23/12/2002 - Third place for Rivas at the Indoor Tournament after making a boob in the final round. Softball team "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte Madrid 2012" ended third at the V Women Softball Indoor Tournament "Ciudad de San Sebastián" after being defeated by O.B.B. from Guipúzcoa in the final round. On Saturday, only beaten by Selección de Cataluña our team qualified second at the first round but on Sunday at the semi final, Rivas made a boob against Orio team and ended in third place. The playing teams at the final were Selección de Cataluña and O.B.B. from Guipúzcoa and the final standings were as follows: 1) Selección de Cataluña; 2) O.B.B. (Guipúzcoa); 3) Rivas Ciudad del Deporte Madrid 2012; 4) Selección de Navarra; 5) San Marcial (Irún).

12/12/2002 - "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte Madrid 2012" Softball Team will participate in the V Tournament "Ciudad de San Sebastian" Indoor Women Softball Next Saturday, December 21st, the V Tournament "Ciudad de San Sebastián" Indoor Women Softball will start, being hosted in Donostia (Guipúzcoa). A total of five softball teams will participate in this Tournament that will last two days: O.B.B. from Guipúzcoa, Selección de Cataluña, San Marcial from Irún, Selección de Navarra and Rivas Ciudad del Deporte Madrid 2012. On Saturday, our Senior Softball Team will play their first game versus O.B.B. from Guipúzcoa at 10:50 h. in the Sportscenter "Egia" in Donostia.

11/12/2002 - IOC delays decision on dropping Baseball and Softball from Olympics The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to delay a decision on the elimination of three sports - baseball, softball and modern pentathlon - from the Olympics until after the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

11/11/2002 - Rivas softball starts training for season 2003 Rivas women softball team will start practice on November 12th, Tuesday, at 20:30. Facing this season, there have been some changes in the team: some players have gone away and some old players have shown up as members of the technical staff. Player until 1999 and manager of this team during 2000 season, Ana Martín, takes over the management again together with Maribel Marín, also player until 1999 and junior manager during 2000. Sergio González, will be coach as well.

11/11/2002 - Summary of 2002 season for Rivas Softball Team 2002 softball season ended up in October. These records for the softball senior team Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, have been quite "different" to other seasons: 2002 NATIONAL LEAGUE, TOP DIVISION: Fourth place 2002; QUEEN'S CUP: Second place; XI CUP WINNERS CUP, pool A, (Praga): Fourth place; V TOURNAMENT "CIUDAD DE VALENCIA": First place. About our junior players, after playing their first official competition, they ended up in seventh place in the "Junior Spanish Championship" which was played in Pamplona.

18/10/2002 - Meeting: "Old Stars Game" on Saturday, October 19th. A group of women softball ex Rivas players organized an "old players" little tournament last weekend.

09/10/2002 - 2002 Women Softball Spanish Junior Championship: First competition played for the Rivas Junior Team. Last week-end, October 4th to 6th, the Spanish Junior Softball Championship was held in Burlada (Pamplona) in which 8 junior teams, including Rivas, participated. The Championship had quite a high level that our young Rivas players were not able to follow since they had only been practicing softball for one season and this was their first championship and so their inexperience in games made them win only 1 out of the four played. But in spite of the 7th place achieved, the coaches of our junior softball team are really optimistic and have made a very positive evaluation because of the girls' good attitude towards learning from their rivals and also from their own mistakes. We want to congratulate these girls that have not given up in those games and we also want to encourage them to continue working to get better and so enjoy even more this beautiful sport.

04/10/2002 - Rivas participates in the "Women Softball Spanish Junior Championship 2002". Next Friday, October 4th, the "Women Softball Spanish Junior Championship 2002" will start, being hosted in Burlada (Navarra). A total of eight junior teams from all over the country will participate in this Championship that will last three days. This year the Rivas-CBS presents its reserve of young players who have been working hard in its softball school along the 2002 season.

26/09/2002 - The ISF urges all softball lovers to respond: SOFTBALL SUPPORTERS URGED TO SPEAK OUT TO IOC. The International Softball Federation (ISF) issued a response to the recommendation to eliminate softball - along with two other sports - from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The recommendation came from the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Program Commission. Part of the call to action in the ISF's comments is a worldwide campaign by softball supporters to voice their displeasure of this recommendation and their support of the game - especially at the Olympic level - to the IOC.

