Women's Softball World Cup

The Women's Softball World Cup is a fastpitch softball tournament for women's national teams held historically every four years, now every two years, by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).[1] The tournament, originally known as the ISF Women's World Championship, was sanctioned by the International Softball Federation (ISF) until that body's 2013 merger with the International Baseball Federation to create the WBSC. The number of teams in the tournament began at five in its inaugural event in 1965, went to a high of 28 for the 1994 edition, and now the WBSC Code legislates that the maximum number of teams that may participate is 16. There are qualifying tournaments that determine which countries will play at the World Cup.

Women's Softball World Cup
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2024 Women's Softball World Cup
SportSoftball
Founded1965 (1965)
No. of teams16 (finals)
ContinentInternational
Most recent
champion(s)		 United States (12th title)
(2022)
Most titles United States (12 titles)

History

A women's softball world championship predates the ISF's event. A championship was held in Canada between several American and Canadian teams in 1952 and 1953.[2] Australia had also hosted an international tournament that predated the first Women's World Championship.[3][4]

In 1965, the first ISF Women's World Championship was held in Melbourne, with games being played at Albert Park.[5][6][7] Five nations competed at the inaugural championships including the United States, Japan and Australia, which Australia won 1–0 in a final game against the United States.[6][7][8] In the game, Australia was held to only two hits while the United States had four.[7] Lorraine Woolley was named the player of the tournament.[7] The inaugural men's championship would occur one year later in Mexico.[5]

In 1970, ten countries participated. The Japanese won competition after having twelve consecutive wins and beating the Americans 3–0 in a final game spectated by 30,000 people.[8]

In 1974, the Americans knocked out the Australians during the semi-finals, when they beat them by a score of 6–0.[9]

Taiwan's leadership discussed inviting China to compete at the 1982 competition which was the country was hosting. Ching-khou and Wang Shen supported mainland China's participation in the event and an invitation was issued but the Chinese government elected to not send a team.[10]

The 1990 edition was the seventh to be held, with six countries having played hosts to the competition.[11]

Teams that competed in 1990 included the US, New Zealand, China, Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Bahamas, Netherlands Antilles, Mexico, Aruba, Bermuda, Indonesia, Argentina, and Zimbabwe.[12] The United States took home gold, New Zealand silver and China bronze.[12] The Soviet Union had a representative attend the 1990 competition and promise that a Soviet side would be competing at the next championships.[12]

The 2006 edition was very important as the Championships were used for Olympic qualifying, with the top four finishers going to the Olympic Games. In 2006, the fourth-place finishers automatically qualified to the Games because China was the Olympic Games based on that. Thus, there was a battle for fifth place between Canada and Italy for Olympic qualifications. In the match for fifth, Canada won 3-0 and earned their fourth consecutive trip to the Olympics.[13]

A world championships is just as tough as any Olympics you attend, the only thing different is at the Olympics you just don't have the same magnitude of hype around it.

Kere Johanson, Australian softball national team coach[14]

Teams that will be competing at the 2012 edition include Australia, Canada and Japan who will play in the same pool.[14][15] The competition was scheduled to act as a replacement for the Olympics.[14]

Results

Australia won the competition in 1965. The victory was considered very impressive as they beat the Americans, who invented the game in 1887, to win the championship.[16] Japan won in 1970, while the 1974 and 1978 editions were won by the United States, the American side also won seven championships in a row from 1988 to 2010,[17][18][19][20] with the USA's most recent victory being a 7–0 win over Japan in the finals.[19] Other countries that have won it include Japan in 1970, 2012 and 2014, and New Zealand in 1982.[21] Teams that have finished second include the US in 1965, 1970, 2012 and 2014, Japan in 1974, 2002, 2006 and 2010, Canada in 1978, Taiwan in 1982, China in 1986 and 1994, New Zealand in 1990, and Australia in 1998.[19][21] Countries that have finished third include the Philippines in 1970.

