Plant City, Florida (USA); 7th August 2009: Two-time Olympic softball gold medalist Michele Smith has confirmed that she will return to the United Arab Emirates later this year to continue running softball workshops, further confirming the impact softball is having in the Middle East.

Ms. Smith, who won gold with Team USA in 1996 & 2000, will run the workshops at the Abu Dhabi Women’s College, coaching young women in the finer points of the sport and providing equipment.

Ms Smith, whose visit will coincide with the Festival of Thinkers in Abu Dhabi, which promotes peace and understanding, said, “I’ve been looking forward to returning to the Middle East region to continue to share the great story of softball and opportunities for women and to help build a more tolerant and stabile relationship between the East and the West.

“Softball captures the imagination of women and that is perhaps why it has become so popular with women in Muslim countries and is making a tangible difference to areas across the region.”

This will be the second time Ms. Smith has visited the region this year. She met with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed of the United Arabic Emirates to discuss women’s issues and opportunities for growth in softball and sport in March and also traveled to Amman, Jordan, for talks with HRH Prince Feisal bin-Al Hussein, who is on the BackSoftball Task Force, and is the brother of HRH King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Since it is non-contact and allows traditional dress to be worn, softball has proved to be particularly popular in the Middle East, providing an opportunity to enjoy sport for women and young people in areas of the world where it is not always possible.

The International Softball Federation recently sent top coaches to train leaders of youth from nine conflict zones around the world on how to use softball to bring peace to their troubled communities as part of the Generations For Peace initiative. Among numerous other countries, the ISF has also sent softball equipment to Iran to support the continued growth of the game there.

Cheap and simple to play, softball promotes the Olympic values that are so important in today’s world, underscored by its exemplary anti-doping record at the highest level.

Softball was first featured in the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 and last year’s competition in Beijing was very successful with a total attendance close to 180,000 and a continuation of the sport’s excellent record of no positive doping tests at any of the four Summer Olympics that the sport has been a part of.

A final decision on which sports will be added to the current roster of 26 at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be made at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen in October this year.