Rocky Mountain USSA

NEW TEAM INFO AND FAQ

WHAT IS USSSA?

The first thing to know is what is USSSA. USSSA is the United States Specialty Sports Association. It is a sanctioning body that provides athletics to amatuer athletes all across the country. It is more than slowpitch softball, it is golf, baseball, basketball, ect... and sports involve male, female, children, and mixed group participants. USSSA defines the rules and provides team rankings for each sport. This site represents USSSA Slowpitch Softball in the state of Colorado. Rocky Mountain/Colorado USSSA is the largest sanctioning body for tournament softball teams in the state. Many leagues play by USSSA Slowpitch rules as well as every tournament listed on this site. All of our tournaments and results are stored into a national database and teams are ranked on the state level and national level. Every year, USSSA hosts National Invitational Tournaments (NITs), a State Tournament, and finally a World Tournament to determine who are the best teams! (Teams must qualify for the State and World Tournaments.)
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO START PLAYING USSSA SLOWPITCH TOURNAMENTS?

PLAYERS - A typical tournament team has 10-14 players. 10 players are required to be on the field at all times in tournament play, thus some teams carry 1-4 extra players. Its best to have atleast one extra player as a player may gets injured or ejected from the game. If you have a player ejected, you must have a sub to fill their spot or your team will forfeit the game. To find players or to join a team looking for players you can do that on our Free Agent Message Board.

SELECT DIVISION TO PLAY - Rocky Mountain/Colorado USSSA offers four levels of competition; B, C, D, and E. These divisions are based off the national USSSA standard. The main difference between these levels is the speed of the game. The higher you play up the faster the ball travels and thus defenses generally have less reaction time to get to balls.

The C division is the premiere division in the state and allows teams to hit 2 Home Runs. C teams play nearly every weekend, often travel out of state, and most compete in the World tournament in late-September. Generally in this division defenses are very solid and teams average about 18 runs per game against those defenses.

The D division is a bit less competitive than the C division and allows no HR's. Home Runs are ruled as an out. These teams play from nearly every weekend to perhaps once a month. Defenses are not quite as good as the C division, as in routine double plays are not automatic and not every ball in the OF is caught. Teams typically score 15 runs in this division against those defenses.

The E division is primarily derived of newer teams and league teams. The E division has a much stricter HR rule. Any batter who hits an untouched fair fly ball over the fence in fair territory will be declared out. Each subsequent time that position in the lineup is due to bat, the batter shall automatically be declared out. The player shall remain in the game for defensive purposes only. This applies to any substitute in that batting position. Defenses in this division are a bit less reliable than the D and C Divisions and errors are more common. Teams typically score between 13-15 runs against these defenses.
HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR TOURNAMENTS and LEAGUES?

LEAGUES - A list of Leagues can be found by clicking on the Leagues button the left hand side of the page. Contact information should be available for all USSSA sanctioned leagues. Teams playing in USSSA leagues will earn USSSA points which count towards their state ranking.

TOURNAMENTS - A list of Tournaments can be found by clicking on the Tournaments button on the left hand side of the page. Dates, Location, Contact information, and Divisions offered are all listed. Note: Each tournament may have different divisions available, for example, a tournament on one weekend may only run Men's D and E divisions, while another tournament that same weekend runs Men's C, Womens, and CO-ED (Mixed) Divisions at another seperate location.

Another note: Teams do not have to play USSSA Leagues to play USSSA Tournaments. Any team can play. All new teams playing USSSA tournaments will be subject to a $20 one-time registration fee. This Registration fee is associated to a team name, thus you may have the same players but want to change your team name, that will cost another registration fee. Any team can modify its roster throughout the season as long as they do not have a locked roster, which happens when you win an NIT. Like Leagues, Tournament teams also earn USSSA Points (all Colorado tournaments are qualifiers, NIT's, or the State Tournament.)
WHAT ARE USSSA POINTS GOOD FOR?

These point are essentially used to qualify your team for larger, more prestigious tournaments like the State Tournament and World Tournament. See the State/World Berths link on the left side of the page. Often tournament directors seed teams in tournaments based on rankings. Teams are ranked by USSSA points earned in leagues and tournaments. Ultimately, each year Rocky Mountain/Colorado USSSA crowns a STATE CHAMPION for each division of play.

HOW DO I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SOFTBALL IN COLORADO?

There are hundreds of players who regularly participate on the RMUSSSA message board. You can find player discussions, news, tournament updates, and tons of opinions from softball players all across the state. Alternatively you can email us at rmusssa@aol.com.