Softball
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 meters from the batter, and the hardest-throwing baseball pitchers throw 160 kilometers per hour from 18.4 meters, softball batters have essentially the same time to react as their baseball counterparts. [Full story]
List of Events
- • softball Women
- QUAL
- PRINCIPLES
- TIMELINE
- ENTRIES
- REALLO
QUAL
QUALIFICATION SYSTEM
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| Event | Qualification | Total |
| 2006 World Championships | The top 4 teams qualify for the Olympic Games | 4 teams |
| Regional qualifying tournaments | The winner of each of the 3 following qualifying tournaments qualifies 1 place: | 3 teams |
| Europe and Africa Pan-America (including North, South and Central America) Asia and Oceania |
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| Host nation | The host nation automatically qualifies 1 team | 1 team |
| Total | Women | 8 teams |
PRINCIPLES:
QUALIFICATION SYSTEM
The following teams will be qualified for the Olympic tournament:
1. Host nation 1
The host nation of the Olympic tournament will be directly qualified
2. 2006 World Championships 4
The first four placed teams from the 2006 World Championships
3. Regional qualifying tournaments 3
The other places for the Olympic Games will be determined by holding the
following qualification tournaments, the winners of which will qualify:
Europe/Africa (1 place)
A qualifying tournament in Europe or Africa with teams from the European and African
Region competing
Americas (1 place)
A qualifying tournament in the Americas region with teams from North, South and Central
America competing
Asia/Oceania (1 place)
A qualifying tournament in the Asian or Oceania region with teams from Asia and
Oceania competing
The regional qualifying tournaments will be open only to those teams which have not already qualified
for the Olympic Games, and must be completed no later than 6 months prior to the Olympic Games.
The dates and sites of the regional qualifying tournaments will be confirmed by the ISF by
31 December 2006.
TIMELINE:
| 27 August – 5 September 2006 | World Championships, Beijing (CHN) |
| 31 December 2006 | ISF to confirm the dates and sites of regional qualifying tournaments |
| 1 – 5 February 2007 | Asia/Oceania Regional qualifying tournament in Tainan City (TPE) |
| 11 – 18 June 2007 | Europe/Africa Regional qualifying tournament in TBD (ITA) |
| 18 – 26 August 2007 | Americas Regional qualifying tournament in Caracas (VEN) |
| 31 January 2008 | All regional qualifying tournaments must be completed |
| 30 June 2008 | Deadline for NFs/NOCs to confirm the use of their qualification places |
| 23 July 2008 | Deadline for Beijing 2008 Organising Committee to receive entry forms submitted by NOCs |
ENTRIES:
Teams qualified:
China (Host nation)
US (winner of the World Championships)
Japan (runner-up of the World Championships )
Australia (third of the World Championships)
Canada (fifth of the World Championships)
Chinese Taipei (Asia/Oceania Champion)
Netherlands (Europe/Africa Champion)
Venezuela (Americas Region Champion)
REALLO:
REALLOCATION OF UNUSED QUOTA POSITIONS
If an NF/NOC does not use its qualification place, the place will be re-allocated to the next ranked
team from the event at which the qualification place was allocated..
Competition venues
Hall of Fame
Lisa Fernandez
Multi-talented softball player Lisa Fernandez represented the United States ... [Full story]
Hayley Wickenheiser
Hayley Wickenheiser had the unusual distinction of having represented her nation, Canada ... [Full story]
