The off, in, and now off-again situation is fundamentally problematic and profoundly frustrating.
The International Olympic Committee admitted softball for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Summer Games, but it was a long road for the sport to get there. In the 1940s, the U.S. and Japan were the first countries to try and get softball in as an Olympic sport. They continued efforts in the 1950s when the Amateur Softball Association of America sent letters to the newly formed International Olympic Federation to include softball in the Olympic Games.
Anita DeFrantz (photo, Sportscal)
Then, in the 1970s, organizations in Australia and the U.S sought to get softball in at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games as a “demonstrational sport.” They failed, but baseball was added.
Finally–after decades of trying–softball was introduced as a sport in the 1996 Summer Games. Anita DeFrantz (left) was instrumental in getting softball into the Games.
Now, after a few years of competition, the International Olympic Committee has decided to drop softball and baseball from Olympic programming. Several factors came into play, including the sports’ limited international popularity and competition from other sports to secure a spot in the Games (e.g., rugby).
But this off, in, and now off-again situation is fundamentally problematic and profoundly frustrating. I would love to see softball (baseball, too) as an Olympic sport. I’m not alone.