Year Final Host Medalists
Champions Final score Runners-up 3rd place
1965
Details		 Australia
Melbourne
Australia		 1 – 0
United States
Japan
1970
Details		 Japan
Osaka
Japan		 1 – 0
United States
Philippines
1974
Details		 United States
Stratford
United States		 3 – 0
Japan
Australia
1978
Details		 El Salvador
San Salvador
United States		 4 – 0
Canada
New Zealand
1982
Details		 Taiwan
Taipei
New Zealand		 2 – 0
Chinese Taipei
Australia
1986
Details		 New Zealand
Auckland
United States		 2 – 0
China
New Zealand
1990
Details		 United States
Normal
United States		 *
New Zealand
China
1994
Details		 Canada
St. John's
United States		 6 – 0
China
Australia
1998
Details		 Japan
Fujinomiya
United States		 1 – 0
Australia
Japan
2002
Details		 Canada
Saskatoon
United States		 1 – 0
Japan
Chinese Taipei
2006
Details		 China
Beijing
United States		 3 – 0
Japan
Australia
2010
Details		 Venezuela
Caracas
United States		 7 – 0
Japan
Canada
2012
Details		 Canada
Whitehorse
Japan		 2 – 1
(F/10)
United States
Australia
2014
Details		 Netherlands
Haarlem
Japan		 4 – 1
United States
Australia
2016
Details		 Canada
Surrey
United States		 7 – 3
Japan
Canada
2018
Details		 Japan
Chiba
United States		 7 – 6
(F/10)
Japan
Canada
2022
Details[22]		 United States
Birmingham
United States		 3 – 2
Japan
Chinese Taipei
2024
Details		 Italy
Italy		 TBA TBA TBA TBA
* 1990: Rain washed out the grand final, leading USA to win based on its record in round-robin play.[23]

Medal table
Laura Berg won the competition four times as part of the United States women's national softball team.
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States124016
2 Japan37212
3 Australia1168
4 New Zealand1124
5 China0213
6 Canada0134
7 Chinese Taipei0123
8 Philippines0011
Totals (8 entries)17171751

Hosting

The 1970 edition was hosted by Japan in Osaka.[21] The 1974 edition was played in Stratford, United States.[21] The 1978 games were played in San Salvador, El Salvador.[21] The 1982 competition was hosted by in Chinese Taipei in Taipei.[10][21] The 1986 edition was hosted by New Zealand and held in Auckland.[20][21][24] In 1990, the competition was played in Normal, Illinois.[20][21] The 1994 edition was played in St. John's, Newfoundland.[20][21][25] Japan hosted the 1998 competition in Fujinomiya.[20][21] The 2002 Championships were held in Saskatoon, Canada.[21] China hosted the 2006 Championships in Beijing.[21] The 2010 edition was hosted by Venezuela. The 2012 championship took place in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The 2014 championships were held in Haarlem, Netherlands. The 2016 Tournament was held in Surrey, British Columbia.[26]

Participating nations
Team19651970197419781982198619901994199820022006201020122014201620182022[22]2024Years
 Argentina19th21st14th14th4
 Aruba16th1
 Australia1st4th3rd5th3rd8th4th3rd2nd5th3rd6th3rd3rd10th4th4thq18
 Austria27th18th2
 Bahamas7th12th13th14th4
 Belgium13th13th2
 Belize9th1
 Bermuda11th11th17th24th4
 Botswana20th14th16th14th16th18th6
 Brazil11th1
 Canada8th7th2nd8th4th7th4th5th9th5th3rd4th4th3rd3rd6thq17
 China2nd3rd2nd4th4th4th4th5th7th8th10thq12
 Chinese Taipei6th5th4th2nd6th5th5th7th3rd8th7th7th5th12th9th3rd16th17
 Colombia17th17th12thw3
 Croatia28th1
 Cuba10th10th9th12th16th14th6
 Czech Republic18th11th15th10th9th10th17th7
 Denmark17th1
 Dominican Republic16th16th16th11th4
 Ecuador22nd1
 El Salvador10th6th2
 France22nd23rd2
 Great Britain23rd10th11th13th16th13th11th15th8
 Greece9th19th2
 Guam18th1
 Guatemala12th10th20th3
 India29th1
 Indonesia19th11th18th3
 Israel30th1
 Ireland26th17th2
 Italy8th8th10th8th11th6th7th6th10th9th15th7th7thq14
 Japan3rd1st2nd9th6th7th3rd2nd2nd2nd1st1st2nd2nd2ndq16
 Kenya27th1
 Malaysia20th1
 Mexico5th12th15th16th5th6th8th7
 Moldova25th1
 Nauru22nd1
 Netherlands Antilles14th12th10th12th4
 Netherlands6th6th7th7th9th8th9th11th12th8th6th6th4th8thq15
 New Zealand4th7th9th3rd1st3rd2nd6th13th6th11th12th12th8th7th13th11th17
Territory of New Guinea New Guinea5th1
 Nicaragua15th14th2
 North Korea13th1
 Pakistan31st1
 Panama13th15th2
 Peru21st1
 Philippines3rd4th5th12th16th14th14th10th8
 Puerto Rico13th11th5th11th9th8th8th15th9th5th5thq12
 Russia13th13th2
 Serbia25th1
 Singapore23rd1
 South Africa10th15th14th15th15th15th15th12th8
 South Korea15th14th2
 Spain19th13th2
 Sweden21st16th2
  Switzerland28th1
 Uganda24th1
 Ukraine26th1
 United States2nd2nd1st1st4th1st1st1st1st1st1st1st2nd2nd1st1st1stq18
 U.S. Virgin Islands14th1
 Venezuela15th9th8th10th7th5th11th6th12th9th10
 Zambia9th14th2
 Zimbabwe12th20th2
Total: 63 countries591515231220281716161616163116818

