Baseball, Softball Engage Helios, Meet with IOC

(ATR) Leaders of the International Baseball Federation and International Softball Federation tell Around the Rings "a new, united IF" will be reflected in their merged logo, constitution and IOC presentation, all of which are in the works.

It’s been a hectic two weeks since the ISF approved its marriage with IBAF at an Oct. 30 extraordinary congress in Houston.

Baseball is busy collecting the input of its own member federations, though the ongoing postal vote is seen as a mere formality.

"The IBAF membership has spoken loudly in favor of our historic union with the ISF," says IBAF president Riccardo Fraccari, "and we are fully expecting to declare a unanimous decision in this regard within the next few days."

The past week, in particular, was packed with appointments on the sidelines of the IF Forum in Lausanne.

First, the ISF and IBAF met with Helios Partners and agreed to engage the Atlanta-based bid consultants for next month’s date with the IOC Program Commission.

"We are optimistic, but we also realize that a baseball-softball presentation will be entirely new and needs to be carefully conceptualized and developed," ISF president Don Porter tells ATR.

"This is why we were able to come to agreement on Helios so quickly. This will be a welcomed challenge for us."

Also during the IF Forum, presidents Porter and Fraccari planned for the more practical elements of their union, including a new constitution and an updated look.

"We will be commissioning the new IF logo," says Porter, "so we will be reviewing various submissions to evaluate how things look and sound to ensure it captures what we now represent as a new, united IF."

While in Lausanne, they also stopped by Vidy for a meeting with IOC officials regarding their merged constitution and upcoming presentation, scheduled for either Dec. 19 or 20.

"We asked that the schedule for these presentations be amended to reflect a men’s baseball/women’s softball presentation under the provisional authority of the new IF," says Porter.

He and Fraccari are also hoping for more talks with Major League Baseball following a "very productive" first meeting last month.

IBAF and the ISF are seeking assurances from MLB – as provided in 2009 for baseball’s failed 2016 bid – that some players would be released for 2020, a guarantee thought key to the bid’s success.

Peter O'Malley,longtime Los Angeles Dodgers chairman and current owner of the San Diego Padres, told ATR last monthhe’s confident the leaders of MLB will do "everything possible" to ensure Olympic reinstatement.

"Commissioner Bud Selig is knowledgeable about the issues and he will be very creative in identifying the solutions," he said at the time.

Baseball and softball are competing against karate, roller sports, wakeboard, wushu, sport climbing and squash for what will likely be just one open spot on the 2020 program.

After the presentations next month, the IOC Executive Board will add another to the fray in February when an existing Olympic sport gets cut.

EB members meet again in May on the sidelines of SportAccord in St. Petersburg, Russia to decide which of the eight then gets recommended to the IOC Session in Buenos Aires in September 2013 for confirmation.

In the meantime, it’s up to Porter, Fraccari and the folks at Helios to make their case before members of the Program Commission.

"This presentation is a great opportunity to put forward the unique value proposal that softball-baseball can bring to the Olympic Movement," says Fraccari, "and also really launch this cooperation, as this will be the first time we work together in an official capacity before the IOC."

Reported by Matthew Grayson

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