As to youth participation, youth participation in most Olympic sports increases after the Olympic games... from gymnastics to swimming to communist kickball... softball is no different. How long-lasting the spike in participation is is the question.
It is good publicity for the sport and to encourage participation in the sport. Without that publicity, either something else will have to generate the interest, or participation will suffer. It is unlikely any other international competition will have the impact the Olympics does.
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Tom
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