Baseball5 star Ayako Rokkaku represents WBSC at International Athletes’ Forum

World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Athletes’ Commission (AC) member Ayako Rokkaku attended the 11th International Athletes’ Forum, which took place at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland from 1-2 October.

The 2022 WBSC Baseball5 World Cup MVP participated in the meeting, which is the largest gathering of athlete representatives in 2023 within the Olympic Movement.

The Chairs of the 206 National Olympic Committees ACs and all 40 IF ACs were invited, in addition to representatives from the Athletes’ Commissions of Olympic Games Organising Committees, World Anti-Doping Association and the International Paralympic Committee.

It is the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic that the Forum has been held and gives an opportunity for athletes from all countries and sports to discuss the issues that matter most to them across two days. Rokkaku praised the International Olympic Committee for organising the Forum and emphasised the importance of holding the meeting in person for the first time in four years.

Rokkaku, who was joined at the forum by WBSC Athletes Commission liaison Amy Park, said: “It was an honour for me to attend the International Athletes’ Forum and represent the WBSC and the Athletes’ Commission in Lausanne. It was particularly interesting to meet with other athletes and hear other International Federations’ opinion on how best to utilise ACs to make sure that we are as effective as possible.

“There was honest and open discussion on a wide-ranging number of important topics and I look forward to reporting back to my fellow WBSC AC members as we continue to look for ways to improve and ensure we are helping our fellow baseball and softball athletes. I am thankful to the IOC for organising the Forum and for President Bach for attending and answering our questions.”

The agenda for the IAF included panels and breakout sessions discussing effective ACs, a focus on safeguarding, clean sport and integrity and a question-and-answer session with IOC President Thomas Bach.