The fact that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced last week in Denver that its ruling Executive Board planned to cut the list of candidate sports to only two on August 13 has not dented Porter's belief that softball is mounting a successful campaign.

 

He said: "While the decision to cut the list to only two sports for a vote by 115 IOC Members was a surprise, it has not deflected the commitment behind, and focus of, our campaign.

 

Porter said: "If anything it has given us further incentive to work even harder at communicating the incredible value that softball offers the Olympic Movement.

 

"We are greatly encouraged by the way IOC Members are reacting to how softball would help the Olympic Movement open up women’s sport – especially in Muslim countries; they also like our global focus on youth and our 100 per cent doping-free track record."

 

“But most of all, IOC Members appreciate that the Olympic Games would be the absolute pinnacle of our international competition structure; the whole softball calendar would peak every quadrennial with the Olympic Games.

 

"While I cannot comment on other sports, I can tell you that the Olympic Games would not be just another competition in an over-crowded calendar for softball.

 

"For millions of softball players around the world the Olympic Games would be the greatest honor and we guarantee that the world’s best softball athletes would all commit to performing at the Olympic Games.”

 

Softball was controversially voted off the programme for London 2012 by the IOC at its Session in Singapore in July 2005.

 

It is one of seven sports hoping to be included in the programme for 2016, along with baseball, the other sport removed from London 2012.

 

The others are golf, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens and squash.

 

The full IOC membership are due to vote on the Executive Board's recommendation at its Session in Copenhagen in October.

 

Meanwhile the BackSoftball Campaign has moved to their fifth continent in a month with a critical presentation to the Oceania National Olympic Committee Annual Assembly tomorrow in Queenstown, New Zealand.

 

The presentation will be led by Low Beng Choo, ISF deputy secretary general, and Danielle Stewart, a 2008 Olympic softball bronze medalist from Australia.

 

Low is also the Malaysian Softball Federation President, Softball Confederation of Asia Secretary General, and a member of the IOC Women and Sport Commission.

 

Softball was first featured in the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 and last year’s competition in Beijing, which was won by Japan, was hugely successful with a total attendance close to 180,000 and a continuation of the sport’s excellent record of no positive drug tests in major competitions.

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