World Championship has unveiled the mascot, Sofi, for the June 23-July 2 tournament. Shown below, the cat is wearing a shirt that says Caracas 2010, in reference to the Venezuelan host city where the tournament will take place, beginning 83 days from now. Sixteen countries will compete in the event. The game schedule was released last Friday and can be found in the March 26 press release in the Communications section of www.ISFsoftball.org.