ISSA Announces 2015 Spring and Summer Tournament Schedule

The International Senior Softball Association (ISSA) has announced its spring and summer tournament schedule. New events have been added as well.

The next ISSA senior tournament will be at Burlington, NC on April  10-12.  Registration for the event will close on Friday April 3.  Teams should submit their online entry form today if they have not done so.  This is the second leg of the ISSA Carolina Trail Series provided to give the senior teams some early Spring games.  Teams that participate in all three of the tournaments in the Series receive a $200 discount on their entry fee for the ISF Senior World Cup at Salem, VA in June.

ISSA SPRING NATIONALS - The Spring Nationals will return to the Charlotte, NC region on May 1-3, 2015.  Headquarters for the tournament will be at Huntersville on Lake Norman.  For those not familiar with the area this is “NASCAR Country” and we plan to hold the Managers Meeting on Thursday night prior to the tournament at one of the racing team’s facility again this year.  Thinking of playing in this one?  Ask the teams that played last year about the beautiful facilities and the area, a great destination for a senior tournament. 

ISSA WESTERN WINTER NATIONAL - New for the 2015 Senior Season will be a Winter National at Palm Springs, CA on October 16-18.  This event will be the first senior tournament sanctioned by ISSA in California and the West Coast.  Players on senior teams often ask when will ISSA hold an event in their region?  So here is one for those teams out West to play ISSA ball.  New teams can register with ISSA online (no charge) and players need only to show their drivers license to participate.  Field capacity is limited this year and we anticipate this one filling up.  Teams are urged to submit their online entry form now if they plan to play in this event (entry fee payment is not due until the deadline in September).

 ISSA MEMORIAL DAY SENIOR CLASSIC - Also new for 2015 will be the Memorial Day Senior Classic at Jacksonville, NC, home of the Marine Corps Camp Lejeune.  The event will be a special way to honor our military veterans who form an important part of senior softball.   The City of Jacksonville is looking forward to hosting the event and welcoming the seniors.  The tournament will be played over Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24 and if necessary some divisions could conclude on Memorial Day, Monday morning.  Space is limited this year so all teams planning on playing in this one should submit their online entry form now (it is expected to close out based on expressed interest so far.) 

MIDWEST ISSA TOURNAMENTS - The ISSA has added new 2015 events to the list of available tournaments in the Midwest to better serve the senior teams in the region:

June 12-14  ISSA Heart of America Senior Classic, Sioux Falls, SD

July 24-26  ISSA South Shore Championships, Crown Point, IN

August 14-16  ISSA World Championships, Rockford, IL

September 18-20 ISSA Midwest Championships, Independence, MO

September 18-20 ISSA Northern Championships, Cincinnati, OH

The ISSA looks forward to hosting many new senior teams that will now have the opportunity to participate in their region.  Some Midwest teams have been traveling to ISSA tournaments primarily in the East for 20 years and in 2015 will be able to also play closer to their hometown.  The first Midwest event will get underway in June at Sioux Falls, SD.  The tournament will take place at the new eight-field softball complex at Harmadon Park and has already created much excitement among the senior players in that area.  The championship quality playing conditions and dedicated City/Park staff who are committed to the challenge of being known as a favorite senior softball host community will be appreciated by the ISSA senior teams.  In July the new tournament at Crown Point also has the full support of the City which wants to show off their town, their recently renovated playing facilities and their commitment to servicing the needs of the visiting players and their guests.  Crown Point is located near the south shore of Lake Michigan and is less than one hour from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.  Both new events already have teams entered online and should be quality senior tournaments for all the participants.  Both cities are excited about the opportunity to provide our players and fans an exceptional senior tournament experience.

ISSA SUPER SENIOR SERIES -  In November the ISSA Staff was asked to consider holding competition for the senior teams that have been rated Major Plus by other organizations by including them in the central location at Rockford, IL in the ISSA World Championships.  We agreed to do that and the word spread quickly and we were asked to consider holding some other events as well, thus we created the Super Senior Series which will have “super divisions” at the ISSA Smoky Mountain Senior Classic on June 5-7, the ISSA World Championships-Rockford on August 14-16 and the ISSA US Open National Championships at Myrtle Beach on October 23-25.  The ISSA Super Divisions will allow senior teams to use players on their roster from either east or west of the Mississippi River (with exceptions for Midwest teams).  Other rules such as maximum homeruns, time limits, etc. are modified from the ISSA Major rules.  Participation on a team in the Super Division will not be a factor in determining player eligibility for participation on a AAA or Major ISSA Team.  The goal is to allow managers to bring the very best team that they can put together and come play for all the bragging rights.  Teams planning on playing in these events are urged to submit the entry forms now so the ISSA can let the teams know the division will play.  Competition will be held in 50+, 55+, 60+ and 65+ division if four or more teams are entered.    

 2015 ISSA TEAM REGISTRATIONS - The ISSA has an online Team Registration process.  All teams playing in the ISSA program should submit the Team Registration Form annually with current manager contact information.  The team registration is part of the ISSA Team Rating process and needs to be on file to participate in any ISSA tournaments.  There is NO CHARGE to register your team with ISSA.  Also, player identification is confirmed with a drivers license and NO special ID card is required to play ISSA.

ISSA 2015 TOURNAMENT ENTRY PROCESS - The 2015 ISSA Tournament Schedule is now available on the Website and so is the online entry forms for teams to use when they plan to participate in one or more of the scheduled events.  Several new tournaments have been added for 2015 and at least one more is in the works.  Submitting the online entry form does not require the entry fee payment at that time, payments can be made later and closer to the tournament date per the instructions on the Tournament Fact Sheet.  Team managers are encouraged and requested to submit the entry forms when their preliminary tournament schedule is set for the year.  The advance notice simply helps the ISSA staff plan for the best possible tournament experience for the teams, the sooner we can identify our staffing requirement, field use needs and award/souvenir orders the better the event we can provide.  If conditions change after submitting the online entry form, simply send us an email requesting removal from the tournament.  Payment of the entry fee is a teams final entry requirement and that should be mailed to the ISSA Office approximately 30 days before the tournament starts (or the posted entry deadline).  The online entry form is accessed for each tournament by clicking on the specific tournament.

For information contact the International Senior Softball Association, 9114 I-Beam Lane, Manassas, VA 20110, 703-368-1188, www.seniorsoftball.org.