Softball Hopes Beijing Games Is Not The Sport's Olympic Swan Song
By Jessica Collins, Staff Writer
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USA Softball, Finch Facing
Last Olympics Until At Least 2016 |
The Olympic softball competition began today, followed by the start of the baseball tournament tomorrow, but this figures to be a bittersweet two weeks for everyone involved with these sports. Both softball and baseball are facing their final Olympic Games for the foreseeable future after the IOC voted in July ’05 to cut them from the Olympic program after Beijing because of the belief the sports lacked global attention and interest. They will be the first sports cut from the Games since polo in ‘36. Both are definitely out for the 2012 London Games, but the IOC will rule next October whether softball will return in 2016. However, with golf, rugby, karate and taekwondo also looking to join the proceedings, International Softball Federation (ISF) President Don Porter notes, “We have competition.”
BACK SOFTBALL: The Back Softball campaign was created just over a year ago to support the sport’s Olympic reinstatement. Porter describes the campaign as a “task force that has brought together various people that were interested in supporting the sport,” including IOC members, National Olympic Committees, government entities, corporate business execs, athletes and fans. “We got a good cross section of people from various parts of the world who are interested in working with us in the task force coming up with various ways, suggestions, ideas of things we need to be doing,” Porter said. The program, which is funded jointly by public donations and private financing, aims to increase the number of softball players worldwide to 10.5 million, expand the number of national federations from 128 to 150, with an emphasis on the Middle East, provide equipment to underdeveloped regions and increase the amount of worldwide TV exposure.
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ISF Working On Growing Softball's
Popularity Around The World |
GROWING WORLDWIDE INTEREST: Part of the reason the IOC cut softball from future Games is due to the belief it lacks deep global interest. But Porter said, “We’re working on the development of our sport in more countries, to make it more universal, we’re trying to make it a sport that will attract interest by the media, especially television.” The sport is already trying to take steps to increase its media exposure, which could ultimately lead to more sponsorship deals, increases in finances and funding -- not to mention greater fan interest. Porter: “We’ve made changes to our sport in the last three years and wanted to make it more TV friendly.” That includes cutting the length of games to around two hours, a time window that better suits TV networks.
WILL SPONSORS STICK AROUND? Softball players who depend on personal endorsement deals could have more at stake than just the livelihood of their sport. USA Softball LF Jessica Mendoza, who scored a run in the U.S.' 11-0 win over Venezuela today, has sponsorship deals with Nike and Louisville Slugger that run until next year. But she wonders if they will renew those pacts when softball is no longer classified as an Olympic event. “It will be a true test for the real sponsors of softball, because it’s easy to sponsor something that everyone wants to when it is an Olympic sport and everyone loves it,” Mendoza said. “But when it seems to be on the downswing and you need the support to bring it back up, that’s what a true sponsor really is.”
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS: After the Beijing Games end on August 24, softball will continue to move forward even if the sport is not recognized as an official Olympic event. Both Porter and Mendoza emphasize players and supporters do not regard this year’s Olympics as its last, even if the IOC does. Porter: “We want to look at it from the standpoint that this is not our last Olympics. It might be -- who knows what the future is. But we want to give hope to all these young athletes.” However, the ISF will have to find a new revenue stream -- IOC funding will be cut off after the Games. Meanwhile, Mendoza, while planning to continue her career, will also begin to donate more of her time to various organizations of which she is a member of, including Team Darfur, the National Education Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation.
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