An Olympic sport since Atlanta 1996,
softball is a relative newcomer to the Olympic family.
Softball started off in 1887 when George Hancock, a Chicago reporter,
invented 'indoor baseball'. By 1888, the game had spread outdoors to help train local
firemen. Originally called various names, the name of softball seemed to stick in 1920.
Softball is like baseball, except the ball is bigger; 12 inches
(30.4cm) in circumference as opposed to 9 inches (22.8cm). If you're hitting different
sized balls, it helps to have different sized bats.
The pitches are supposed to be slower in softball (as they throw
underarm) and the diamonds are smaller.
In the Olympics, fast-pitch softball is the domain of the women.
Fast-pitch allows two main underhand pitching deliveries; one that
involves an entire revolution and the other where the pitcher's arm moves back and then
The host country automatically gets a birth in the Olympics and seven
other teams qualify through world championships and various regional Olympic qualifiers.
Teams compete in a single pool of eight; playing each other once only.
The top four teams then advance to the semi-finals, with the
first-placed team playing the second-placed team and the third playing the fourth.
The loser between teams 1 and 2 then plays the winner between teams 3
and 4; with that winner playing the original winner between teams 1 and 2, for the gold
Softball Olympic Medal Winners
Atlanta 1996: USA, China, Australia.
Sydney 2000: USA, Japan, Australia.
Athens 2004: USA, Australia, Japan.
Fernandez, of the USA, holds the Olympic career strikeout record with 59.
International Softball Federation.
National Softball Federations
Amateur Softball Association of
When the ASA entered the softball picture in 1933, the sport was in a state of confusion
with no unified set of playing rules and no national governing body to provide guidance
and stability. The ASA changed all that by adopting softball's first universally accepted
rules of play and by organising consistent and fair competition across the nation.
Latest softball news affecting the UK.
Australia's softball history began in 1939 when Gordon Young, Director of Physical
Education in NSW, began to promote the game in schools and colleges.
The national sport governing body for softball in Canada.
Softball New Zealand:
The first organised competitions took place in the summer of 1937/38, the Wellington
Softball (Baseball) Association was formed in November 1937, and with the game spreading
rapidly up and down the country the N.Z. (Baseball) Softball Council was formed at a
meeting at Kelvin Gymnasium, Wellington, on January 11, 1938.
Softball South Africa:
The normalisation of society in South Africa, also saw separate sporting bodies unifying
under one single controlling umbrella. After many deliberations Softball South Africa was
born in 1992, when the three Presidents put their signatures to the new draft
General Softball Links
Over 1,000 links to softball teams with a separate section for girls.
Link directory devoted to softball.
A quick guide to softball, in six easy steps.