User:Gmorales10/sandbox

The International Olympic Committee voted softball back in for the 2020 for the Tokyo Games. Team USA was the first to qualify holding an undefeated record of 9 wins and 0 losses which beat Japan 7-6 in the final of the 2018 World Championships, on 12 August in China. For the four remaining slots, qualifying competitions by continental zone will be held in 2019: Europe-Africa (the winner qualifies), the Americas (the top two finishers qualify), and Asia-Oceania (the winner qualifies).

The first Olympic Softball qualifier this year will be held in Europe, from July 23-28 in Utrecht, Netherlands. This eight-team qualifying event hosted by the Dutch Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB) will allocate one spot to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The competition will feature the top six finishers of the European Championship and the top two softball teams in Africa.

The Americas Olympic Softball Qualifier will be hosted by Softball Canada and staged from August 25 to September 1 in Vancouver, B.C. This qualifier will feature up to 16 National Teams with the top two advancing to the six-team Olympic softball event at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The Asia/Oceania Qualifier is scheduled for September 24-29 in Shanghai, under host Chinese Softball Association. This Olympic qualifier will feature eight teams -- six from the Asian Games and two from Oceania -- and award the final place to Tokyo 2020.

The USA Softball Women's National Team was the first to qualify for Tokyo 2020, winning the WBSC Women's Softball World Championship last year in China, Japan. Host country Japan has been granted an automatic entry into the 2020 Olympic Baseball and Softball events.

Team USA has won 3 consecutive years in a row with the sports debut back in 1996. The women for the team will be selected this year. They will have about 15 athletes that will need to be at least 16 years of age. With the 2020 Games having a home spot advantage, baseball and softball are heavy populated sports in Japan. Japan Women's softball have proudly took the podium between 2000-2008 winning the gold medal in the 2008 Games.

The World Cup of Softball, an annual eight-team invitational that begins its 12th installment, is a tournament with a big name and a more modest identity.It is the most meaningful international softball event that will take place in the United States in 2017, but it does not feature the most meaningful games the U.S. national team will play this year.It is a renewal of one of the best rivalries in team sports. The United States and Japan will play at least once at Hall of Fame Stadium, with the potential for an additional championship meeting on Sunday between opponents that met in each of the past six world championship finals and two Olympic finals. Yet neither will be as concerned with beating its opponent as readying for future encounters.

Since it was built in 1987, the ASA Softball Hall of Fame Complex is the Mecca of Softball®, and is home to some of the most outstanding softball events in the United States, including the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS), the World Cup of Softball, Border Battle, the USA Softball 18U GOLD National Championship and the USA Softball Slow Pitch Championship Series.Annually, the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex plays host to the nation's No. 1 collegiate contest, the NCAA WCWS, which annually draws more than 70,000 spectators from around the nation and has had record setting crowds since 2010. The ASA Softball Hall of Fame Complex has hosted the event since 1990 and is scheduled as the home of the WCWS through 2035.