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Sport | Rio Olympics 2016

Olympic comeback for womens softball

The International Olympic Committee has voted to have women's softball included once again in the Olympic Games.

The news has the New Zealand White Sox management excited and Softball NZ CEO Tony Giles says the IOC decision is a paradigm shift for the sport.

"This is a fantastic opportunity here at Softball New Zealand and for the young athletes," says Giles.

Softball and baseball were dropped as Olympic sports after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  However, softball will see its return at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo Japan.

At this stage softball in New Zealand is 100 per cent player funded but with the new announcement it is hoped that funding will become available to support the girls.

The sport in New Zealand has experienced around five per cent growth, with females making up the majority of that number.

But with this latest Olympic announcement it is hoped that more young talent will be attracted to the sport.