Yukiko Ueno’s new mission: Restoring softball to the Olympics
After shining on the grand stage of the Beijing Olympics this summer, ace softball pitcher Yukiko Ueno has been busy. She was selected as the Japan Softball League’s the most valuable player and best pitcher, and her off-season schedule has been filled with awards ceremonies, guest appearances, and media invitations. She even has interviews lined up for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
While the stamina that allowed her to throw 413 pitches in three games over two days at the Olympics helps her manage her grueling schedule without tiring, she is also driven by her concern for softball’s future.
Softball has been cut from the 2012 London Olympics, and the decision on whether to restore it for the 2016 Olympics will be made next year. And, with the sport currently in the limelight in Japan, the desire of all those associated with softball is to use that attention to push for the restoration of its Olympic status.
Baseball, which was also removed from the Olympic program, will survive whether or not it is played at the Olympics, which is why we don’t hear of baseball players personally campaigning for its return to the Games. But that’s not the case for softball. The Japan Olympic Committee will continue to designate softball as a priority sport eligible for subsidies, but if it’s not restored to the 2016 Olympics, the subsidies will probably be discontinued, and children will no longer be inspired to play the game after seeing it on the Olympic stage. Softball is facing a crisis that could usher in its decline.
To prevent softball fever from cooling off, Ueno and her teammates have gone out of their way to make themselves visible in the media. At the Beijing Olympics, they shouted “Back Softball!” in unison with players from the U.S. and Australia. The gold medalists from Japan consider restoring softball to Olympic status to be their mission. If only their wish falls on the ears of the International Olympic Committee… (By Keiko Tomishige, Expert Senior Writer)
