The ISF commemorated an anniversary in 2005. Above, a huge crowd watches an event in India in 1983.

YEAR IN REVIEW
2005-12-30

A look back at just some of the on- and off-field happenings in international softball in 2005:

The New Year was ushered in at the International Softball Federation’s (ISF) world headquarters in Plant City, Florida, with a visit from a top ranking International Olympic Committee (IOC) official. On JANUARY 17, Hein Verbruggen of the Netherlands came to the facility to meet with ISF President Don Porter and tour the complex. Just four days later, the ISF hosted four more international guests when the coach of the Colombia men’s national softball team and three players visited.

The month of FEBRUARY began with officials from the ISF attending the annual European Softball Federation (ESF) Congress in Prague. The meetings were attended by representatives from 26 national softball federations. The Czech Republic National Olympic Committee President attended the opening of the congress. Shortly thereafter came the 40th anniversary of the first-ever softball world championship. Women’s softball teams from Japan, New Guinea, New Zealand, USA, and the host country competed in Melbourne, Australia, from February 13-21, 1965.

Less than five months after the first World University Softball Championship, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) announced in MARCH that women’s fast pitch softball was being added to the programme of the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok. Speaking of the future, the ISF Long Range Strategic Planning Commission met at the world governing body’s facility in Plant City, Florida. That followed a session of the Administrative/Finance Commission. The Regional Umpires-In-Chief met at the ISF complex as well. The month was also highlighted by the first women’s softball championship in Iran, with 120 females participating.

APRIL began with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) awarding the women’s softball national championship to Plant City, after ISF Director of Competition Laurie Gouthro had presented a bid on behalf of the world governing body at the NJCAA’s 64th Annual Meeting. The event will take place in Plant City Stadium and the Randy L. Larson Softball Fourplex in May of 2006, 2007, & 2008. A couple weeks later, softball was represented at the SportAccord conference in Berlin. ISF President Don Porter, Secretary General Andy Loechner, ISF VP/Europe Mike Jennings, and softball athletes Joanna Bouziou (Greece) & María (Chiqui) Vázquez (Spain) were all on-hand for the annual event.

Mr. Porter and Mr. Loechner were both present in MAY at an African Summit that took place in Johannesburg and saw seven African ISF national federations attend. On the field, softball was active that month at the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia. The softball competition at the multisport event featured both men’s and women’s fast pitch play.

The more the year went on, the busier things became. In JUNE the International Sports Invitational took place in San Diego, California (USA), with softball being one of the sports played there. Half of the eight-team field from the 2004 Olympic Softball competition participated (Australia, Canada, China, and USA). The 13th of the month was World Softball Day. Celebrated worldwide, the occasion coincided with the date (in 1991) when the announcement was made that (women’s) softball was being added to the programme of the Olympic Games (effective with the 1996 Games in Atlanta). World Softball Day saw a wide range of activities that put the sport in the spotlight around the globe. One week later the 4th ISF Senior WORLD CUP wrapped up in Manassas, Virginia (USA), where approximately 80 teams of age 50-and-over players competed in men’s and women’s divisions. June was also highlighted by the launch of the ISF’s new website, not to mention the world governing body’s marquee competition of 2005, the VII Jr. Men’s World Championship. The 19-and-under event took place in Prince Edward Island (Canada), and by the time it ended in the first days of July, Australia had earned the gold medal by winning all of its games, including the grand final against Japan. Canada won the bronze medal.

Just days later though, JULY would be etched into the history books for a defeat instead of the Aussie victory. At the IOC Session in Singapore, women’s softball was taken off the programme of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, after a sport-by-sport vote saw softball fall one vote short of staying in (the vote was tied, 52-52, with one abstention – 53 votes were needed to be kept in the Games). The ISF issued a statement and immediately thereafter launched efforts to get a reconsideration vote at the next IOC Session (February 2006 in Torino).

