USSSA Great Lakes/Odd-Year – National Championships Homepage:

Congratulations on an outstanding 2027 season. This season, Ohio is hosting the Great Lakes – Gem City Class B National Championships for 11u, 12u, 13u, 14u, 15u, 16u and 18u registered teams. The event is being held in the SW Ohio region of the state in Dayton the week of July 13-18,2027. The host facility will be Action Sports Complex in Dayton, OH. Action Sports is an 8-diamond turf complex with temp fencing at 200′ on 4 fields and 225′ permanent fencing on 4 fields. We also may use Tom Cloud Park-Huber Heights and Kettering Fields-Dayton for overflow on Thurs/Friday if needed.

Format: The USSSA Fast-Pitch program will use a 5-game guarantee format in its Great Lakes – Gem City Class B National Championships Tournament. Teams will be placed into random pools and play a 3-game round-robin. All teams will then be seeded using your pool standings into a double-elimination championship bracket following pool play. To guarantee your spot in the tournament, your team will need to complete the online entry process. All entries must be paid online thru the www.usssa.com website. You will be required to submit your entry and payment online. At this point your team entry is subject to approval by your state director. Once approved, your entry will be accepted into this National Championship. Once accepted into the event, teams will be sent information on what is required and all deadlines to meet. All roster/gate/merchandise pre-orders paperwork for the event must be completed no later than noon on June 30, 2027. The entry fee for this event is $775.

Rosters and Insurance: All team rosters must be on the USSSA website and must be the one that you have earned your berth to this event with and was submitted for approval to play this event. Violation of this could result in teams’ removal from the event. Team coach will be required to sign a copy of the roster at check in and also show birth certificates along with turning in a copy of the team’s insurance policy. Teams should also have proof of age in their coach’s possession at all times. Proof of age must be verified by a government issued document that identifies the player by name, gender, and birthdate. Failure to produce such a document if asked for by a tournament official or deemed to be fraudulent by a tournament official will result in the offending team losing the game, being eliminated from the tournament, being placed last in the standings, and forfeiting all awards, sponsors travel monies, entry fee for the event, and berths that would have been awarded at the event. Teams will need to show proof of team insurance at the pre-event check in. Forms can also be emailed to the event director:

Forms Check List: Please click on this link for the Forms Check List. This is what you will need to send with your other paperwork to the tournament director prior to June 30, 2027.

Tournament Rules: All play will be governed by the official USSSA Fast-Pitch softball rulebook and rule addendums. Note that the rulebook online will supersede the latest printed version if a discrepancy exists. Click here for the rulebook: 2026-27 USSSA FP Rulebook.

Tournament Awards for each division:

1. Team Trophies
2. Individual Awards
3. Team Sportsmanship Award
4. Outstanding Pitcher Award
5. Outstanding Offensive Player Award
6. Outstanding Defensive Player Award
7. MVP Award

Gift Exchange: There will be a non-mandatory gift exchange during one of your pool games. Teams wishing to participate should bring something representative of your home area, the value of which is not important. It is recommended that teams bring 16 gifts to exchange. Please let tournament staff know if you do not find anyone to participate with and we will help out.

Host Complex: Action Sports Complex is a private for profit park. As such, Teams are not permitted to bring in coolers. Team water jugs are permitted. Pets are also not permitted. Action and any of the overflow parks prides themself on safe playing conditions, good concessions along with pricing, and a clean facility to bring the family to watch youth sports.

Hotels and Lodging: The Great Lakes Odd Year-National Championships will use a housing coordinator for the event. That will be posted after Jan 4, 2027.

Park Admission: There is a gate fee admission for the week for the complex. This will be announced by Jan 4, 2027.

National Championships Merchandise: There will be souvenirs available to purchase from Double Eagle Sports both on a pre-order basis and at the tournament site. There will be a form to download along with a link to purchase online. This link will go active as of June 1, 2027. There will be a merchandise page set up to place pre-orders from.

No Tolerance Policy:
Double Eagle Sports and Ohio USSSA have in place a no tolerance policy for any coach, parent, player or fan that physically or verbally abuses a staff member, director, umpire or park official. Anyone abusing this policy will be asked to leave the park for the day and possibly the week depending on the severity of their actions.

Information regarding “Odd Year” Classifications: USSSA offers the “odd year” classification for teams that are true 1st year teams in a new age group. Click here for a link to 2027 USSSA Age Groups/birthdays

Teams down an age group are also encouraged to participate. This means 10u teams can play in 11u, 12u teams can play in 13u, and 14u teams can play in 15u. When those traditional age groups play up, they reap the benefit of double USSSA National system points plus a good challenge. There is also an exception that can be made for teams that have one player that puts them out of the Odd Year classification. That one player can be released for this event and then added back to the roster for the remainder of the season once the event is completed. Please contact the Ohio USSSA State Office for more details.

TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT:

Your team must be registered with USSSA online to enter events online. Teams can click here to go to the event link: 2027 Great Lakes Gem City National Championships

Click submit. Once you’ve found your age group for this tournament, click on the amount to Pay online now. This will bring you to the online payment page. Fill in all the required information. You will be given a confirmation page when your online payment is accepted. Teams will still need to contact their respective state director to make sure they meet the requirements to attend National Championship events. These may vary state to state but can be found here: National Championship Requirements

$775

Event entry fee must be paid online at the USSSA website using a credit card. Gate fees and other items can be paid online via the USSSA website or using Venmo (@ohiousssa-22). If using Venmo, please notate the event and item being paid for.

TBA