Baseball at the Summer Olympics had its official debut at the 1992 Summer Olympics and has been contested in 4 Olympiads. 15 different nations have appeared in the Olympic archery competitions, with 3 of those nations appearing in all four editions of the tournament. Olympic baseball is governed by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The Games of the XXV Olympiad were held in 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... The International Baseball Federation (or IBAF) is the worldwide body which governs play between national teams, including the World Cup of Baseball (in conjunction with Major League Baseball) and the Olympic baseball tournament (in conjuction with the International Olympic Committee). ...

History

Baseball has a long history as a demonstration sport in the Olympics, but was formally introduced as a medal sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. A view of the playing field at Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri. ... The Games of the XXV Olympiad were held in 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... Barcelona within Barcelonès Population ( 2003) 1,582,738 Area 1004 Km2 Population density ( 2001) 15,764/Km2 Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeastern Spain (41º 23 N, 2º 11 E). ...

It first appeared in the 1912 Summer Olympics. An American team played against the host Sweden, winning 13-3. In 1936, two American teams played each other. The 1952 event was a modified form of the sport, Finnish baseball, played by two Finnish teams. Australia played a one-game exhibition against the United States in 1956 and Japan did the same in 1964. The Games of the V Olympiad were held in 1912 in Sweden. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... The Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige  listen) is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. ... The Games of the XI Olympiad were held in 1936 in Germany. ... The Games of the XV Olympiad were held in 1952 in Finland. ... Finnish baseball (pesäpallo) is a fast-moving ball sport greatly similar to baseball. ... The Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta, Swedish: Republiken Finland) is a Nordic country in northeastern Europe, bordered by the Baltic Sea to the southwest, the Gulf of Finland to the southeast and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. ... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... The Games of the XVI Olympiad were held in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia, although the equestrian events could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations. ... Official language Japanese Capital Tokyo Largest City Tokyo Emperor Akihito Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 60th 377,835 km² 0. ... The Games of the XVIII Olympiad were held in 1964 in Japan. ...

Demonstration tournaments were held in 1984 and 1988. Eight teams competed each year, with Japan defeated the United States in the final in 1984 and the Americans getting their revenge in 1988. The Games of the XXIII Olympiad were held in 1984 in Los Angeles, sports Opening ceremonies July 28, 1984 Closing ceremonies August 12, 1984 Officially opened by Ronald Reagan Athletes Oath Edwin Moses Judges Oath Sharon Weber Olympic Torch Rafer Johnson Highlights After the American-led boycott of... The Games of the XXIV Olympiad were held in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. ...

The sport was added as an official event in 1992, with an eight team tournament. Players were required to be amateurs. The tournament consisted of a round-robin, in which teams played each of the other teams, followed by semifinals and finals. The format of the competition has remained the same since then, with the only major change being that starting in 2000 players were not required to be amateurs. Categories: 2000 Summer Olympics ...

Medals

General info: Large flag of Cuba Dimensions: 604x302 pixels Source: Image originally derived from the public domain flags of the CIA World Factbook License: Originally public domain, modifications under GFDL Most of the flags have had their colours improved and many have been resized to the proper ratios. ... The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago in the northern Caribbean that lies at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. ... Download high resolution version (1520x800, 18 KB) Subject: Flag of the United States. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Large flag of Japan (10:7 (length:width) white rectangle with a centered red circle with a diameter of 3/5 of the width) Dimensions as stated and colors as used on the Homepage of the Japanese embassy to germany. ... Official language Japanese Capital Tokyo Largest City Tokyo Emperor Akihito Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 60th 377,835 km² 0. ... Australian National Flag For more information, see Australian Government, Flying the Flag - Its an Honour!. Created by User:Anthony S. Tsoumbris File links The following pages link to this file: Australia Politics of Australia The Ashes Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Labor Party Australian Democrats Australian Capital Territory Talk... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... The flag used at the Olympics by Taiwan/Republic of China (dubbed Chinese Taipei by the IOC). ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Taegeukgi: National Flag of Republic of Korea For more information, see Cheong Wa Dae, Office of the President, Republic of Korea. ... South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK; Korean: Daehan Minguk (Hangul: 대한 민국; Hanja: 大韓民國)), is a country in East Asia, covering the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. ...