q: Qualified, w: Withdrew

See also

References
  1. "WBSC Softball World Cups 2021 - 2029". WBSC - World Baseball Softball Confederation. World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. Margaret Ann Hall (2002). The girl and the game: a history of women's sport in Canada. University of Toronto Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-1-55111-268-8. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  3. Stell, Marion K. (1991). Half the Race, A history of Australian women in sport. North Ryde, Australia: HarperCollins. p. 209. ISBN 0207169713.
  4. Pollard, Jack (1968). AMPOL book of Australian Sporting Records. Sydney: The Pollard Publishing Co. pp. 273–274. OCLC 71140.
  5. 马国力 (2004). 体育英语. 清华大学出版社. p. 59. ISBN 978-7-302-08926-1. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  6. Kelly Boyer Sagert; Steven J. Overman (28 February 2012). Icons of Women's Sport. ABC-CLIO. p. 375. ISBN 978-0-313-38549-0. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  7. Cashman, Richard (2001). Australian sport through time. Milsons Point, N.S.W.: Random House Australia. p. 334. ISBN 1740514459. OCLC 223005022.
  8. Arlott, John (1975). The Oxford companion to sports and games. London; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 978. ISBN 0192115383. OCLC 1583084.
  9. Cashman, Richard (2001). Australian sport through time. Milsons Point, N.S.W.: Random House Australia. p. 370. ISBN 1740514459. OCLC 223005022.
  10. Jay Taylor (2000). The Generalissimo's son: Chiang Ching-kuo and the revolutions in China and Taiwan. Harvard University Press. p. 370. ISBN 978-0-674-00287-6. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  11. Marty Gitlin; Karen (CON) Johns (15 July 2011). Girls Play to Win Softball. Norwood House Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1-59953-465-7. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  12. "International Softball Federation - ISF". Internationalsoftball.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  13. "International Softball Federation". Internationalsoftball.com. 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
  14. Rees, Courtney. "Swapping London games for Canberra". Canberra Times. Canberra, Australia. p. 20.
  15. "Australian Open Women's Squad 2012". Australia: Softball Australia. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  16. Viney, Nigel; Grant, Neil (1978). An illustrated history of ball games. London: Heinemann. pp. 97–98. ISBN 0434969400. OCLC 5125714.
  17. David L. Porter (30 March 2004). Latino and African American athletes today: a biographical dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-0-313-32048-4. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  18. Paula Edelson (2002). A to Z of American Women in Sports. Infobase Publishing. pp. 79–. ISBN 978-1-4381-0789-9. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  19. "Team USA earns 7th straight world softball title - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  20. Ernestine G. Miller (29 May 2002). Making her mark: firsts and milestones in women's sports. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-07-139053-8. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  21. White, Patrick (2005). Chambers sports factfinder. Edinburgh: Chambers. pp. 542–543. ISBN 0550101616. OCLC 58052551.
  22. "The World Games to serve as world championship". theworldgames.org. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  23. "ISF VII WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP". Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  24. George B. Kirsch; Othello Harris; Claire Elaine Nolte (April 2000). Encyclopedia of ethnicity and sports in the United States. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 375–. ISBN 978-0-313-29911-7. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  25. Congressional Record. Government Printing Office. pp. 24996–. GGKEY:QQLDQYTX3ST. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  26. Judi Garman; Michelle Gromacki (22 February 2011). Softball Skills & Drills. Human Kinetics. pp. 314–. ISBN 978-0-7360-9074-2. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
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