(Story & Photos by Marco Stoovelaar)
  Baseball & Softball back on Olympic Program!
Nederlands
 RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) -
Baseball and Softball are back on the Olympic Program!
On Wednesday (August 3), during the 129th Session of the International Olympic Committee in Rio de Janeiro, the IOC approved the proposal by the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games of 2020 in Tokyo (Japan) to add five sports.
Besides baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, surfing and sports climbing also were added to the Program.
With this, baseball and softball are an Olympic sport again and will make their comeback in four years in Japan!
The last time, baseball and softball were played was in 2008 during the Olympics in Beijing (China).
Baseball had become an official Olympic sport in 1992 (Barcelona), followed by softball in 1996 (Atlanta).
The 3-day IOC Session preceeds the 2016 Olympic Games, which open coming Friday (August 5) and will be held in Rio de Janeiro.
The Olympic Games, the first to be held in South America, run through August 21.
A record number of countries are participating in a record number of sports (28) with more than 10,500 athletes participating from 206 different National Olympic Committees.
Amongst the sports are rugby sevens and golf, which were added by the IOC in 2009.
On Wednesday (August 3), during the second day of the 129th IOC Session, the afternoon focused on the Olympic Games of 2020 in Tokyo (Japan).
One of the items on the agenda was the Report of the Olympic Programme Commission and the vote on the Tokyo 2020 OCOG proposal on new sports.
The IOC Session opened on Tuesday and closes on Thursday and is being held at the Convention Centre of Windsor Oceânico Hotel, which is located at Barra da Tijuca, a neighborhood (or bairro) in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro.
Wednesday's afternoon session began around 3 PM with the Report by the Organising Committee of Tokyo 2020 and the Chairman of the Coordination Commission.
This was followed by the report of the Olympic Programme Commission and the vote on the new sports.
Baseball and softball were last played during the Olympic Games of 2008 in Chinese capital Beijing.
During the IOC-meeting in July 2005, both baseball and softball were voted out of the Olympic Programme for the 2012 Olympic Games, which were held in London (United Kingdom).
In August 2009, it was also decided that baseball/softball were not included for the 2016 Olympic Games.
On February 12, 2013, IOC leaders voted to drop wrestling from the Olympic program.
That decision was opposed in many countries and wrestling therefore joined other sports on a list applying for inclusion in the 2020 Games.
On May 29, 2013, squash, baseball/softball and wrestling were announced as the three sports that made the shortlist.
On September 8, 2013, the IOC selected wrestling to be included in the program for 2020 and 2024.
Wrestling got 49 votes, baseball/softball received 24 and squash got 22.
Under new IOC policies, which became effective in December 2014, the host Organising Committee of the Olympic Games can propose the addition of sports to the programme.
The rule is designed to allow popular sports in the country can be added.
Following these changes, a new shortlist on eight sports was announced on June 22, 2015: baseball/softball, bowling, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, surfing and wushu.
On September 28, 2015, the Tokyo Organising Committee submitted its shorlist of five sports, including baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding.
Today, the International Olympic Committee approved the proposal and with that, the five sports were officially added to the Program for the 2020 Olympic Games.
The Olympic Games in Tokyo are scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9.
...Riccardo Fraccari...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
Riccardo Fraccari, President of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, reacted in a statement released by the WBSC:
,,Today’s decision is an important milestone in the sport’s history and a momentous day for baseball/softball’s estimated 65 million athletes in over 140 countries, as well as millions more fans around the world.
On behalf of the WBSC and all the athletes, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Tokyo 2020 leadership for putting their faith in our sport to begin with; to IOC President Thomas Bach, whose Olympic Agenda 2020 vision has made this opportunity a reality; and to all IOC members for recognising the valuable contribution the sport can make to the Olympic Movement.
A key part of baseball/softball’s popularity is the universality of the sport.
It offers an accessible route for young people all over the world to play and stay in sport.
The sports have a global reach, with loyal fan bases in some of the most important sports markets on the planet, in particular Japan where baseball/softball is widely considered to be the number one sport in the country.
The WBSC Premier 12 was Japan’s most-watched international sports programme in 2015 and in June 2016 a record crowd attended the opening game of the WBSC-sanctioned international softball series between Japan and the United States at the Tokyo Dome.
The WBSC is now in a position to harness this enormous support for the benefit of the Olympic Movement by nurturing a passion for the Olympic Games in generations of baseball/softball fans around the world.''
In the same WBSC-release, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said:
,,We are excited about the IOC’s announcement restoring Baseball and Softball to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Baseball and Softball are global sports that belong in the Olympics.
We are grateful to the IOC Executive Board, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation for their collective efforts, which will allow fans throughout the world to again enjoy Baseball and Softball on the Olympic stage.''
...Bart Volkerijk...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki said:
,,Baseball and Softball back in the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 is a pleasant and exciting news for all of us in the baseball/softball family.
It is the result of continuous strong promotion, which baseball and softball people worked together as one.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Mr. Mori, president of Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2020 for his support, Mr. Fraccarri, president of WBSC for his leadership, all the staff and personnel involved for their efforts, and last but not least, to all the baseball/softball fans all over the world for boosting our campaign.''
The Netherlands participated five times in an Olympic baseball-tournament, including the demonstration tournament in 1988 when the Olympic Games were held in Seoul (South Korea).
The Orange baseball-team then didn't qualify for the 1992 Olympics (Barcelona, Spain), but then participated in all following Olympic Games in 1996 (Atlanta, USA), 2000 (Sydney, Australia), 2004 (Athens, Greece) and 2008 (Beijing, China).
The Orange softball-team participated in the Olympic Games of 1996 and 2008.
Bart Volkerijk, Executive Director of the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Association (KNBSB) states:
,,This is an exciting development for our great sports.
We already had a lot of confidence in a positive decision regarding the return of our sports on the Olympic Games of 2020.
Thanks to this fantastic decision, we can continue with our ambitious 'Road to Tokyo', where we want to go for the medals in both sports.''
(August 3)
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