Two Japanese received IBAF awards at Gala Dinner in Arlington
Texas Rangers hosted the event at their ballpark in Arlington
Dallas (Texas-USA) The XXVI Congress of the IBAF was the right occasion to present the awards of the Honors Program, inaugurated by the International Federation in the 1980s. The awarding ceremony happened during the Gala dinner, hosted by the Texas Rangers at their ballpark in Arlington.
The Umpires of the Year went to 2010 Keisuke Kotani of Japan (the home plate umpire of the gold medal game during the Intercontinental Cup) and to 2011 Adam Dowdy of the USA (Home plate umpire for the gold medal game during the World Cup.
"As an umpire" commented Kotani "It is already a great honor to be involved in various international tournaments including, in particular, those of IBAF. I will treasure the prestigious Award and would like to thank all the people who are working hard through IBAF for the good of baseball"
The Woman Athlete of the Year was Ayako Rokkaku of Japan (MVP of the Women World Cup).
"I was very surprised and deeply honored to be selected as IBAF 2010 Female Athlete of the Year" explained Rokkaku "I would like to thank my coaches, team mates, officials, friends and families. Without their support, I could not have performed well and not deserved such an award. Women World cup is set for next year. I will make more efforts to be a better player and be able to contribute to the victory. Once again, I would like to show my sincere appreciation to IBAF for selecting me for this award and also, I would like to extend my appreciation to Federations, associations as well as players from all over the world who send us the heartwarming comments after the big earthquake stroke Japan in March".
The Coaches of the Year were for 2010 Eduard S. Martin (Cuba), who won the Intercontinental Cup, and for 2011 Brian Farley (The Netherlands) who won the World Cup.
The Federation of the Year was for 2010 Chinese Taipei (hosted the Intercontinental Cup and won the AAA World Cup) and for 2011 Panama (hosted the World Cup).
The Junior Athlete of the Year was for 2010 Wei Tzu Lin of Chinese Taipei (MVP and All Star third baseman of the AAA World Cup) and for 2011 Zachary Collins of the USA (MVP, best home run hitter and All Star catcher of the AA World Cup).
The Senior Athlete of the Year was for 2010 Hector A. Olivera of Cuba (MVP, best batting average and All Star second baseman of the Intercontinental Cup) and for 2011 Curt Smith of The Netherlands (MVP of the World Cup).
The IBAF also awarded the Federations that hosted in the last 2 seasons competitions sanctioned by the organization: Baseball Canada (2010 AAA World Cup), Venezuela (2010 Women World Cup), Chinese Taipei (2010 Intercontinental Cup and 2011 12 and Under World Cup), Mexico (AA World Cup ) and Panama (2011 World Cup).
