Basketball was introduced to an international Olympic audience at the 1904 and 1924 Games, where they were featured as a demonstration sport. Basketball first found a place in the Olympic Games in 1936 in Berlin, and the United States team easily dominated the competition. That year, the tournament was held outdoors on a revamped tennis stadium, with a sand and clay surface. The first Olympic title was won by the U.S. national team. Olympic basketball is played with five players to a side. Substitutions can be made at any break in the game, as many times as necessary. If a game ends with a tie, a five-minute overtime round is played. Additional over time can be added if the score remains tied, until one team has won the match. Since its inception in 1976, Olympic basketball has been an exciting and often controversial event. Women's basketball at the international level started in 1955 with the inclusion of women's basketball in the Pan-American Games. In 1971 the International Olympic Committee voted to include women's basketball in the Summer Olympics and in 1996 the United States team won the gold medal.
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