Competition Format

Competition System

The Beijing 2008 Olympic softball tournament comprises of two stages: preliminary and Page System playoff.

Preliminary

The format is a round-robin competition, with each team playing seven games in the preliminary phase. The top four teams will then play in the Page System playoff.

Page System Playoff

The Page System shall comprise of two semi-finals, one final and one grand final.

The Page System will take place over two competition days. The two semi-finals and the final will be played on the second to the last day and the grand final will be played on the last day.

First semi-final: The teams ranked third and fourth in the round robin shall play for a place in the final; the loser is the fourth.

Second semi-final: The teams ranked first and second in the round robin will play for a place in the grand final; the loser will play in the final.

Final: The winner of the first semi-final and the loser of the second semi-final shall play for the second place in the grand final; the loser is the third.

Grand final: The winner of the second semi-final and the winner of the final will play for the first place; the loser is the second.

Game Duration

Usually a softball game takes two hours. All games must go seven innings, except as provided for in Article 7.12 b and 7.12 c in ISF Technical &Procedural Code for the World Championships and Olympic Games. If, after the completion of seven innings of play, the score is tied, the tie breaker will be played to determine the winner.