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Coaches Packet

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July 14 -19, 2025

O’Fallon/Edwardsville, IL

 

Tournament Format –  Great Lakes/Midwest National Championships

The tournament is a 5-game guarantee format.  Teams will be seeded into pools based on current USSSA power ranking and points.  Teams will play 2 Pool Play Games into a 3 game guarantee bracket.

​After Pool Play, teams will be seeded into a bracket based on the results of pool play.  Depending on the number of teams in each division, there may be separate Division Brackets (ex Gold and Silver).  Each Bracket flight will be a double elimination bracket and will crown a National Champion.

To guarantee your spot in the tournament, your team will need to complete the online entry process.  All entries must be made through the www.usssa.com website. You will be required to submit your entry and payment online. At this point it will be subject to approval by your state director. Once approved, your entry will be considered complete for this National Championship Event. Official entry and payment deadlines can be found below.  

Tournament Deadlines

​Events Deadline of June 1st, 2025.  Teams must be entered and paid in order to hold their spot.  Teams may be moved to the waiting list, prior to the deadline, if not paid.  If a team on the waiting list pays their entry fee prior to a team in the actual event, the team on the waiting list will be moved into the actual event and the last, unpaid team to enter the event will be moved to the waiting list.  If a team is unpaid at the time of the deadline, they risk being moved to the waiting list. 

Rosters

All team rosters must be on the USSSA website.  All players participating in USSSA Fast Pitch youth tournament play shall have proof of age in possession of their team manager at all times. All rosters will be verified at check-in.  If a team is protested and a teams roster is not on the USSSA website or a player is not on their roster as a permanent player or guest player, the team will be ejected from the event. 

Proof of age must be verified by a government issued document that identifies the player by name, gender and birth date. Failure to produce a copy of such document upon demand will result in the offending team losing the game, being eliminated from the tournament, being placed last in the standings and forfeiting all awards, sponsor’s travel money and tournament berths that would have been awarded at the tournament.

All protests must be made by the head coach to the plate umpire.  $200 in cash is required at the time of the protest.

Guest players must be added via the team manger page and must appear on the official team roster as a guest player.

Official Playing Rules

All playing rules shall be governed by the official USSSA Fastpitch softball rulebook and national by-laws. Note: the rulebook online at www.usssa.com will always supersede the latest printed version if a discrepancy exists.

Hotels

This is a Stay to Play event. Information will be posted in the future.

Gift Exchange

There will be a non-mandatory team gift exchange during one of your pool play games.  Teams wishing to participate should bring something that is representative of their home area, the value of which is not important.  It is recommended that teams bring a minimum of 16 gifts to exchange. Please RSVP to [email protected] by your event’s entry deadline if you are interested in the Gift Exchange.  Include Team Name, Age Group, Manager Name, and number of players on your team in the email RSVP.

Admission

Admission for the Great Lakes/Midwest National Championships will be on site. Pre-paid admission passes will be available on this site as the date gets closer. Passes can be purchased daily as well. Each team will receive 3 coaches passes at the coaches meeting

Gate fees for Tournament

Adults weekly $40

Seniors weekly $30

Adults daily    $15

Seniors daily $10

Children 12 Under free.

Armbands will be issued and must be worn in order to gain entry into the event.

National Championship Merchandise 

USSSA National Championship apparel and souvenirs, will be sold at the Opening Ceremonies and throughout the tournament.  As the event draws closer, there will be an opportunity to pre-order event merchandise.  Coming Soon

Tentative Schedule
For a tentative tournament itinerary, [CLICK HERE].

Bracket schedules will not be mailed out in advance.  The pool play and brackets will be given to coaches during the team check-in.  Player, coach and other pre-tournament items will also be distributed at the team check-in. Pool play and bracket schedules will also be linked on the website a few days in advance.

Note that all times are subject to change.  Please verify itinerary during team check-in. Once the tournament begins, managers must check the main bracket board for any changes in game times, field assignments or other items related to tournament play or functions. Please encourage your fans to download the USSSA App. All information will be communicated via the USSSA App.

Exact playing venues will not be designated until the schedule is released.