by Pim van Nes
The usual media guide for Italian national teams participating in tournaments was made in the Netherlands as far as this year’s edition is concerned.
When Italian players and coaches traveled from Tirrenia (home for Azzurri during Italian Baseball Week from 3 thru 6 september) by planes Pisa – Roma – Amsterdam, FIBS communication manager Riccardo Schiroli and photographer Ezio Ratti for practical reasons took a car for the trip from Parma via Mainz in Germany to Rotterdam and Haarlem.
The stop in Rotterdam was necessary to pick up two boxes with brand new media guides, listing personal and technical details of the players and coaches. In order to gain time and to allow to include as many as possible last minute decisions, FIBS planned to have a pick up opportunity as close as possible to Hoofddorp. Mr Schiroli in Rome office asked Mister Baseball correspondent in the Netherlands Pim van Nes, if he knew a modern printing company, which he could provide with information latest possible and still have the books ready on the day before play-ball.
Such a modern shop with individual approach happens to have opened doors a few years ago in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, a green village in the low lands just east of Rotterdam. Italian baseball federation in Rome and Baasimmedia reached an agreement about cooperation at short term before European Championship in Hoofddorp. On Thursday September 8, Schiroli and Ratti arrived in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel and collected two boxes with English and Italian information books as hand-outs to the many journalists, tournament and other teams officials as from Friday September 9.
On the photo: Ron Baas of Baasimmedia presented the first number of the 2016 FIBS media guide to Riccardo Schiroli on the little 19th century lift bridge in the ancient village centre of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel. Next to Ron Baas is photographer Ezio Ratti, next to Riccardo Schiroli is Pim van Nes .