As everybody knows Baseball and Softball will be cut for the Olympic Games 2012 in London. Today we like to introduce two programs to bring our sport back to the Olympics as early as possible.
Virtual Olympic Congress
The first one is a more general one. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has started the so-called Virtual Olympic Congress in preparation for the real Olympic Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark in October 2009. Until December 31st 2008 everybody is invited to contribute. That means you can write an idea, what you would change at the Olympics. They will collect the ideas and post the main opinions on the IOC website in 2009. The whole Baseball and Softball community should use this forum to bring their sport back to the Olympics.
There are only a few important regulations (complete general conditions):
- First of all, you have to register on the 2009congress.Olympic.org website.
- Authors should be at least 18 years old.
- Every Internet user can submit a maximum of two contributions.
- Every contribution must not exceed 1000 words (equivalent to two A4 format papers), including references and footnotes.
- The language for your contributions must be exclusively English or French (or both).
- Authors are recommend to write using simple and clear language, with brief sentences and avoiding harsh language.
- References must be chosen carefully, and the number is restricted.
You can read the complete general conditions on this website. If you have more questions you can ask the Congress Secretariat in Lausanne via email. If you are interested, just register on the right side of their homepage (access for the public) and submit your input.
Back Softball
The second program we like to introduce is an initiative started by the International Softball Federation (ISF). It is called “Back Softball“. It is a campaign to reinstate softball as an Olympic sport for the 2016 Games. Back Softball includes a ten-point proposal that lays out how the sport will continue to meet and exceed the IOC evaluation criteria for inclusion into the Olympic program. The ISF tries to demonstrate until the Congress in Copenhagen how Softball will become a regular sport at the Olympics, starting 2016. This campaign is definitely a step into the right direction.
Let’s submit your contributions and support the Back Softball movement to bring our sport back to the Games.