Press Release IBAF, www.ibaf.org
Men’s rankings also updated, Venezuela enters the top-10
(LAUSANNE, Switzerland) – The International Baseball Federation debuted its Women’s World Rankings on Wednesday, with Japan, the United States and Canada rounding out the top-3.
The rankings coincide with the federation’s continued push to grow women’s baseball worldwide and with its positioning to include a women’s component in its bid for reinstatement in 2016. Baseball is among seven sports up for vote on Thursday, wherein the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Committee will shortlist the group to two sports. The selected sports will then be voted upon in October for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Programme.
The initial Women’s World Rankings are based solely upon results from past IBAF Baseball World Cups. While the logic behind the women’s rankings is similar to that of the men’s – only IBAF sanctioned or recognised tournaments featuring a lineup exclusively of national teams (no club teams or semi-professional teams) will be considered – one main difference is that they will be inclusive of the three most recent IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cups (men’s include two at the most). Points for these events will be weighed based on the most recent World Cup finishes, with the 2008 World Cup receiving the most points, 2006 the next most and 2004 the least.
The complete IBAF Women’s World Rankings are listed below:
1. Japan (180.00)
2. United States (160.00)
3. Canada (140.00)
4. Australia (100.00)
5. Chinese Taipei (80.00)
6. Korea (30.00)
7. Hong Kong (23.40)
8. Cuba (20.10)
9. India (20.00)
The third installment of the Men’s World Rankings sees the cycling out of tournaments that no longer fall in the four-year window necessary for inclusion, as well as the addition of several more. Upon closer examination, many events in the Asia and Oceania regions were not included in past rankings, and thus are reflected here.
Tournaments and championships that have been added or removed include:
Added: 2007 and 2009 World Port Tournament
Added: 2005 and 2007 Southeast Asia Games
Added: 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games
Added: 2007 South Pacific Games
Replaced: 2005 Asian Championships with the 2009 Asian Championships
Removed: 2005 European Championships
With the shuffling of the rankings, the most notable jump comes from Venezuela, who moves into the top-10, going from 11th to 9th and swapping places with Australia. The rest of the top-10 remains unchanged.
The complete IBAF Men’s World Rankings are listed below:
1. Cuba (1209.68)
2. Korea (984.82)
3. Japan (947.00)
4. United States (889.32)
5. Chinese Taipei (591.82)
6. Netherlands (412.57)
7. Mexico (302.75)
8. Canada (280.19)
9. Venezuela (233.18)
10. Puerto Rico (215.39)
11. Australia (214.11)
12. Panama (212.32)
13. Dominican Republic (135.68)
14. Nicaragua (131.25)
15. Italy (130.88)
16. China (125.00)
17. Thailand (58.50)
18. Spain (54.50)
19. Philippines (50.83)
20. Brazil (41.50)
21. South Africa (37.93)
22. Colombia (32.00)
23. Germany (28.82)
24. Czech Republic (22.92)
25. Great Britain (20.00)
26. Sweden (17.75)
27. Indonesia (16.00)
28. Palau (12.50)
29. Netherlands Antilles (12.25)
30. (tie) Nigeria (10.00)
30. (tie)New Caledonia (10.00)
32. Russia (8.25)
33. (tie) Ghana (7.50)
33. (tie) Myanmar (7.50)
33. (tie) American Samoa (7.50)
36. France (6.63)
37. Hong Kong (5.67)
38. Virgin Islands (5.00)
39. Aruba (4.25)
40. Croatia (4.00)
41. (tie) Zimbabwe (3.75)
41. (tie) Fiji (3.75)
43. Guatemala (3.25)
44. Ukraine (3.13)
45. (tie) Lesotho (2.00)
45. (tie) Malaysia (2.00)
47. Bahamas (1.75)
48. Austria (1.38)
49. (tie) Lithuania (1.00)
49. (tie) Pakistan (1.00)
51. (tie) Cameroon (0.25)
51. (tie) Cambodia (0.25)
51. (tie) Samoa (0.25)
Additionally, the following 23 nations have competed internationally in the last four years but not in competitions included in the rankings: Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, and Turkey.
For more information, please click here.
About the IBAF World Rankings
The IBAF debuted its World Rankings in January 2009. Developed in conjunction with Scott Goode, a sports information director from Harding University (Arkansas, USA), the rankings are based on a point total which IBAF member federations (teams) earn from IBAF-sanctioned events in a four-year window, or a period of time that encompasses two IBAF Baseball World Cups.
Teams earn points based on their finish in an event. A tournament winner takes home 50 points, second place, 40; third place, 30; and fourth place, 15. From there, points are divided evenly among the remaining teams in the event to ensure balance between tournaments that feature different-sized fields.
Once points are rewarded based on a team’s finish, that amount is then multiplied by a number based on the strength of the event. Major world championships, such as an Olympic Games, IBAF Baseball World Cup or World Baseball Classic, all receive 4X multipliers. Minor world championship events (Junior, Youth or FISU University Worlds, or the Honkbol Tournament, for example) have a 1X multiplier, and all other continental championships receive multipliers from 1X-.25X based on how many teams in the top-10 of the current IBAF World Rankings compete in the event.
About the International Baseball Federation (IBAF)
Founded in 1938, the International Baseball Federation is a non-governmental organisation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as administering men’s and women’s baseball at the world level. Located in Lausanne, Switzerland – the Olympic Capital – and counting 125 National Member Federations, the IBAF organises the IBAF Men’s and Women’s Baseball World Cup, the AAA (18U) and AA (16U) World Championships, the Olympic Games Baseball Tournament, and it sanctions the World Baseball Classic, among other international baseball tournaments. The IBAF works to develop and grow the game of baseball around the world. For more information, please visit www.ibaf.org.