Eastern European Training Center Established
A regional training center for Eastern Europe has been announced by International Softball Federation (ISF) President Don Porter. The facility is in Russia and will formally open on May 1 of this year.
Mr. Porter visited the site last week, when an agreement was signed for what he says will “provide greater opportunities for supporting athlete and coaching development, both in Russia as well as the Eastern European states.”
The location is 40km outside of Moscow in the city of Tuchkovo and includes facilities for indoor workouts & weight training, housing and feeding participants, and two competition fields.
The ISF’s world headquarters in Plant City, Florida, was the first softball regional training center. Last May Mr. Porter signed an agreement on behalf of the world governing body for a regional training center at the site of the 2003 Pan American Games softball competition in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. A Western European Regional Training Center in Italy, announced last October during the XXIII ISF Congress, is also currently being finalized.
The proposal for the newest center was presented last week by Russian Softball Federation President Vladimir Panteleev, Secretary General Nikolay Markov, and Director General Slava Smagin.
Mr. Porter said he has already spoken to Chinese officials about the complex that will host this August’s Olympic Softball competition becoming a regional training center for Asia following the completion of the ’08 Games.
The ISF is the world governing body of the sport as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). Softball (women's fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. There are 130 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of participants in the sport worldwide.
MEDIA: For more information, please contact ISF Director of Communications Bruce Wawrzyniak at mailto:brucew@internationalsoftball.com, (1.813) 864 0100, ext. 229, or (1.813) 453 8762 (cell).