Softball (Olympic sport since 1996)

   About

   There is little soft about Olympic softball. One pitch at Atlanta was clocked at 118 kilometres per hour (73.3 mph). Considering the pitcher stands 13.1 metres (43 feet) from the batter, and the hardest-throwing baseball pitchers throw 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph) from 18.4 metres (60 feet), softball batters have essentially the same time to react as their baseball counterparts.

   In addition, a softball is as hard as a baseball. The only difference being the size; a softball is 30.4cm (12 inches) in circumference and a baseball is 22.8cm (9 inches).

   Competition

   Eight teams compete at the Olympic Games in the discipline of women's fast pitch. The host country automatically has a spot because they are the host team, and the other seven teams qualify through world championships and various regional Olympic Qualifiers.

   The teams compete in a single pool, playing each of the other seven once. The top four teams 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 winner between teams 1 and 2 for the championship.

   List of events

   -- softball Women

History

   Discipline's origin

   Softball began in 1887 when George Hancock, a reporter for the Chicago Board of Trade, invented "indoor baseball". By the spring of 1888, the game had spread outdoors. It was originally called either mushball, kittenball or indoor baseball, but by the 1920s it had acquired the name of softball. The sport became organised in the United States in 1933 with the formation of the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA). The sport was originally played by men and did not become popular with women until the formation of the ASA.

   Softball spread slowly to the rest of the world with, perhaps, it biggest push coming from American servicemen playing and teaching the game on the far-flung fields of World War II. It was not until 1965 that the International Softball Federation (ISF) was formed. Author Karen Christensen, in Encyclopedia of World Sport, notes that softball spread to the United Kingdom because of an American movie. The movie, "A Touch of Class", was filmed in London and featured a softball game, which began to be played in England as a result.

   Softball consists of several disciplines: fast pitch, slow pitch, and modified fast pitch. Fast pitch allows two main underhand pitching deliveries; one that involves an entire revolution and the other where the pitchers arm comes back and then forward. Slow pitch requires the pitcher to lob the ball underhanded with an arc that reaches a minimum height of 1.83 metres and a maximum height of 3.66 metres. A modified fast pitch allows underhand deliveries but the arm must not make a complete revolution around the shoulder socket. Internationally, fast pitch is the dominant game. In the United States, slow pitch is played by millions of people in recreational leagues.

   World championships in fast pitch softball were first held in 1965 for women and 1966 for men. Slow-pitch world championships began in 1987, and the competition resumed in Florida (USA) in June of 2002. The first world competition for junior men and women was held in 1981 and a World Cup for age 16-under girls began in 2001.

   Olympic history

   Softball for women was admitted to the Olympic programme during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The United States won the gold medal in those Games and again at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Athens 2004 Olympics.

Equipment

   Ball

   The ball is made from a synthetic core covered in leather. The ball is larger than a baseball.

   Bat

   Used to hit the ball and is usually made of high-grade aluminium alloy.

   Batting glove

   Used by the batter. (use is optional). It is a thin leather glove used to protect the batter's hand from blisters.

   Diamond

   Softball is usually played on a dirt infield and grass outfield. The softball field is called a diamond because the infield, the area enclosed by home plate and the three bases, forms a diamond shape.

   Glove

   A padded leather glove is used by the fielder to catch the ball.

   Helmet (catcher) (skull cap)

   A partial helmet is used by the catcher to protect the skull against any foul balls.

   Mask (catcher)

   A full-faced mask is used to protect the athlete's face against the fast moving ball.

   Shin guards, Knee pads

   Used to protect knees and shins of the catcher from the ball, and runners sliding into home plate.

   Helmet (batter)

   Used to protect the skull while batting and base running

Glossary

   Ball: A pitch outside the strike zone that the batter does not try to hit.

   Base: One of the three safe stations for the batter or baserunner.

   Base line: The direct line between each base, along which the base runner must generally run.

   Base runner: A batter who has reached base safely.

   Bases loaded: Bases are said to be loaded when there is a baserunner on each base.

   Batter: The player trying to hit the pitch.

   Batter's box: A rectangular area beside home plate where the batter must stand to hit the pitch.

   Batting order: The official list giving the order in which members of the team must come to bat.

   Bunt: An attempt by the batter to tap the ball instead of swinging at it.

   Catcher: The fielder positioned behind home plate who catches the pitches.

