After 26 years as President of the International Softball Federation and 48 years with the organisation, Don Porter withdrew his candidacy before the elections at the 26th ISF Congress, held from October 23-27 in Cartagena, Colombia, leaving ISF First Vice-President Dale McMann from Canada to succeed Porter as ISF President.
McMann was unopposed for the Presidency after both Don Porter (nominated by Colombia) and Warren Jones of the United States withdrew their nominations.
Don Porter was the man who led softball into the Olympics in the 1990s, but softball was dropped from the Games on his watch in 2005, and he presided over two failed attempts to get the sport back on the programme. The latest rejection came in September this year when baseball/softball came second to wrestling in an International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote to add one sport to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.
However, with a new President, Thomas Bach from Germany, in charge of the IOC, there are rumours that baseball/softball may yet have a chance to be added to the 2020 programme, especially since Japan, the country that will host the 2020 Games, would like to see both sports included. Because of this, Don Porter will be retained by the ISF for an extra five months, through the Winter Olympics in Sochi, to lend his experience to the effort to achieve this outcome.
World Baseball Softball Confederation
After softball and baseball were dropped from the Olympics at an IOC vote in 2005, Don Porter spent several years arguing that Olympic reinstatement depended on the two sports being seen as separate and distinct, and during this period the ISF put pressure to bear on joint baseball-softball national federations to dissolve their ties.
But after separate bids from softball and baseball to get back on the Olympic programme for 2016 were rejected in 2009, Porter helped broker the formation of a new governing body for the two sports, working with the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) was the result, and the WBSC has already vowed to continue fighting to restore both softball and baseball to the Games.
Porter will remain as Co-President of the WBSC with IBAF President Riccardo Fraccari until the organisation's first Congress in March 2014.
Other results
In other results from elections at the ISF Congress, Beng Choo Low from Malaysia retained her post as Secretary General, defeating Europe's candidate, Ami Baran from Israel, and Carlos Lopez from Puerto Rico.
Darryl Clout from Australia was elected as the ISF's First Vice-President and Jesus Suniaga from Venezuela as Second Vice-President, in each case defeating Bob Leveloff from New Zealand.
At an election Congress, each of the ISF's six regions elects Regional Vice-Presidents to serve on the ISF Executive Board, and in the European elections, the European Softball Federation had proposed two members of its own Executive, President Andre van Overbeek from Holland and Tournaments Commissioner Gabriel Waage from the Czech Republic. But it was a third candidate not proposed by the ESF, Francesca Fabretto, representing Austria, who received the most votes, followed by Andre van Overbeek, and these two will serve as European Vice-Presidents under Dale McMann's new administration.
Francesca Fabretto was formerly a highly-regarded ESF Secretary General, but is currently working full-time for the International Baseball Federation.
Some observers have pointed to a curious anomaly in European voting in Cartagena. With 22 European countries represented at the Congress holding two votes each (plus votes for the ESF's current two members on the ISF Board), Europe had in theory 46 votes to cast. But in the first round of voting for the post of ISF Secretary General, with Ami Baran standing from Europe, only 39 votes were cast for the European candidate. So seven European votes went elsewhere.
In the votes for European Vice-Presidents, where Francesca Fabretto scored highest, only 35 votes were cast in total, meaning that 11 votes were withheld.
Other Regional Vice-Presidents elected at the Congress were:
Africa: Frida Shiroya (Kenya).
North America: E.T. Colvin (USA).
Non-Spanish-Speaking Caribbean: Jan Hendrik Croes (Aruba).
Central and South America: Jesus Suniaga (Venezuela), Antonio Morales Arrieta (Colombia).
Asia: Tan Ying (China), Taeko Utsugi (Japan).
Oceania: Rex Capil (New Zealand), Robert Steffy (Guam).
New President
The new ISF President, 60-year-old Dale McMann from British Columbia, Canada, has an extensive background in the sport.
McMann served as President of Softball British Columbia from 1986 to 1990 before serving as President of Softball Canada from 1990 to 2001. The Canadian Federation found its way back to financial stability during his Presidency while experiencing strong growth.
McMann also acted as North American Vice-President of the International Softball Federation from 1993 to 2009, and was instrumental in helping the ISF to establish its headquarters in Plan City, Florida before being elected First Vice-President in 2009.
Outside of softball, McMann is Executive Regional Director at an agency called BC Housing, a quango set up to fulfil the British Colombia government’s commitment to the development, management and administration of subsidised social housing.
Following his election, McMann said: "I am honoured with the great trust the membership of the International Softball Federation has offered me. I want to acknowledge the many decades of service Mr Don Porter has given to our sport and I look forward to his continued guidance and efforts. I would also like to thank my family for their ongoing support and I share this honour with them. It is a daunting challenge for me to follow Don Porter’s long list of accomplishments."
Marcel Aubut, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee, said: “Dale McMann is a remarkable Canadian sports figure who has more than three decades of experience and success in growing the sport of softball in both Canada and the world.... The ISF is in great hands."
World Championship locations
Decisions were made at the Congress on the hosts and venues for upcoming World Championships, which will continue, for the time being, to be held every two years in the absence of Olympic softball competition.
ISF World Championships are currently held for Senior and Junior (Under-19) Men's and Women's Fastpitch National Teams. From 2016 onward, all ISF World Championships will be open competitions rather than requiring qualification.
Host countries for upcoming World Championships are as follows:
Women's World Championships:
2014 – The Netherlands (Haarlem)
2016 – Canada (Softball City, Surrey, BC)
Men's World Championships:
2015 – Canada (Saskatoon)
2017 – Canada (Whitehorse)
Junior Women's World Championships:
2015 – USA (Oklahoma City)
2017 – TBD
Junior Men's World Championships:
2014 – Canada (Whitehorse)
2016 – USA (Midland, Michigan)
More Congress news
British Softball Federation Treasurer Mike Jennings was the BSF's representative at the ISF Congress, and will report shortly on this website on other news and developments from the Congress of interest to the British softball community.