Po Chun Liu: Building hopes and dreams through softball

Po Chun Liu is a woman of many firsts.

Not only is she the first female baseball umpire from Taiwan but she is also the first baseball/softball recipient of the IOC Women and Sport World Trophy through a nomination submitted by the WBSC.

She also founded a non-government organisation three years ago, called Taiwan Sport Forward Association (TSFA), that helps girls from underprivileged backgrounds, many of which are indigenous. Some victims of domestic violence and abuse.

As part of her new initiative, Liu went to great lengths to fulfil the hopes and dreams of 16 girls, giving them a safe place to learn, to grow and to feel they are a significant member of the community through softball.

“I want to thank the WBSC for promoting women in sports;" Liu said. "I got that chance to become the first female baseball umpire in Taiwan. The WBSC always encouraged me to attend courses and clinics, and then their recommendation to become a recipient of the IOC World Award for Women was such an honour.

"Sport does give inspiration and it motivates us to become better persons."

The support provided to the 16 girls included scholarships, housing and financial aid. They were also provided tutors to catch up with their academics while training.

For many national team programmes, three years is a short period for development, but for the 16 girls, three years was more than enough to make them a winning team.

At the U-15 Asia Cup, the girls represented Chinese Taipei for the first time, beating World No. 2 Japan 3-2 and earning a spot in the WBSC U-15 Women's Softball World Cup in Tokyo, Japan.

“Studying hard and having good grades helped with their confidence off the field. I told the coach that if they are confident off the field, they will also be confident on the field,” Liu said. “After three years, seeing them win the U-15 Asia Cup and playing at the World Cup in Tokyo, Japan is like a miracle.”

The girls also took part in a 2023 Youth Female Athlete Injury Prevention and Self-Protection Workshop, which was jointly organised by the Taiwan Sport Forward Association (TSFA), the WBSC and Chinese Taipei Softball Association (CTSA) on 26 November.

As founder of the TFSA, Liu was the event host.

In attendance were also other baseball/softball athletes from Taiwan, three baseball athletes from Malaysia as well as some coaches who learnt sports injury introduction and prevention, personal defence using karate and boxing as well gender equality in sport and body boundaries.

The Chinese Olympic Committee, Malaysian Baseball Softball Association, American Institute in Taiwan (US Consulate) and Ministry of Education in Taiwan were also special guests in attendance.

After Chinese Taipei made an impressive fourth-place finish in the 12-team field tournament in Tokyo, Liu said the WBSC U-15 Women’s World Cup is only the start of something big for the team.

“This project is getting bigger and now our association is sponsoring three other schools in Taiwan. We want to do more with these girls, becoming role models that could inspire more girls to play,” she said.

Liu envisions a better future for all these girls, not just as regular athletes but future Olympians. And she believes that they can go further, beyond their current hopes and dreams.

“They started taking English classes so they can also open their world to opportunities and help their families. Softball helps them continue their studies and also opens their world,” Liu said.

“There were many journalists and friends from Taiwan who said that this team looked different. They looked like they enjoyed the game and they were confident. They did not look like they come from families of underprivileged and instead looked proud of themselves.

“I believe this was the first step of opening themselves up to the world and we all have that goal of making it into the LA28 Olympic Games.”