Tuesday 31st July 2007

Gents
I hope this message finds you well

I’m writing to bring you all up to speed with what is happening with the National Program over the upcoming summer, starting with the World Cup in November and concluding with the all important Olympic Qualifier in March or April 2008 - the exact dates/location are currently up in the air

The five months between November and April are a very busy time for the National Team - and quite easily the most important ever
The need for us to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games can not be overstated, so you will undoubtedly be inundated with communication regarding our Olympic Qualification campaign from now until the Qualifying tournament next year

The World Cup

Before we get to the all important Olympic Qualification tournament however, there is the very important World Cup to focus on -- and WIN!

Additionally, directly following the World Cup, the National Team will also be participating in a pretty exciting event
I’ll go into more detail on this event later in this message

As you should all know, the World Cup is being contested in Taiwan, from November 6-18

To ensure our team is adequately prepared for the World Cup campaign, we will be participating in a practise tournament in Taiwan, along with a number of other countries

Prior to leaving for Taiwan, the team will need to spend one night in Sydney, to participate in further compulsory Olympic processing sessions with the Australian Olympic Committee

I have attached a schedule for the World Cup program for your review......(see below)

Australia v Japan

We have been invited to play a two game series against the Japanese National Team in Fukuoka, Japan, directly following the World Cup
This invitation has been forthcoming from the Baseball Congress of Japan - a joint initiative between the Baseball Federation of Japan and the Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioners office

The good news regarding this game series is that the Japanese team will consist of their top NPB professionals, so this series will be a very big deal in Japan - ie, huge crowds, mass media, televised games

Team Japan will be using the series as preparation for their impending Asian Championships - their Olympic Qualifier - and of course, they have never been able to grasp their loss to us in the 2004 Olympic Games, so they will obviously be looking for retribution!!

For our purposes, the games are extremely important for a variety of reasons:-
1) They’re good preparation for our overall Olympic qualification campaign
2) They’re an excellent vehicle to expose our national team players to the Asian baseball market - we will maximise this series to open up doors of opportunities for any players wanting to secure jobs in Asia - a great chance to showcase skills in front of potential teams
3) They’re a vital component for our campaign to get invited to the annual Asian Konami Cup Tournament
4) Important part of the process for us to get into the Asian Baseball region in the future

It is extremely important for both us and the Japan Baseball Congress, that the games in Japan are competitive
Our National Team will be coming off what we are hoping will be a successful World Cup tournament and it’s crucial that the team maintains momentum heading into Japan

Olympic Qualification Tournament

No time before has it being more important for us to qualify for an Olympic Games

This issue is simple and it is serious - our funding is directly linked with our performance on the international stage - of which the Olympics is the pinnacle for Australian Sports
If we don’t even qualify for the Olympic Games, then our funding levels will come under extreme scrutiny and likely will be reduced significantly
Therefore, for us to even hope to maintain the equivalent levels of service delivery to our National Team programs, then we must at the very least progress through to the 2008 Olympic Games

The IBAF are still deciding on the dates and location for this tournament
It could either take place in March 2008 in Taiwan or possibly in North America in April 2008
The IBAF are hoping to have this finalised soon, at which point I will send you further details
When and where it is held, will largely govern what we do with our team preparation
Again, as soon as we know when and where the Qualifier will be held, we can finalise our team preparation plans and let you know the details

I think I'll sign off now now
I now that is a lot of information to process
Please read it all at your lesiure and come back to me with any questions you might have
I'll be back in touch again soon

Regards
Brett Pickett
General Manager - Baseball Operations
Australian Baseball Federation