United States Specialty Sports Association
The USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association) is a volunteer, sports governing body, non-profit organization based in Kissimmee, Florida. It was founded in 1968, originally in Petersburg, Virginia. It was announced at the 2015 National Conference that USSSA would be moving to a new headquarters in 2017. Space Coast Stadium in Viera, FL will become the new headquarters on Florida's Space Coast beginning in the spring of 2017. USSSA will be taking over the Space Coast Stadium complex from the Washington Nationals baseball club. An additional 8 multi-purpose all turf fields will join the existing 7 fields to bring to a total of 15 fields plus the stadium. The new facility will feature an 18,000 square foot building next to the quad that will host the USSSA National Hall of Fame and Sports Museum.
Originally USSSA stood for United States Slow-pitch Softball Association. However, in 1998 USSSA rebranded the name to United States Specialty Sports Association and expanded into other sports including youth girls fast-pitch and boys baseball. Currently USSSA governs 13 sports across the US, Puerto Rico, various US Military bases, and Canada and has a membership of over 3.7 million.
History
The USSSA organization was formed in the spring of 1968 after the founder's ideas were turned down at a different national softball association's national meeting. The founders of the organization are Robert Mueller, James DiOrio, Ray Ernst, Frank Ciaccia and Ted Mazza. They used their newly formed organization to implement new developments. These developments include longer fences, 65 foot base paths, a smaller batter's box, widened media coverage, and encouraged greater financial support.[1] Their experimental world tournament in 1968 was a success. There were 50 different teams from 15 states.
That first decade was a turbulent one. As teams flocked to the new association with progressive ideas, the older organization enacted policies designed to keep teams from participating in USSSA sanctioned events. The battle ended up in a Federal courtroom in Nashville, TN where USSSA prevailed but not until after a long and expensive ordeal.
By 1971, USSSA was struggling in debt and directors began resigning. In the fall of that year, a historic meeting was held in Petersburg, Va for discussions on whether or not to abandon their efforts. The decision was made to move forward and the Executive Board elected 40 year old Al Ramsey of Petersburg,Va as Chief Executive Officer. The constitution was completely overhauled and Ramsey instructed the board to pledge itself to operate on a sound business basis and launch an all-out campaign for new qualified personnel. The USSSA National Headquarters was incorporated in the state of Virginia as a non-profit organization.
The following year, 30 new directors were replaced and 60 new directors were appointed. In less than a year, the association was completely out of debt and operating on a sound financial basis. Team and umpire registrations began to show considerable increases. The 1972 National Meeting was held in Rochester, NY and some 75 directors attended.
USSSA grew by leaps and bounds throughout the 1970s and '80s, adding new programs such as Church, Corporate, Women's, Mixed and multi levels of Men's play, along with structured Divisions such as Central, Southern, and Midwest. In 1981, USSSA purchased a 24,000 square foot building in Petersburg for its National Headquarters and Hall of Fame Museum. The support of fund raising campaigns throughout the entire association made the purchase a realty. The Divisional Meeting concept was introduced and the Masters program was added. By 1987, USSSA passed 100,000 teams in total membership and the association voted to expand to eight divisions directed by four regions, with a major realignment plan to meet future growth needs.
In 1997, the USSSA became the first multi-sports governing body.[2] Currently the USSSA is the largest multi-sport governing body in the World. USSSA offers programs and tournaments in Baseball, Basketball, Fastpitch, Flag Football, Golf, Martial Arts, Lacrosse, Soccer, Slow-Pitch, and Volleyball. Visit the USSSA homepage for more details.
External links
- USSSA official website