Sadaharu Oh, 73, President of the World Children’s Baseball Foundation and former Tokyo Yomiuri Giants great who slugged 868 carrier home runs, in announcing the 23rd WCBF in Fukui Prefecture from August 18 -26, reiterated the need for baseball/softball community to do everything they can for the next three months to reinstate the sports to 2020 Olympics and hoped that the event in Japan will serve to send out strong message to the world.

A submission from a joint initiative between Softball South Australia and Baseball South Australia to form Diamond Sports South Australia secures Grant from the Minister of Recreation and Sport.

Shae Lillywhite has signed with the Japanese Women’s Baseball League, becoming the first International player to do so.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) stand is open at the SportAccord Exhibition, hosted by the Lenexpo Complex in St. Petersburg (Russia). The booth, built on the joint efforts by theIBAF and the ISF (International Softball Federation) is also a reality thanks to the support of the NPB, the professional organization of japanese baseball.

Monday will be entirely dedicated to various meetings, including the General Assembly of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and of the Association of the IOC Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF); the Exhibition will be open from 8.30 am on Tuesday 5/28, while the Opening Ceremony is scheduled for 6 pm the same day.

Baseball Australia is pleased to announce the first ever National Women’s Camp will be held on the Gold Coast from 19 to 24 July 2013.

The 2013 Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program is set to run from 13 July to 24 August.

The 25th Annual running of the National Schools Championships will begin on 6 May in Geelong.

Manager Simone Wearne has announced the Australian Women’s Squad that will train towards the 2014 International Baseball Federation Women’s World Cup.

The first 2 sessions of the 2013 IBAF Congress had a strong Olympic flavour, even if the launching of the World Baseball Softball Confederation is scheduled for the afternoon.
Tsunezaku Takeda, President of the Japanese Olympic Commitee, and Ryozo Kato, Commissioner of NPB, made both strong statements in favour of the reinstatement of baseball and softball in the Olympic Games. Takeda mentioned the importance the sports may have if the Games are played in Tokyo.