In his Year-End Message, WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari wrote: “It has been a year of historic firsts and notable successes, which serve as a testament to the passion and dedication of our global baseball and softball family. especially our athletes”, which could not better sum up the year 2024.
WBSC Anniversary Celebration
On May 10, 2024, the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) celebrated World Baseball and Softball Day, which marks the founding of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation. This year’s inaugural edition marks the 10th anniversary of the WBSC with spectacular celebrations at the WBSC headquarters in Pully and the Olympic House and Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Pictured during World Baseball and Softball Day celebrations at the Olympic Museum on May 10 are WBSC athlete representatives (from left to right): Tim Atherton (Australia), María Soto (Venezuela ), Ayako Rokkaku (Japan), Monica Abbott (USA) and Randolph Oduber (Netherlands).
“Today marks a decade since the unification of the International Baseball Federation and the International Softball Federation under one flag,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “Over these years, we have witnessed an incredible journey filled with many milestones and achievements. Together, we have also overcome any challenge that has come our way. And at the heart of this journey has been the spirit of teamwork.”
The President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach recorded a message to congratulate the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), its President, Riccardo Fraccari, and the entire baseball and softball community on their anniversary.
During the 10th anniversary celebrations, the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, hosted the first WBSC Athlete Summit.
The major event also featured a webinar with representation from five continents, including Athlete Commission members Monica Abbott, Timothy Atherton, Randolph Oduber, Ayako Rokkaku, Maria Soto, Vanessa Mui and WBSC staff member Giovanni Pantaleoni.
The webinar involved more than 350 participants from 44 countries representing the five Olympic continents: Africa (Cameroon, Gambia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda); the Americas (Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Canada, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, United States, Venezuela); Asia (Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka); Europe (Germany, Austria, Czechia, Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, Switzerland); and Oceania (Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Solomon Islands).
The week-long celebrations also included a WBSC Athlete Commission Meeting, the first-ever Professional Baseball League Summit and the release of the Baseball5 documentary #PlayEverywhere
A Premier12 for History
The 2024 event calendar included an unprecedented 16 tournaments (surpassing the previous busiest year, 2023, which included 15 events), and topped off by the spectacular Premier12 WBSC 2024 presented by RAXUS.
“Every participant in our sport, whether playing, training or refereeing for the first time or a seasoned athlete proudly wearing the colors of their National Team at a WBSC tournament, deserves applause for their commitment to our game and for bring joy to the many others who participate,” wrote President Fraccari. “There was no better illustration of this than the successful third edition of the WBSC Premier12 in November.”
Been
Japan became the first National Team to win the Women’s Baseball and Women’s Softball World Cups using the new two-stage format, which allows the WBSC to offer more accommodation and participation opportunities to our Member Federations.
What makes the success of events possible?
In 2024, WBSC published the Membership Handbook (in English y español), a document created to further strengthen the development of its Members through a comprehensive online educational tool. In line with the WBSC Strategic Plan 2022-2028, the Handbook provides guidelines and resources for Members to improve their governance and drive sustainable growth.
“The WBSC Membership Manual will help Member Federations, Continental Associations and the WBSC itself to further strengthen the governance and processes around every aspect of the WBSC family,” said President Fraccari.
Before the start of the season, WBSC released updated versions of the WBSC Official Baseball Rules and the WBSC Baseball World Cup Tournament Regulations.
The WBSC project for Sustainable Trophies was also recognized for taking “a progressive step” towards the search for sustainable solutions in the world of sport, appearing as one of the 12 Olympic Movement Sustainability Case Studies for 2023 published by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Through a partnership with Legend As its NFT awards partner, the WBSC also embraced digital trophies, recognizing them as a sustainable alternative to physical medals. Digital trophies have emerged as a promising and environmentally friendly alternative to reward athletes for their achievements.
During 2024, WBSC also announced the extension of its partnership with Sportradar’s Synergy Sports through 2028. The partnership will provide training and scouting services through industry-leading technology and camera systems at select venues for WBSC-assigned events, enriching the product inside and outside the WBSC field.
In October, WBSC announced a new partnership with Trackman, a radar system that tracks and records a moving sports ball to provide information and data to teams, fans and broadcasters. Trackman is widely used among top professional teams globally, as well as in golf, and will provide advanced analytics to improve broadcasts and bring fans closer to the action. WBSC and Trackman share the mission of raising the global standards of baseball through Trackman’s cutting-edge technology and data.
Transparency
The WBSC published its latest annual Governance Report for 2023/2024 in English y español in April, with the goal of continuing to foster a culture of transparency and accountability within the organization. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the WBSC’s progress towards improving its governance. Compiled by the WBSC Integrity Unit, it is also a key area of the WBSC Strategic Plan 2022-2028, which is aligned with the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 and prioritizes establishing a culture of good governance across the WBSC family as one. of the nine main strategic objectives.
The Integrity Unit’s annual report for 2023 (available at English y español) showed substantial progress in upholding integrity, protecting participants and promoting sustainability within the sport. The report detailed achievements and ongoing efforts in anti-doping, governance, prevention of competition manipulation, protection from harassment and abuse, and sustainability initiatives.
The best is yet to come
The future of WBSC looks particularly exciting.
The new Athlete Transfer Rules will come into force in January 2025. These rules prevent clubs from unilaterally signing players who are already under contract with another club, as well as players who have terminated their contracts allegedly without just cause. The WBSC actively strives to ensure that all athletes can participate in tournaments and events while respecting the fundamental principles of human rights.
Meanwhile, the WBSC Executive Board approved a new and improved voting system to elect Athlete Representatives to the Executive Board at the WBSC Elective Congress. To ensure that the athlete voice is represented in all WBSC decisions, there are four Athlete Representatives on the Executive Board, from men’s baseball, women’s baseball, men’s softball and women’s softball. The next WBSC Elective Congress will be held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2025.
The WBSC also announced an update to the WBSC World Ranking Methodology and Guidelines, with the aim of offering all teams equal opportunities and improving the competitive balance between programs from different continents. The new methodology, available herewill be implemented with the first ranking update in 2025.
The most exciting news about the future is that Premier12 2027 will expand to 20 teams. In 2026, teams ranked 13th to 20th in the World Rankings will have the opportunity to compete for four participation spots, in addition to the top 12 teams.
“This increase in the number of teams makes our summit event even more global, demonstrating our commitment to building a stronger presence for baseball around the world,” said President Fraccari.
2024-12-31 00:44:00