ISSA Lists 2015 Tournaments for Spring, Summer, Fall Softball

The International Senior Softball Association (ISSA) is celebrating its 20^th anniversary in style, expanding its tournaments in the U.S. The following is a list of locations for the months ahead.

HUNTERSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA - The ISSA Spring Nationals will be played on May 1-3 at venues in the northern suburbs of Charlotte.  The event is now in its second year at the destination on Lake Norman and it looks like the participation will double that for last year's event.  The deadline for submittal of the online entry form is tomorrow night, April 15.  The region is known as NASCAR Country since many current and retired drivers reside in the area.  In fact, the Managers Meeting for the tournament will be held on Thursday night, April 30 at 7:30pm at Michael Waltrip's racing team's "shop" at Cornelius.  Anyone with questions about the Spring Nationals can contact the ISSA Office at 571-436-9704 or 571-220-0158.  See you at Lake Norman.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SENIOR CLASSIC: The  senior softball players will return to Maryville/Knoxville, TN on June 5-7, 2015 for the Annual Smoky Mountain Senior Classic.  The ISSA has partnered with the Maryville Parks and Rec to bring the prestigious event to the senior players, many of whom played in the Smoky in their younger days.  At this writing we have 42 senior teams and counting.

The 47th Annual Smoky Mountain Classic for younger teams will be held in July this year.  Comparable to football’s Super Bowl, basketball’s Final Four and baseball’s World Series, the Smoky Mountain Classic is considered by many as the premiere event of its sport…..slowpitch softball.  In 2012 the Senior Division was added.  Played earlier in June, the Smoky Mountain Senior Classic has become a favorite for the older players as well.

Five years ago RB Thomas, Jr., ISSA Executive Director approached Joe Huff at Maryville and offered to partner with the City to organize a Senior Division for the Smoky.  “Joe was excited to include seniors and since the first event it has grown every year.  Last year we had 50 senior teams playing and if the early entries are any indication, 2015 will be another record year.  With the new Super Division we already have teams signed up from coast to coast,” offered Thomas.  “We are concerned that we might exceed our available field capacity this year so we are telling all senior teams planning on entering to reserve their spot now by submitting our online entry form.  Our staff is looking for additional fields in the region but senior teams wanting to be part of this exciting event should enter now." 

ISSA MEMORIAL DAY SENIOR CLASSIC - 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.  At the Myrtle Beach and Burlington senior tournaments earlier this year a number of players advised that their team planned to enter the new event. 

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:

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

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

3. August 14-16  ISSA World Championships, Rockford, IL

4. September 18-20 ISSA Midwest Championships, Independence, MO

5. 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.  All teams looking to play in any of these ISSA Midwest tournaments should submit the online entry form for each now to reserve a spot in the event (the entry fee payment is mailed later by the published deadline.)

All information is available on the website, located here.

About ISSA: The International Senior Softball Association (ISSA) is a not-for-profit corporation organized in 1994 by experienced softball administrators to provide the senior players a voice in the sport and the opportunity to participate in and experience the highest quality world-class tournaments.  The ISSA is an Allied Member of the Amateur Softball Association or America, the National Governing Body for the sport of softball.  ISSA Executive Director, RB Thomas, Jr. is also the Director of Senior Softball for the International Softball Federation and has annually conducted the ISF Senior World Cup since 2002.  In 2011 the ISSA will expand their tournament program to new and exciting venues thoughout the United States.  The mission of the ISSA is to:

1. establish national and international goals for senior softball activities and encourage the attainment of those goals;

2. coordinate and develop amateur senior softball activity to foster productive working relationships among other senior softball organizations;

3. promote and encourage physical fitness and public participation in senior athletic activities;

4. assist organizations and persons concerned with senior sports in the development of amateur athletic programs and other events that foster the special comradery among seniors;

5. provide for swift resolutions of conflicts and disputes involving amateur athletes, and protect the opportunity of any amateur athlete, coach, trainer, manager, administrator, or official to participate in senior amateur athletic competition;

6. foster the development of amateur athletic facilities for use by amateur athletes and assist in making existing amateur athletic facilities available for use by senior softball.

7. provide and coordinate technical information on physical training, equipment design, coaching, and performance analysis;

8. encourage and support research, development, and dissemination of information in the areas of sports medicine and sports safety.

9. encourage and provide assistance to amateur athletic activities for senior women;

10. provide world class competition for senior softball.