Hoboken, (Belgium); 4th August 2009: BackSoftball Athlete Ambassador Gergana Handjiyska has reinforced the importance of softball in Europe following the conclusion of two major softball tournaments in Spain and Belgium that featured 21 European nations this past weekend.

The VIII European Women’s “A” Championship, which took place in Valencia, was won on Saturday by the Netherlands, who beat Great Britain for the title, with the Czech Republic coming in third. BackSoftball Athlete Ambassador Saskia Kosterink is a member of the Netherlands team.

The “B” Championship concluded in Hoboken on Sunday with hosts Belgium clinching first place with a victory against Sweden, with Croatia taking third place.

Ms. Handjiyska, whose Bulgaria team came in sixth place in the “B” Championship, said, “The recent tournaments in Belgium and Spain show how popular softball is in Europe right now. We have continued making significant progress in the last few years and the hundreds of softball players that have played in these championships all share the same aspirations – to maintain the principles of softball that are so close to the Olympic values that the International Olympic Committee seeks to promote – to encourage fair play, respect and maintain the highest standards of competition.

“Softball is helping to change the face of communities around the world with its programs to use sport as a way of promoting peace because it is easy to learn and inexpensive to play. I know that many of my teammates and opponents here in Belgium are also committed to promoting the Olympic values across Europe.”

This is a busy time for softball in Europe with the XII European Cup Winners Cup Women B in Turkey, the XVIII European Cup Winners Cup Women A in Italy, the XVI European Champions Cup Women B in Bulgaria, and the XXXII European Champions Cup Women A in Italy all set to run from August 17-22.

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.