CP/RES. 954 (1701/09)

BASEBALL IN THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES

(Adopted at the meeting of July 15, 2009)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

HAVING SEEN the decision taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 8, 2005, not to include baseball and softball in the Games of the XXX Olympiad to be held in London from July 27 to August 12, 2012;

CONSIDERING:

That baseball is indigenous to the Americas and is now played by millions of amateurs and thousands of professionals throughout the world, and is enjoyed by many millions more as spectators;

That baseball is one of the most popular team sports in the Americas, with a particularly avid following in Canada, Colombia, Cuba, the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, as well as in other Member States and Permanent Observers of the Organization of American States (OAS);

That as a sport played by men and women, softball has been contributing to the promotion of gender equality for a very long time;

That baseball, as a cultural expression of the Americas, serves to promote mutual understanding and mutual respect among our peoples and with peoples from other regions of the world where it is played;

RECOGNIZING:

That active youth baseball leagues exist in almost every member states, and that these leagues involve international play and training that fosters closer ties among our nations;

That baseball and softball have more fans and players than many of the sports that continue to be considered Olympic sports;


That the International Baseball Federation has given ample assurances that baseball has done everything asked of it by the Olympic movement - such as strengthening anti-doping measures and allowing for the participation of better players in the Olympics – in order to comply with the requirements set to reinstate baseball as an Olympic sport;

NOTING that OAS member states have hosted the Olympic Games on eleven occasions in the modern era, that Canada will host the Winter Olympic Games in 2010, and that Chicago and Rio de Janeiro are candidates to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games; and

CONVINCED that the sports of baseball and softball would further enhance the popularity of the Olympic Games and the promotion of the Olympic spirit and ideals in our member states,

RESOLVES:

1. To urge the International Olympic Committee to reinstate baseball and softball to the Olympic program in 2016.

2. To encourage the National Olympic Committees of our member states to support the reinstatement of baseball and softball to the Olympic program in 2016.

3. To instruct the Secretary General to transmit this resolution to the International Olympic Committee no later than July 30, 2009.