Irene Burrows, the Australian association secretary, was extremely keen to support this and took active steps to try to work on this goal.

[2] Despite being eligible for inclusion on the program by 1969, it was not because Olympic organisers determined the sport, alongside roller skating and water skiing was "too big and too expensive.

[2] The 1992 Summer Olympics frustrated softball organisers because baseball was to be a medal sport at the Games as a men's only event.

[11] The IOC earlier had established a committee the prototype of their International Olympic Commission on Women and Sports.

Anita DeFrantz as committee chair starting 1992 would be instrumental in helping get softball on the Olympic program.

[12] It is a little bit funny seeing London splashed across the TV at the moment for us and I think a lot of the girls are only now just starting to realise that we aren't in the Olympics.

On 11 July 2005, the IOC voted to drop baseball and softball from the Olympic program for 2012,[14] a decision that was reaffirmed on 9 February 2006.

[16] It was officially decided in August 2009 at IOC Board meeting in Berlin that it would not be included in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

[18] The removal of softball from the Olympics has had an adverse impact on the game: Australia's government gave less funding to the sport as a result of the decision.

[20] On August 3, 2016, the IOC voted to include baseball and softball in the 2020 Summer Olympics, along with karate, sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding.

Rule differences between Olympic softball and baseball included: 1) ball is pitched underhand.

The pitcher's mound is the same height as the rest of the playing surface, with the infield being covered in dirt instead of grass.

Countries competing at the 1996 Summer Olympics included the United States, China, Australia, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico.

Countries competing at the 2000 Summer Olympics included the United States, Japan, Australia, China, Italy, New Zealand, Cuba and Canada.

Countries competing at the 2004 Summer Olympics included the United States, Australia, Japan, China, Canada, Taiwan, Greece and Italy.

[27] The United States (USA) won their third consecutive gold while Australia (AUS) took silver and Japan (JPN), the bronze.

The organizing committee of the 2024 Paris Olympics has announced that softball will be omitted from these games' program.

[34] At the inaugural appearance of the event on the Olympic program, the United States took gold and losing one game on the way there.