10/09/2002 - Fourth place for 'Rivas Ciudad del Deporte' at the XI European Cup Winners Cup, Women A, 2002. They tried it but could not get a medal. Last Sunday, September 8th, the women softball team "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte", that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, came back from Prague (Czech Republic) where the "XI European Softball Cup Winners Cup, Women A" was played. The Madrid players finished on fourth place of the general standings, which are as follows: 1. Czechie Praha (Czech Republic) - 2. Twins (Netherlands) - 3. Moskovia (Russia) - 4. Rivas Ciudad del Deporte (Spain) - 5. Langhirano (Italy) - 6. Nälsta (Sweden) - 7. Panthers Trnava (Slovakia) - 8. Princ Zagreb (Croatia) After a tough Round Robin, Rivas was clasified among the first 4 by defeating Langhirano in a very competitive game, where 9 innings were played. Rivas won, once again, thanks to their manager Chusa Martín's good strategy in tie-break games. The final score was 5 - 4. But once in the play offs tireness and the pressure of having a chance to get a medal were too much for Rivas. Playing versus Moskovia for 3rd and 4rd places lost the game by 9 to 1.

01/09/2002 - "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte" travels to Prague to play the European Cup Winners Cup 2002. The women Softball team Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, will travel today Sunday, September 1st, to Prague in Czech Republic, to play the XI European Cup Winners Cup during the whole week.

30/07/2002 - "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte" second of the Queen's Cup 2002. The taughest was done: Rivas defeated the champion of the National League (T.D.) Viladecans from Barcelona but was not able to win Antorcha from Valencia, that was undefeated in this championship. Last week end, Rivas Ciudad del Deporte that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, played the women softball "QUEEN'S CUP 2002" finishing in 2nd place. The victory of this championship was for the Valencian team ANTORCHA that showed to be the best in the competition winning the three games they played. Rivas Ciudad del Deporte won only two of the four encounters played being the two defeates against the same team: the champion of the Queen's Cup 2002 Antorcha from Valencia. So, after loosing their first game against Antorcha from Valencia, Rivas qualified for the final winning OBB from Guipúzcoa by 8 to 1 and Viladecans from Barcelona by 1 to 0. But in the final, the Madrid players were not able to take advantage at bat over the Valencians and scored only two runs, whereas their rivals showed their superiority and scored nine. Finishing the final, the closing ceremony took place. The individual trophies were awarded as follows: Best batter: Valeria Silvestrini, from Antorcha (Val) - Best pitcher: Leigh Ann Walker, from Viladecans (Bar) - M.V.P.: Elisa Aguilar, from Antorcha (Val). Inmidiately after, the team thophies were given based on the final standings: 1. ANTORCHA from Valencia - 2. RIVAS CIUDAD DEL DEPORTE from Madrid - 3. VILADECANS from Barcelona - 4. O.B.B. from Guipúzcoa

19/07/2002 - 2002 Women Softball Queen's Cup. July 27th - 28th in Rivas. Next July 27th and 28th the 2002 WOMEN SOFTBALL QUEEN'S CUP will be played in Rivas-Vaciamadrid , that has been designated recentely as secondary venue for Baseball and Softball in the candidacy of Madrid for the 2012 Olympic Games. This Queen's Cup has been organized by the Town Sports Council of the Rivas-Vaciamadrid Town Hall, the Regional Sports Office of the Madrid Community, the Madrid 2012 Office, the Royal Spanish Baseball and Softball Federation (RFEBS), the Madrid Baseball and Softball Federation (FMBS) and the Rivas-Vaciamadrid Baseball and Softball Club (CBS Rivas). The participating teams besides the host team "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte", that has part of its sponsoship by Madrid 2012, are: "Antorcha" from Valencia, "Orioko Bate Bizkorrak (O.B.B.)" from Guipúzcoa and "Viladecans" from Barcelona. These four teams are the top four of the National League. In this competition the softball women Madrid team "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte" will try to regain the title for the fifth time in a row to be able to participate in European competitions next 2003 season.

18/07/2002 - RIVAS VACIAMADRID OLYMPIC SECODARY VENUE: "A PRIDE FOR RIVAS" By Ms. Chusa Martín, President CBS Rivas. It is a dream come true and a pride for all Rivas people to have been designated as secondary venue for Baseball and Softball in the candidacy of Madrid for the 2012 Olympic Games. The name of Rivas-Vaciamadrid has always been very related to these two sports at both, national and international level. But from now on this municipality is going to reach the best in sports: to live an Olympiad, in case of Madrid being chosen as organicer of the Olympic Games. In any case, we will continue working to improve as we have been doing lately, cooperating with the Rivas Town Hall and also with the Madrid 2012 Office, to give the name of Rivas-Vaciamadrid the prestige that it deserves. These sports, Baseball and Softball, need to be known by more people and so need to have the support of the mass media to obtain a better dissemination. Congratulations to the whole municipality. It is great news for Rivas and for our Baseball and Softball.