Qualification

The host nation is always guaranteed a place in the Olympic baseball tournament. The other seven places are generally determined by continental qualifying tournaments. For the 2008 tournament, the Americas receive two places, Europe receives one place, and Asia receives one place.

The final three places are given to the top three nations at an eight-team tournament held after the continental tournaments. Qualification for this tournament is determined by those continental tournaments. The third and fourth place American teams, second and third place European teams, second and third place Asian teams, first place African team, and first place Oceania team compete in that tournament. 1 (http://www.usabaseball.com/oly_qualifying.html)

Competition

Olympic baseball is nearly identical to most professional baseball. Aluminum bats are allowed, however. There is also a slaughter rule that is invoked if a team is winning by 10 or more runs after 7 innings (or 6.5 innings if the home team is leading). Rosters are limited to 24 players per team. A slaughter rule, also well known by the slightly more polite term mercy rule or less commonly, knockout rule, brings a sports event to an early end when one team has a very large and presumably insurmountable lead over the other team. ...

The tournament consists of a round-robin preliminary round in which each team plays all 7 of the other teams. Only the top four teams advance to the medals round. In that round, semifinals are played between the 1st/4th place teams and the 2nd/3rd place teams. The semifinal losers then play a bronze medal game, with the winner earning the medal and the loser receiving 4th place. The semifinal winners play in the final, which awards the winner a gold medal and the loser a silver medal. A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests (typically athletics competitions) such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. ... This article is about gold medal, as an award or prize. ... A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests (typically athletics competitions) such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. ...

Nations

The following nations have taken part in the archery competition.

Baseball had its debut as an official medal sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. ... The United States Olympics in Atlanta baseball team won a bronze medal. ... Final results for the Baseball competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics: Baseball medal table by country Preliminary round results The top four teams (Cuba, United States, South Korea and Japan) advanced to the semifinals. ... Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on two separate diamonds within the Helliniko Olympic Complex, from August 15 to August 25. ... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago in the northern Caribbean that lies at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. ... The Dominican Republic is a Spanish-speaking representative democracy located on the eastern portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, bordering Haiti. ... Greece, officaly called the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. ... The Italian Republic or Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. ... Official language Japanese Capital Tokyo Largest City Tokyo Emperor Akihito Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 60th 377,835 km² 0. ... South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK; Korean: Daehan Minguk (Hangul: 대한 민국; Hanja: 大韓民國)), is a country in East Asia, covering the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. ... The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ... Nicaragua is a republic in Central America. ... The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) is a self-governing unincorporated organized territory of the United States located east of the Dominican Republic in the northeastern Caribbean. ... The Republic of South Africa is a large republic located at the southern tip of the continent. ... The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ...

Baseball had its debut as an official medal sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. ... The United States Olympics in Atlanta baseball team won a bronze medal. ... Final results for the Baseball competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics: Baseball medal table by country Preliminary round results The top four teams (Cuba, United States, South Korea and Japan) advanced to the semifinals. ... Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on two separate diamonds within the Helliniko Olympic Complex, from August 15 to August 25. ... Baseball had its first appearance at the 1912 Summer Olympics as an exhibition sport. ... Baseball was again a demonstration sport at the 1936 Summer Olympics after a 24 year absence. ... Baseball returned as a demonstration sport for the third time at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. ... Baseball was again a demonstration sport at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. ... Baseball at the 1964 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport and consisted of a single game. ... Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport for the sixth time, and it was the first time that the sport had been played in an Olympic tournament in the United States. ... Baseball at the 1988 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport for the seventh time. ...

External links

• Olympic.org  (http://olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/index_uk.asp?SportCode=BB)
• IBAF homepage (http://www.baseball.ch)