On Monday, July 4, the International Olympic Committee rather quietly announced a list of eight sports that it will consider for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games -- but with only one place available.
Baseball and softball are both on the list, along with karate, roller sports, sports climbing, squash, wakeboard and wushu. The decision on which of these sports is added to the programme for 2020 will be made in September 2013 when the IOC meets in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Welcome announcement
The inclusion of baseball and softball on the shortlist is certainly welcome. International Softball Federation President Don Porter (pictured at right) said, "Without question we are thrilled to have softball on the IOC's shortlist for the candidate sports for 2020. That being said, the real victory, of course, would be a decision in our favour come 2013 when the vote is taken on which sport the IOC will add for the Summer Olympics.
"We have never given up on restoring dreams," Porter added. "Just as the athletes give it their all on the field, we must ensure that we make every effort to return softball to the Games so that a new era of players can get the chance to compete on the biggest stage like others did in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008."
Uphill struggle
But many people think it's a long shot for either sport to win this particular lottery. Not only would baseball or softball need to beat out seven other sports, but the people in charge at the IOC would need to be convinced of their merit after dropping both sports from the programme for the London Olympics and declining to reinstate them for 2016.
IOC President Jacques Rogge, who led the effort to drop baseball and softball from the Games, will still be in charge of the organisation when the 2013 vote takes place, though he plans to step down shortly afterwards.
US softball Olympian Jessica Mendoza believes that this will be a crucial factor.
"Without leadership change in the IOC, softball is not going to get back in," Mendoza said. "The IOC is not the type of organisation that will say, 'We were wrong, now softball can be back in.' They have to change enough to where leadership will say, 'Why did we eliminate softball in the first place?'"
And if the IOC cannot be convinced that it eliminated softball or baseball in error, then the International Baseball and Softball Federations will need to prove that their sports have more to offer on a global level. But with funding on the decline in both sports since they were eliminated from the Olympics, improving the calibre of competition internationally, rather than among a few key nations, is going to be increasingly difficult.
Joint bid?
International Baseball Federation President Riccardo Fraccari thinks the answer is a joint bid by baseball and softball to re-enter the Olympics as the male and female versions of the same sport. The IOC has not ruled this out, and the International Softball Federation, after strongly opposing the idea, recently showed some interest, though it has made no comment since the recent IOC announcement.
“It is now important that baseball and softball come up with a joint project as soon as possible to combine efforts and increase the odds of returning onto the Olympic Programme," said Riccardo Fraccari.
"Together, baseball and softball meet all the requirements for inclusion onto the Olympic Programme," Fraccari added, "and it is our obligation to consider the best interests of our sports."
But Ron Radigonda, Chief Executive of the American Amateur Softball Federation, feels that baseball and softball should try to find out from the IOC whether they would prefer separate bids or a joint bid before a decision is made -- even though it might be difficult to get an answer to that question.