17/07/2002 - RIVAS-VACIAMADRID WILL BE OLYMPIC SECONDARY VENUE FOR BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL FOR THE MADRID 2012 GAMES. Unanimously, the government team and the opposition groups have agreed on emphasizing Madrid conditions to be candidate for the organization of the 2012 Olympic Games: large size, population, communication, hotel capacity and urban developement. The cities of Barcelona, Alicante, Málaga, Córdoba and Palma de Mallorca will be secondary venues of Madrid, according to an aprouved report by the Administration Council of the Madrid 2012 Society. Sailing competitions will be held in Palma, while Barcelona, Alicante, Málaga and Córdoba -conected by AVE with the Spanish capital- will held the football preliminaries. Also, the towns of Aranjuez and RIVAS-VACIAMADRID will celebrate competitions of canoeing and rowing, and baseball and softball respectively. The designation of these secondary venues is one of the issues included in the report to be presented to the International Olympic Comity. It is stated in the mentioned report that the 2012 Olympic Games will be played between August 10th and August 26th. At that moment, the capital will have all the necessary infrastructures for the Games to be celebrated. According to this, the Plenary of Madrid City Hall will aprouve this month the purchase of 850.000 square meters of soil in the East part of the city to build the Olympic village. Fausto Fernández, mayor of Rivas-Vaciamadrid annouced: "for the Olympic appointment, we will develop stands for 14.000 spectators for which we already have the soil and a big part of the funding".

16/07/2002 - Special News "2002 European Championships Softball Fastpitch - Junior Girls". The Spanish Junior National Softball Women Team, has finished in sixth place in the "2002 European Championships Softball Fastpitch" played in Chocen, Czech Republic, on July 8th to 13th. The Spanish Team, ended third of its group in the qualifying round, behind the Netherlands and Italy. After this round Spain played Germany to fight for places fifth and sixth of the Championship but unfortunately the Germans won by 12-9. Finally, the Italian Junior National Team won the final game against Russia by 1 to 0. The third place was for Czech Republic and fourth, fifth and sixth were for the Netherlands, Germany and Spain respectively.

12/07/2002 - "2002 CANADA CUP": Four 'Rivas' players selected to be in the Spanish Senior National Team. Tomorrow, the "2002 Canada Cup International Women's Fastpitch Tournament" will start in Surrey, B.C., Canada. The Spanish National Team participates in the mentioned tournament and four players of Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, have been selected to play: Cristina Gómez del Pulgar, Ana Menéndez, Beatriz Requejo and Nuria Sanz.

11/07/2002 - The National League Top Division is still unfinished. Last Sunday, July 7th, was the last make up day of the League, but the games scheduled were postponed due to unknown reasons. We do not know either the new date for those encounters so, until then the standing of the 2002 Women Softball NationaL League for places 2nd, 3rd and 4th is uncertain. Only the first place is decided: Viladecans from Barcelona is the champion of the 2002 League.

04/07/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Last two victories of the League for Rivas in Hospitalet. In the last day of the National League, Top Division, Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, defeated Hércules from Hospitalet (Barcelona), in the two games played. The scores were 14 to 1 in the first one and 25 to 1 in the second.

20/06/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: A run of bad luck follows our girls defeated away by Antorcha. It is not being a good season for the Women Softball Team Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012. In the 12ve day of the National League, Top Division, played last Sunday, June 16th against Antorcha from Valencia, Rivas lost one of the two games, continuing with a lately run of bad luck. It was a very important day but the Rivas girls were not able to stand so much pressure. We cannot remember when was it the last time that this Rivas Women Softball Team had such an embarrasing score as in the first game of last Sunday: 0 to 13 for Antorcha finishing the encounter by the mercy rule in the fifth inning. The second game started in a very different way: Rivas managed to overcome the first game "shock" and showed better plays beating finally the Valencia team by 11 to 4. At this moment of the League, this defeat by Antorcha is a hard knock for Rivas since they have also lost any chance to finish second in the standing of the competition, even though there are still two more days to play.

11/06/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Disaster in Rivas against OBB. The last day of the League that Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, played as local team was a complete disaster for our girls who lost both games against OBB from Orio, Guipúzcoa. It was not an inspiring day for Rivas, who made many errors in defense as well as in offense, fact that OBB was able to make profitable for them to win both encounters.

