Softball is a women's team game. There are nine players in a team. The playing field is diamond shaped. There is a base in each corner.
A pitcher in the
middle throws the ball to a batter on the other team. The batter
stands at home-plate and tries to hit the ball to a part of the
field where it will be hard to catch. Fielders on the other team
try to catch the ball.
After hitting the ball, the batter runs to first base. She will try to run to as many bases as she can before the fielders get the ball back to the pitcher. If a batter can run to all four bases in one go she gets a home run. The team that gets the most runs wins the game.
If a batter has three swings at the ball and does not hit it,
she is out. If she hits the ball and a fielder catches it before
it bounces, she will be out. She will be out too if a fielder
can tag her while she is running in between the bases.
When three players are out, the teams change over. The team that was batting will field and the team that was fielding will bat. Umpires make sure the players keep the rules.
Softball is sometimes an event at the Olympics. It was an event at the 1996, 2000, 2004, and the 2008 Games. It was dropped as an event at the 2012, and will not be an event at the 2016 Games.
Find a kidcyber activity page about softball here
Acknowledge this
source in your bibliography like this:
Thomas, Ron & Sydenham, Shirley Softball
[On-line] www.kidcyber.com.au
(2011).
Back to
Olympics Index
Sydenham & Thomas, [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (© May 2011))