IBAF Names Donna Lopiano, Ph. D., As Chair of Women’s Baseball Committee

By Bill Jordan
Updated: May 18, 2009

The IBAF has announced that Dr. Donna Poliano has officially been named the chair of the women’s baseball committee. Dr. Lopiano has held many previous roles in sports including being the Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation. She has also been recognized on an international level for leading the movement for gender equality in sports. She is currently the President of Sports management Resources which is a consulting firm based in Easton, Conn.

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According to IBAF President Dr. Harvey Schiller, “We are truly honored that Donna has decided to join us as we formulate our global plan for women’s baseball and its inclusion in our bid for the 2016 games.”

Dr. Schiller further stated, “There is perhaps no one more respected in sports or the development of women and girls in athletics than Dr. Lopiano, and we look forward to having her work with us in this very important endeavor.”

According to Dr. Lopiano, “Baseball is a global game that embodies all the ideals of the Olympic movement, and one of those ideals is fair play for all.”

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Dr. Lopiano further stated, “I am honored that the IBAF recognizes the great global opportunity that they have in giving women of all ages the chance to take part in baseball at any age, and am looking forward to helping in any way that I can to get baseball where it belongs for both men and women, as part of the Olympic program.”

As reported earlier by BaseballReflections.com, the IBAF announced earlier this spring that it would add the women’s discipline to the federation’s bid for the 2016 Olympics. The complete committee that will be formed for this effort in women’s baseball will be announced shortly.

Baseball has become increasingly popular among the female gender across the world as over 30 countries currently offer a women’s league. In total, there are an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 girls playing baseball across the world. Japan won the bi-annual Women’s Baseball World Cup in 2008. The site for the 2010 Cup has not been announced yet. If the committee were able to get women’s baseball in the Olympics, the 2016 Olympics would replace the World Cup in that year.

Interesting Women’s Baseball Piece

With all of the recent attention being paid to women’s baseball on the international scene, the subject is not going unnoticed. BaseballDigest.com recently did an interesting piece on women’s baseball. This specific article refers to an upcoming women’s collegiate game in Springfield Mass. This contest will be the first all women’s collegiate baseball game played in over a century.

The link to this article is HERE!