International Competition
The International Softball Federation holds world championships in several categories. The ISF is the international governing body. The Amateur Softball Association is the National Governing Body of Softball for the United States pursuant to the 1976 Amateur Sports Act. Due to the popularity of the sport, there are a multitude of governing bodies such as the United States Specialty Sports Association, International Softball Congress and the National Softball Association.
The ISF holds world championship tournaments in several categories. The tournament in each category is held every four years - 2 years from 2010. The most recent tournament was XII Women's World Championship in June, 2010. All World Championships use a Page playoff system and are in fastpitch. There are also several World Cups held at 4 year intervals in different categories.
Australia are the current Men's World Champions, having won the title in 2009. Prior to that, New Zealand had won the previous three tournaments. The current Junior Men's World Champion is Australia, which has won the last four championships. In the Women's World Championships the United States is the most dominant team, having won three of the past four Olympic tournaments and the past seven World Championships. The current Junior Women's World Champion is the United States.
Women's softball made its first Olympic appearance in 1996 and made its final Olympic appearance in the 2008 games. Softball and Baseball have both failed attempts to be reinstated to the Olympics fo 2012 and 2016. In 2012 the heads of the International Softball and Baseball Federations announced they were uniting to increase their chances in playing in the 2020 games."The proposal calls for men's baseball and women's softball to be played at a single venue over seven to 10 days. Each tournament would feature eight teams. Baseball and softball would be two disciplines under a single sports banner. The merger still requires formal approval from the congress of both federations. Softball and baseball are competing with karate, roller sports, squash, sports climbing, wakeboard and wushu for inclusion in 2020. Only one spot on the Olympic program is open.The IOC executive board will decide next May which sport to recommend for inclusion. The final decision will be made in a vote of the full IOC in Buenos Aires in September 2013".
Read more about this topic: Softball
Famous quotes containing the word competition:
“Playing games with agreed upon rules helps children learn to live by rules, establish the delicate balance between competition and cooperation, between fair play and justice and exploitation and abuse of these for personal gain. It helps them learn to manage the warmth of winning and the hurt of losing; it helps them to believe that there will be another chance to win the next time.”
—James P. Comer (20th century)