04/06/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Double in Pamplona under a burning sun. They played in the North of Spain but it seemed to be the South. Under a burning sun, Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, got two victories in the games played yesterday against Pamplona. The scores were 8-23 in the first game and 6-16 in the second one. Both encounters had the same trend, being notable for the bad condition of the playing field (an arid and very hard surface football field without a single shade to shelter) and the intense heat that damaged some players.

27/05/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Crushing victory of Rivas in Irun. Our women Softball team Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, defeated away the Basque team San Marcial in the two games played in this 9th day of the Softball National League, T.D. As it happened in the first round of the League in the two games played against the Irún players, the scores of both games showed the superiority of the Madrid team. Thus, the scores this time were 1-18 in the first encounter and 0-21 in the second one.

20/05/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: It was not possible either in the second round. The second round of the National Women Softball League, T.D., has already started. This 8th day Rivas, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, has played at home their eternal rival Viladecans. In the first round of the League, when these teams faced each other, Rivas only obtained one of the two possible victories. Yesterday, playing at home, it wasn't possible either. The results were 1-0 for Rivas in the first game and lost 8-9 in the second.

16/05/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Rivas almost lost at home... again! The women Softball team Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, played yesterday at home the two games of the 7th day of the National League T.D., versus Hércules from L'Hospitalet, Barcelona. The first game started as predicted: our girls were dominating the game and as a result, the score in the fifth inning was 11 - 3 for Rivas. But when the gamed seemed to be ended by the mercy rule at the end of the fifth inning, something happened. The disastrous 6th inning started for Rivas on defense. There was not any logical explanation but a huge lack of concentration for the Rivas players to make such errors. The Catalonians scored 7 more runs shortening the distance to only 1 run. Fortunately, the seventh and last inning arrived with a final score of 12 runs to 11 for Rivas. They almost lost! The second game was different. Rivas did not give Hércules a chance to score until the 4th and last inning played, in which the Catalonians only managed to get 1 run. Locals were much better in this game and that was reflected on the final score: 18 to 1 for Rivas.

24/04/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: A run of good luck at home finishes for Rivas. Until last Sunday the women Softball team Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, had won all the games played at home. But their run of good luck at home came to its end losing the first game of the 5thday of the National League, T.D., against ANTORCHA from Valencia. In the first game, Rivas scored one run in the first inning but was not able to react to the runs scored by the valencians in the 2nd, 3rd and 6th innings, and so they lost 1 to 3. The second game was very tight, but our girls scored first and this time they were able to maintain the advantage. The final score was 4 runs to 1 for Rivas.

15/04/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Rivas loses in Orio one of the two games played against the OBB and the umpires. Yesterday in Orio, Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, showed again in the two games played versus OBB its already well known excellent level. But Rivas had two more rivals on the field: the umpires. Rivas was so much better than Orio in the first game, that in spite of the continuous mistakes of the referee's rulings the score was good for the Madrid players by 3 to 10. But the second game was a different story since the awful performance of the umpires contributed so decisively to the defeat of Rivas. In the second inning Rivas was up by 5 to 3 but when OBB came to hit, one of the balls hit bounced on the natural fence that surrounded the outfield and stopped in fair territory. At this moment the umpires, after changing their minds several times, called this hit a home-run so the OBB scored two runs leveling the scores. Facing this umpires decision Rivas manager Chusa Martín, decided to continue the game playing under appeal. Many more controversial referee's rulings occurred during the rest of the game, mainly because of the ignorance of the umpires about their duty on the field. And so decisively they were that avoided Rivas from wining against OBB that scored the victory run in their last time at bat of the tie-break in the eighth inning. The final score was 9 to 8.

08/04/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Rivas doesn't give up a victory at home. The women Softball team Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, has won again at home beating Pamplona in the two games played today in the 3rd day of the National League, Top Division. The local team played so well that it was impossible for Pamplona to stop them. Both games were won by the mercy rule, meaning that it was not necessary to play the 7 innings of a regular game since the difference between the runs scored by both teams was higher than 15 and 10 runs respectively. Thus, the score in the first game was 16 to 1 finishing the fourth inning and in the second game it was 12 to 1 in the fifth inning.

25/03/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Rivas hardly finds oposition to beat San Marcial. It could not be otherwise. Rivas Ciudad del Deporte fans were not disappointed when the first time their team played at home beat San Marcial from Irún, in the 2nd day of the Women Softball National League, T.D. In a wonderful game, as well in defense as in attack, the Rivas players completely overshadowed the rival that showed no resistance in any of the two games played. Indeed, the first game finished in the 5th inning with a score of 11 runs to 0 for our players. In the second game, the scoreboard was closed in the 4th inning with 17 to 0 for Rivas Ciudad del Deporte.