   Center fielder: The fielder positioned in centre field (near the middle of the outfield).

   Change-up: A pitch thrown deceptively slowly to surprise the batter.

   Curveball: A pitch thrown with a rotation that makes the ball curve.

   Defense: The fielding team.

   Designated hitter: A player who bats in place of a designated teammate in the batting lineup.

   Double: A hit that allows a batter to reach second base.

   Double play: A play in which two outs are made as the result of continuous action.

   Dugout: The semi-enclosed area beside the playing field where players sit when they are not actively involved in the game.

   Error: A mistake by a fielder that lets a batter or baserunner advance to a base.

   Fair ball: A ball hit into the field of play.

   Fastball: A pitcher's fastest pitch.

   First baseman: The fielder stationed near first base.

   Fly ball: A ball hit in the air.

   Forceout: An out made when a baserunner, forced to run because another teammate must run to the base being occupied, cannot reach the next base safely

   Foul ball: A ball hit outside the foul lines.

   Foul lines: The two straight lines, extending from home plate past the outside edges of first and third bases to the outfield fence.

   Foul tip: A ball that barely touches the bat before continuing sharply to the catcher with little deviance.

   Grand slam: A home run with a baserunner on each base, scoring four runs.

   Ground ball: A ball hit along the ground.

   Hit: A ball struck by a batter that enables the batter to reach base safely.

   Home plate: The five-sided piece of whitened rubber the batter stands beside to hit the pitch.

   Home run: A hit by a batter, which usually goes over the outfield fence, that enables the batter to run around all the bases safely.

   Infield: The diamond-shaped area formed by the three bases and home plate.

   Inning: A turn at batting and fielding for each team.

   Left fielder: The outfielder stationed in left field (the left-hand side of the outfield from the batter's perspective).

   Line drive: A ball hit sharply in a straight line roughly parallel to the ground.

   Live ball: A ball in play.

   On deck: Waiting to bat next.

   Outfield: The playing area inside the foul lines and beyond the infield.

   Outfielder: A fielder in any of the three outfield positions.

   Passed ball: A catcher's failed attempt to catch a good pitch, allowing a baserunner to advance to the next base.

   Pinch hitter: A player who bats in place of a teammate one time in a game.

   Pinch runner: A player who runs the bases in place of a team-mate one time in a game.

   Pitcher: The player who delivers the ball to the batter.

   Pitcher's plate: The rubber slat on which the pitcher must stand, prior to delivering a pitch.

   Pop fly: A ball hit in the air to the infield.

   Relief pitcher: A pitcher coming into a game in progress.

   Right fielder: The outfielder stationed in right field (the right side of the outfield from the batter's perspective).

   Run: The point scored when a batter or baserunner advances to home plate.

   Run batted in: The credit a batter receives for a turn at bat that enables a teammate to score a run.

   Sacrifice fly: A fly ball hit far enough to enable a baserunner on third base to score a run after the ball is caught.

   Scoring position: A good position for scoring a run on most hits, referring specifically to a baserunner standing on second base or third base.

   Second baseman: The fielder stationed near second base.

   Shortstop: The fielder normally positioned between the second and third basemen.

   Single: A hit that allows a batter to reach first base safely.

   Slide: A baserunning manoeuvre in which the player slides into a base to avoid overrunning it, or to make it difficult for the fielder to tag the runner with the ball.

   Squeeze play: An offensive play in which the batter bunts to try to let the baserunner on third base score a run.

   Starting pitcher: The pitcher for each team at the start of the game.

   Steal: A baserunner's successful advance from one base to the next during a pitch that is not hit.

   Strike: 1. a pitch judged by the umpire to have passed over home plate between the batter's armpits and the top of the knees. 2. a pitch that the batter swings at and misses. 3. a foul ball when the batter has fewer than two strikes.

   Strike zone: The area over home plate between the batter's armpits and the top of the knees, where a pitch is called a strike even if the batter does not swing the bat.

   Strikeout: An out where the batter has three strikes.

   Tag: A base runner who is off base is touched with the ball by a fielder.

   Third baseman: The fielder stationed near third base.

   Triple: A hit that allows a batter to reach third base.

   Triple play: A play in which three outs are made with one pitch ... continuous play.

   Walk: An automatic advance to first base for the batter after the pitcher delivers four balls.

   Wild pitch: A pitch thrown so wildly that the catcher cannot easily handle it.