The games went on though and the 12th Canada Cup was in full swing when the above vote was happening. Teams from Australia, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, and USA all participated at the competition in British Columbia, which was won by the Aussies. The 17th Maccabiah Games took place in Israel, with the women’s softball competition being won by USA, and Canada taking the men’s crown. Elsewhere, USA defeated Italy at the Intercontinental Cup in Madrid, which also included (in order of finish) Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, Argentina, and Spain. Next up came the WORLD CUP of Softball, which saw Japan triumph over USA for the title, with Australia finishing third, China fourth, and Canada fifth. ESPN International televised many of the games live and on tape-delay. The World Masters Games again featured softball, which out of the approximately two dozen sports contested there, was one of the largest in terms of athlete participation. July ended with the Japan Cup, which saw the host country defeat the USA again for that title. China finished third and Australia was fourth.

At the South Pacific Mini Games in Palau in AUGUST, Guam took top honors in both men’s play and women’s. And, at a meeting there of nine of the 13 member nations of Oceania’s National Olympic Committees and ISF members, the Oceania Softball Confederation was established. Meanwhile, on another continent, the European Championship took place, and qualified three teams for the 2006 ISF Women’s World Championship (Italy, Greece, and the Netherlands).

The beginning of SEPTEMBER saw the end of the first International Coaching College, a new initiative of the ISF’s development department. The course debuted at the world headquarters complex in Plant City, Florida, and attracted 24 attendees, representing 13 countries. Also making its debut was a new competition, the Central American Jr. Men’s Championship (19-and-under), which took place in Guatemala. The host country defeated Belize for the title, with Honduras finishing third, Nicaragua fourth, and El Salvador fifth.

In early OCTOBER, the ISF President, along with Director of Competition Laurie Gouthro and six softball athletes, met with IOC President Jacques Rogge in Lausanne. The athletes expressed to the IOC President their strong desire to see softball retained on the Olympic Program after 2008, and the experiences they related to during their careers and the positive affect the Olympics had on them and their teammates. The meeting, which lasted close to an hour, covered the process of softball working toward reconsideration of the 2012 Program vote. Right after that the II Slow Pitch WORLD CUP was held in Plant City, with eleven coed teams from six countries competing over three days. A team from Scotland (Clan Softball) took the title, winning all but one of their games. The month closed with the XXII ISF Congress in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Among the many developments there were officer elections, the awarding of a future world championship site, new electees to the ISF Hall of Fame, and more.

The 23rd International Festival “Sport, Movies, & TV,” put on by the Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs (FICTS) ended on NOVEMBER 1 in Milan, where the ISF’s “Softball: Home Base for the World” video was entered in the Sport Adverts: Social Advertising category. A few weeks later the III Jr. Girls’ WORLD CUP (16-and-under) took place at the ISF world headquarters complex. The five-day tournament saw extra innings needed for a gold medal game in which the Shamrocks defeated Chinese Taipei. A total of 20 teams from five countries played in the event, which is held every other year.

DECEMBER opened with the conclusion of the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in Manila. In the gold medal game in both men’s and women’s play, the host Philippines team defeated Indonesia. Thailand won the bronze medal on the women’s side while the men’s team from Malaysia did so as well. Around that same time, the VI Pan American Softball Championship for Women ended in Guatemala, with five of the 14 teams there qualifying for the ISF XI Women’s World Championship (August 2006 in Beijing): Canada, Cuba, Colombia, USA, and Venezuela. Argentina, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico joined that quintet in gaining berths in the softball competition at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio. The African qualifier for the Women’s World Championship took place December 9-11 in Zimbabwe, with South Africa and Botswana gaining the two berths available in China. Word also came that (women’s) softball will remain in the All-Africa Games, which play next in 2007 in Algiers. The ISF President made an announcement in December that saw Mrs. He Huixian (China) appointed ISF Executive Vice President for Olympic Softball, Ms. LOW Beng Choo (Malaysia) become ISF Deputy Secretary General, and Ms. Peta Edebone (Australia) named to the ISF Executive Council as an athlete representative.

Looking ahead, 2006 is sure to be another year of many developments for international softball. Stick with internationalsoftball.com for all the news on our sport from around the world.