World Softball Championships Civic Reception

Wednesday 28 January 2004

Good afternoon......as the Mayor of Christchurch I am delighted to provide you with part of your official welcome to our city.

I won't tempt fate by talking about our settled climate. Up until yesterday we were having a drought. Yesterday brought so much rain that many gutters around town flooded. Let's just say our climate is so varied at the moment that no softball players can rely on a consistent seasonal advantage.

As part of helping greet these, the 11th Men's Softball World Championships, I would like to make a special point of acknowledging some of the guests here today.

These include:

The president of the International Softball Federation, Don Porter; the Oceania Executive member and New Zealand Softball president, Bob Leveloff; closer to home the president of the Canterbury Softball association, Eddie Byrne, and
the chair of the event management team, Danae Gooseman.
 
To you and to the other softball VIP's, the participants, officials and the events management team, welcome.

Christchurch is enjoying major growth as the venue of choice for many increasingly important sporting events. It is part of an overall trend for our city to be chosen for many forms of conventions, competitions and conferences.

There is a hugely grid-locked place up North called Auckland that is tops in this area at present but we are coming up behind them fast. Like many apparently overnight successes it only took a decade or so of hard work for this trend to build up a head of steam.

In the case of Christchurch where we have literally hundreds of parks and open spaces available for sport and recreation, it has taken generations to build up the wonderful collection of venues and sites we have on offer. It also took a strong public will to hold onto and expand this priceless collection of assets.
When the weather permits we are also a stunningly beautiful city. A few years back we won the title of the world's top Garden City. We deserved it.

We have had a rare combination of good luck to enjoy both good fortune and good management as a city. I hope while

you are here you get to experience some of the results of this for yourselves.

Welcome to Christchurch and the great set of challenges, triumphs and fun that will add up to our collective experience of the 11th Men's Softball World Championships.

It is now my pleasure to present some gifts on behalf of the city…..firstly to Don Porter, International Softball President……and Bob Leveloff, NZ Softball President……

Welcome and thank you.