The 2008 Olympics in Beijing was the last time softball was played in the Olympics. It was cut from the Olympic program because there weren’t enough countries that had good softball organizations and it’s popularity was primarily people in America, Asia, and Canada. Also, they needed to make room for sports such as golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports. According to Vicki Michaelis from USA TODAY, “Baseball and softball are the first sports cut from the Olympics since polo in 1936.” In 2005, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) took a vote and softball and baseball were removed from the Olympics for the 2012 and 2016 games (although they were still allowed to play in the 2008 games). Upon hearing this, people all around the world were disappointed. On the other hand, some countries were happy that softball was taken out of the Olympics because they believed that the USA was too dominant, since they medaled every year.
In my opinion, softball should definitely be an Olympic sport. It is fun to watch and to play. By having an Olympic softball team, it gives girls a goal to try to achieve. For many girls who play in college, they dream of playing at “the next level,” but they can’t if there isn’t an Olympic team. Some people think that only people in America are interested in softball, but that is not true. Teams from Asia such as Japan, were also devastated when softball was removed. Many softball leagues and organizations are working to help promote softball world-wide, so that hopefully, it can be played in the 2016 Olympics. Softball deserves to be in the Olympics, and I hope that in the near future it will be.
~Abby Abramson