We normally focus on baseball here, but this is a very worthy cause to highlight.  As with the men’s national baseball team, the national softball teams are feeling the full effects of the two sports being ousted from the Olympics.  There is no longer any public funding to back their efforts and the women’s fastpitch softball team now finds itself in the same position as the GB baseball team did back in early 2008: they’ve earned the right to go to a major international tournament, but may be denied that place due to lack of funds.  The baseball team was sadly forced to withdraw from the 2008 Final Olympic Qualifying tournament for that very reason.  The following appeal may stop that happening to the women’s fastpitch softball team:

“YOUR ONLINE VOTE CAN HELP THE GREAT BRITAIN WOMEN’S SOFTBALL TEAM GET TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!
 
The Great Britain Women’s Fastpitch Softball Team earned a place in the 2010 Softball World Championships by finishing second in European Championships this past summer, the team’s highest-ever European placing.

But the team receives no public funding because softball is no longer an Olympic sport. Players and staff had to pay their own way to compete for their country at the European Championships, but the cost of competing in the World Championships, which will probably be held in North America, is beyond what the players and their families can afford.
 
So the team has entered a British Airways contest called “Great Britons”, where the prize could be 16 desperately-needed free flights that can get the majority of our players and staff to the World Championships. Now the team has been shortlisted along with seven other entries, and the winner will be determined by public vote.

So please go online to http://www.greatbritons.ba.com/shortlists and cast your vote for the GB Women’s Team entry submitted by first base player MORGAN PARKERSON.

Just click on Morgan’s name on the Judges’ Shortlist and then hit the VOTE NOW button under Morgan’s photo. You’ll need to do a quick registration, and then you can vote.
 
And then please get everyone you know and everyone you can reach by way of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc to vote as well!
 
Voting closes on December 21.

Winning this contest could make all the difference between the GB Women’s Softball Team being able to go to the World Championships and having to turn down its place”.

Please consider voting and promoting the cause elsewhere.