Olympics

[Bandit]

Tell me it's not true. Did I hear correctly that the 2012 Olympics in London will not include softball ?

[bkbjones]

I heard rumor to that effect at the ballyard tonight.

[bkbjones]

From the Reuters report, which I have edited here:

Baseball and softball will not feature in the 2012 London Olympics after they were wiped from the programme in a controversial vote on Friday.

The two sports failed to win a majority of votes in a ballot of members at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Singapore and became the first sports to be axed from the Olympics since polo in 1936.

The 26 other sports from the Athens 2004 programme did win a majority of votes and will remain on the programme in London.

Baseball and softball's ejection opens the door for two of golf, squash, karate, rugby sevens and roller sports to be added.

The IOC's Executive Board will propose two from the five and members will vote on their inclusion on Saturday.

In 2002 the IOC decided to cap the numbers of sports at an Olympic Games at 28, the number of events at 301 and the number of athletes at 10,500.

At that same session in Mexico City IOC President Jacques Rogge proposed that baseball, softball and modern pentathlon be dropped, and golf and rugby union added.

However IOC members resisted and no vote was taken.

"This is payback for Mexico City," a visibly shocked softball federation chief Don Porter said on Friday. "They wanted us out in 2002. It has taken them three years but they have got us.

"We didn't expect this at all. The discussions we have had all week led us to believe we were safe to assume the programme would remain unchanged for 2012."

[SRW]

Associated Press Article

[Antonella]

This one of the saddest day of my life.
Can't believe this.

A.

[debeau]

This is a sore point for me and no doubt others .
The olympics are suppossed to be the pinacle for sports and the best are supposed to compete .
soccer U23 only
tennis no names represent countries
rugby - no its a hybrid game of rugby called sevens which is for entertainment only and as a person from the top rugby country in the world onlt the third tier players will represent NZ not the best .
basketball - are the best in these teams .
To me the olympics are becomeing a joke and are around for what a country or the big wigs of the IOC can get out of it

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by debeau
This is a sore point for me and no doubt others .
The olympics are suppossed to be the pinacle for sports and the best are supposed to compete .
soccer U23 only
tennis no names represent countries
rugby - no its a hybrid game of rugby called sevens which is for entertainment only and as a person from the top rugby country in the world onlt the third tier players will represent NZ not the best .
basketball - are the best in these teams .
To me the olympics are becomeing a joke and are around for what a country or the big wigs of the IOC can get out of it

Agreed. BTW, part of the Reuters article makes no sense as was quoted the sports did not get a majority of the vote. To drop a sport from the Olympics, it is supposed to be two-thirds to drop, not a simple majority.

BTW, I am still a believer that the Olympics should return to amateur status.

[John Robertson]

This is a sad day for both international softball and baseball, but it wasn't totally unexpected.

The Olympics are Euro-centric. That's why sports like fencing and modern pentathlon--which have very little appeal in North America--permanently stay on the Olympic program while softball and baseball get axed. Even weightlifting, with all its continuous drug scandals, never has to worry about its Olympic status. This decision smacks of anti-Americanism to me.

True story: When softball was first considered for inclusion in the Olympics in the 1980s, one Russian IOC delegate asked what the difference was between a softbal and a shot put! "About 15-1/2 pounds," was the reply.

What bothers me most about softball being dropped is that there are very few female team sports in the Olympics. Now there will be even fewer after 2008.

If it were up to me, "artsy sports" such as synchronized swimming, diving and rhythmic gymnastics ought to be shelved or reduced to exhibition status at the Olympics. Sports in which "style points" and "artistic impression" don't play a role in the scoring--should be emphasized instead. Softball and baseball are two such sports.

[Antonella]

Originally posted by John Robertson
(...)This decision smacks of anti-Americanism to me.(...)

Sorry Sir. I cannot understand how can you be so America-centric.

Do you ever mind what Olympic Softball means to countries where softball is NOT sport number one (and neither in the first ten)?
National team at the Olympics in Italy meant in the past some money from the National Olympic Committee to the Fed. for let young girls play softball at school.
I saw girls from Botswana play softball. At a Junior European Championship I saw players from Bashkiria (a far region of Russia) play after they had 48hours-trip by bus to reach Prague and play softball.
Can you imagine all this?
Or is softball just an american business?

I am sad beacause I KNOW what softball can represent for hundreds of girls and women all over the world.

And softball is not a female sport only because it is played by female athletes. Think about this: how many female umpires you can see in any other female olympic sport?

A.

[LIIRISHMAN]

The TV "experts" were speculating that the USA's domination killed off softball.

[Antonella]

Do the domination of Italy, France and few more nation in fencing cause any arm to fencing as an Olympic sport?

USA (marvelous) Olympic National Team can't be blamed for this horrible decision...

A.

[John Robertson]

Just watch: If Canada and the United States continue to thoroughly dominate women's ice hockey, the IOC will consider dropping that sport too.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by John Robertson
Just watch: If Canada and the United States continue to thoroughly dominate women's ice hockey, the IOC will consider dropping that sport too.

What I find interesting is that the committee, under secret ballot, dropped the two sports, but couldn't bring themselves together to add one.

To me, that says the purpose of the vote was to drop these two sports, not to adjust the field.

[SRW]

ASA's Weblink - Click Here

“We are shocked by the news softball has been taken off the Olympic program in 2012. The vote by the IOC Members is a crushing blow to the millions of young women around the world who dream of taking the field as Olympic athletes in our sport.”

“It’s a sad day for everyone in our sport who has dedicated their lives to getting softball in the Olympic Games. It took over 30 years to get softball on the Olympic program the first time so we are going to do whatever is necessary to see that it is back on the program in 2016.”

“Softball has been recognized as an Olympic sport since 1991 and was included on the Olympic program in 1996. The sport is currently at an all-time high in world wide participation and television coverage. In an effort to continue the growth of softball, the Amateur Softball Association will be hosting the first-ever World Cup of Softball, July 14-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The top five teams from the 2004 Olympic Games including the USA, Australia, Japan, China and Canada will compete in this prestigious event. Games from the World Cup will be televised not only domestically but also internationally.”

“The Amateur Softball Association is committed to working with the International Softball Federation in its efforts to regain a spot on the 2016 Olympic program. There is no doubt the leaders within the sport of softball have the resolve and persistence it will take to see this through.”

“It is important to remember that softball is still part of the Olympic Games in 2008 and has an opportunity to demonstrate to the IOC Members that it is deserving of a place in the Olympic Games in 2016.”

[SRW]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/olympi...ected%20Sports

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/olympi...Dropped%20Cuba