Letter by Dr. Harvey Schiller, president of the IBAF on behalf of Thursday’s meeting with ISF president Don Porter
Dear Colleagues,
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As most of you know, I met with Don Porter, president of the International Softball Federation on Thursday night in Orlando , Florida to lay out a plan whereby softball and baseball could combine efforts for the Olympics only and present a joint bid to the IOC for inclusion in the 2016 games. We met for over two hours, and I addressed the concerns on their side and made it clear that the IBAF was not interested in combining Federations with softball on a global scale. The idea was to work together for just the Olympic bid. We left with the thought to continue to talk and see if there was a way to work things out to show solidarity and come up with a solution that benefits all involved.
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Early this morning, Friday, I received an email from Mr. Porter thanking me for the meeting and saying that he has spoken to his board members and that softball does not wish to work with baseball on the joint bid.
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Although I am surprised by the quickness of the response and am disappointed in the answer, I feel it does not deter us in our efforts to continue to move forward to get baseball back in the Olympics for 2016. The support we have continues to grow on all levels, and with this now behind us, we can focus on a baseball-only bid.
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Thank you for your time on this issue and let me know any additional thoughts you may have on how we can continue to improve our standing in getting baseball back in the Olympics and growing the sport globally.
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Regards,
Dr. Harvey Schiller
President, International Baseball Federation