WBSC celebrates its first 10 years with an innovative competition

The WBSC turns 10 years old as the international governing body of baseball/softball on 10 Friday, and is marking the occasion with a massive celebration, the first ever World Baseball Softball Day, and an innovative campaign inviting National Federations and the wider baseball/softball community to get involved.

As the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) celebrates its first decade, it is inviting National Federations and the wider baseball/softball community to participate in an ongoing social media campaign to celebrate World Baseball Softball Day. The global governing body of baseball/softball wants everyone to join in the celebrations. Therefore, a US$10,000 equipment grant will be awarded to the national federation or club that presents the most innovative activation.

The key date is Friday 10 May, when the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) proudly celebrates its tenth anniversary as the international governing body of baseball/softball with the first-ever World Baseball Softball Day. This milestone will be celebrated by the entire baseball/softball community through social media campaigns where they can share their joy and excitement using the suggested hashtags: #WorldBaseballSoftballDay and #WBSD.

Some WBSC members have already begun promoting World Baseball Softball Day, such as USA Softball, which kicked off the excitement by recalling its gold medal from the 2021 U-18 Women's Softball World Cup.

Meanwhile, the Baseball Association of Hong Kong-China has highlighted the importance of the celebration and invited all its stakeholders to join in the festivities. The Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines also started the countdown with a post two weeks before World Baseball Softball Day.

World Baseball-Softball Day marks the anniversary of the WBSC, with the first WBSC Congress, where Riccardo Fraccari was elected as the first President, taking place in Hammamet, Tunisia, in 2014. This event marked the completion of a successful merger between the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and the International Softball Federation (ISF), which began with a historic announcement at the IBAF Congress in Tokyo in April 2013.

In the run-up to the celebrations, the WBSC headquarters in Pully, Switzerland, will be buzzing with activity as the entire staff takes part in key operational and planning meetings. Public activities will include the first WBSC Athletes Summit on Wednesday 8 May.

The culmination of the festivities will be a WBSC Gala Dinner at the Olympic Museum on the evening of 10 May, which promises to be a memorable event to which all National Federations are warmly invited by the WBSC. The World Baseball Softball Day will be followed by a meeting of the WBSC Executive Committee on Saturday 11 May.