Softball

Softball is a team sport strongly resembling baseball, from which it is descended, but which differs from baseball in a number of particulars resulting in a game with its own unique style and flavor. The game is played in over a hundred countries internationally, but is most popular in the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Korea, the Philipines, Australia and New Zealand. Since 1996, it has been on the Olympic program, though the current Olympiad (Beijing 2008) will mark its last as an Olympic event unless it is re-instated in the future.

In the United States, where the game originated, it is played mainly as an amateur paticipant sport and, as such, is the most popular sport activity in the country with more than 40 million people playing the game annually. In addition, it has become a staple of the women's athletic program at high schools and colleges in the U.S.

The game itself exists in a variety of different forms all going under the same name. The two major versions are called fastpitch and slowpitch. Both, in contrast to baseball, require the pitcher to deliver the ball to the batter with an underarm motion, but in fastpitch there are no other special restrictions while in slowpitch, the ball must be "lobbed" in with a substantial arc, resulting in a slow (hence: slowpitch) delivery. The fastpitch version is the norm for highly competitive athletic play, such as in high schools and colleges, while the slowpitch version is the recreational favorite for all ages and genders, including mixed gender teams.

Internationally, the governing body for softball is the International Softball Federation. The ISF is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the governing body of the sport internationally, responsible for administering the sport including the adoption of uniform rules and procedures for the sport as well as for providing the auspices for the organization of competitions and championships.