The California Interscholastic Federation will implement the National Federation of High Schools softball pitching distance rule from 40 to 43 feet in the academic school year of 2010-11.

Although the new pitching distance is mandatory with the 2010-11 school year, NFHS member state high school associations have the option to adopt the 43-foot distance this season.

Creating a better balance between offense and defense was the major rationale for the rule change.

Softball is the fourth-most popular sport among girls at the high school level, with 371,293 participants nationwide during the 2007-08 season, according to an NFHS survey.

The sport ranks fifth in the state with 31,801 athletes.

Article courtesy of CIF.