20/03/2002 - RIVAS CIUDAD DEL DEPORTE CHAMPION OF THE "V TROFEO CIUDAD DE VALENCIA". The Women Softball team from Madrid Rivas Ciudad del Deporte, team with part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, became champion of the "V Trofeo Ciudad de Valencia 2002" played in Valencia last March 15th, 16th and 17th. After winning against the host team Antorcha in the semifinals on Sunday the 17th, with a score of 6 runs to 5, Rivas got to the final to play the Italian Junior National Team. The last two times that both teams had played each other, victories had been equally given. So this time, excitement was guaranteed. Rivas started scoring one run in the first inning which they defended all through the game. But closing the seventh inning, in their last time at bat the italians managed to get one run levelling the scores. At this point, the eigth inning would take place with the "tie break", in which a runner will be positioned on second base each time at bat of both teams. This way, the team from Italy started the 8th inning, scoring two more runs, but Rivas reacted in their time at bat scoring also two runs and levelling the game again. No runs were scored in the nineth inning, arriving finally to the tenth one. With a very good defense Rivas avoided the italians from scoring and when their time to bat came, closing the 10th inning, Beti Requejo got a double hit, allowing Rivas to score the run that gave the victory to the team. The final qualification of the "V Trofeo Ciudad de Valencia" is as follows: 1. Rivas Ciudad del Deporte - 2. Italian Junior National Team - 3. Antorcha from Valencia - 4. Spanish Junior National Team Besides the first place, Rivas Ciudad del Deporte got the two individual awards of the Tournament: "Best Pitcher" for Cristina Gómez del Pulgar and "Best Batter" for Ana Menéndez. The individual awards "M.V.P." in each team were for: Danah García from "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte", Katia Boscarol from "Italian Junior National Team", Rosa Díaz from "Antorcha" and Jessica Iborra from "Spanish Junior National Team". Next week-end the Rivas Ciudad del Deporte team, will play at home against the team from Irún, San Marcial, in the 2nd day of National League, Top Division. This double appointment will start at 11,00 a.m. next Sunday, March 24th.

12/03/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: Rivas wins one of the two games against the "VILA" from Barcelona in the 1st day of the League. Last Sunday, March 10th was the first day of the Women Softball National League, Top Division, in which the Rivas Ciudad del Deporte team, that has part of its sponsorship by Madrid 2012, played away the Viladecans from Barcelona. In the first encounter, Rivas played a magnificent game, defending as well as attacking, defeating Viladecans by 1 to 8. But the second encounter was not the same. The playing level of the Madrid girls decreased so much that the Viladecans players managed to get the victory with a score of 3 to 1.

06/03/2002 - NATIONAL LEAGUE TOP DIVISION: The ADASI from Zaragoza withdraws from the National Competition Only one week before the Top Division of the Women Senior Softball National League starts one of the participants, the Atléticos Sta. Isabel (ADASI) from Zaragoza, has withdrawn from the National Competition.

21/02/2002 - Second game of the Softball School versus the senior team. On Saturday, February 23rd there is a friendly at 12:00 pm between the team of the Rivas Softball School, with girls of ages 9 up to 16, and a selection of the senior team, "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte".

03/02/2002 - The bright hopes of the Softball School play their first game as a team. At 12:00 pm. of the springlike Saturday, February 2nd started the friendly between the young girls of the Rivas Softball School, with ages from 9 up to 16, and a selection of the senior team "Rivas Ciudad del Deporte". With their nerves on edge but also with a huge excitement, the young girls played their first game that lasted 90 minutes with the victory for the senior team. This day, the final score was not the most important fact but the experience and learning of our brigth hopes as a team, together with the enjoyment of their first game by players and fans. They still have a lot to learn and that's why they work hard with the help of their coaches, Ana Menéndez and Chiqui Vázquez, who combine this teaching task with their training as players of the senior team. The most exciting moment of the day arrived after the game had finished and all the players had taken a bow, and the senior and young players became a very close-knit group in the middle of the infield and shouted: RIVAS!

08/01/2002 - Training sessions for the 2002 season start. On January 8th, training sessions started for the women senior softball team Rivas Ciudad del Deporte to be ready for next 2002 season. The schedule of training sessions is as follows: Tuesdays and Thursdays: from 20,30 to 22,30 // Saturdays: from 14,00 to 15,30.