Help Save Olympic Softball

Article posted at www.backsoftball.com

A member of the women's national softball team signs an autograph as part of the World Softball Day celebration in China last year. (Photo courtesy of China Softball Association) IT'S WORLD SOFTBALL DAY 2008-06-13   Today marks the fourth straight year that the International Softball Federation is leading the charge for worldwide celebrations of World Softball Day. In the lead-up to today's special day for the sport, the world governing body has been asking its 130 member federations to make plans for this occasion in their country. Articles remain available online from the first three years that World Softball Day was celebrated. Check out last year's, as well as what was written in2006, and the story for the first-ever World Softball Day. June 13 coincides with the date in 1991 that the International Olympic Committee approved women's fast pitch softball as an Olympic sport, effective with the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). An article on World Softball Day 2008 will appear in the September-December issue of the Official Publication of the International Softball Federation, World Softball magazine. As a sneak peek toward that story, the ISF is already aware of plans that had been made for Colombia and Nicaragua. The latter actually began activities last weekend (June 5-8), has another event planned for Sunday (June 15), and has one more tournament scheduled for two weeks from now – all as part of their World Softball Day celebrations. Colombia's efforts are significant as well. Their plans tie-in 2008 marking 50 years of softball in that country. They are issuing a commemorative magazine as a result. Now that you're on our website and have read this article and since the occasion is falling on a Friday this year, go out now and play ball (or organize or watch or officiate) – it's World Softball Day!