2016 World Series National Championships for 12UB & 16UB East Hartford, CT July 25-July 30

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1 Congratulations on an outstanding season and welcome to the 2016 USSSA Fastpitch World Series National Championship Tournament for 12UB and 16UB teams. The Tournament will be held in East Hartford, CT. Games will be played at the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Club fields and other nearby parks as needed. Tournament Director David Rocha USSSA Fastpitch State Director (CT, MA, RI) PO Box 1176 Simsbury, CT Office Cell Tournament Hosts CT USSSA and the Connecticut Convention and Sports Bureau Website The event website is: Table of Contents Checklist for Managers & Admins 2 USSSA Online Entry 3 Hotels (Stay to Play) 3 Team Gate Fee 4 Cooler Policy 4 Concessions 4 General Tournament Info Headquarters 5 Parks 5 Rules 5 Awards 5 Bats 5 World Series Merchandise 5 Manager & Team Check-In 6 Gift Exchange 6 Opening Ceremonies 6 Tournament Program Book 6 Program Book Rosters 6 Team Photo 6 Good Luck Ad Options 7 Team Song 7 Attraction Info 7 Tentative Schedule World Series National Championship Sponsors Check it frequently for updates.

2 WS Checklist for Managers/Team Administrators Required: Ø Register for the 2016 World Series National Championships event online at and submit entry fee upon registering. Due by JULY 5, Ø Book hotel accommodations. This is a Stay to Play Tournament. Book rooms online at Ø Submit Team Gate Fee payment online at Due by JULY 15, Ø Enter official team roster online at print official USSSA roster and obtain all player and parent signatures. Bring a copy of signed roster to Manager s Check-In to turn in to USSSA staff. Ø Obtain proof of insurance certificate and bring a copy of certificate to Manager s Check-In to turn in to USSSA staff. Optional: Ø Create program team roster and upload photo to be included in the tournament program book online at Due by JULY 10, Ø Create and buy a Good Luck Ad online at Due by JULY 10, Ø Upload Team song for opening ceremony online at Ø Tournament t-shirt pre-order is by online purchase only. Deadline for Online T-shirt pre-order is July 17, If you do not pre-order you will still be able to purchase a shirt at the tournament. Not all colors in the pre-order may be available at the tournament but we will have a large variety. Ø Prepare gifts for team gift exchange.

3 Online Entry To participate in the tournament, your team must complete the online entry through and submit an online payment at that time. Ultimately your registration in the tournament will be subject to approval by your state director. Official entry and payment process must be completed no later than, July 5, The nationwide entry fee for the 2016 World Series National Championships is $578. All team rosters must be on the USSSA website and must be the one that was in effect when your state director approved your World Series entry. Any subsequent changes to your roster from that point is subject to state director approval, otherwise your entry may be subject to withdrawal. All players participating in USSSA Fastpitch youth tournaments shall have proof of age in possession of their team manager at all times. Proof of age must be verified by a government issued document that identifies the player by name, gender and birth date. Hotels & Stay to Play This tournament is a Stay to Play Event. All teams using a hotel must book their hotels through the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau. There are no exceptions granted. CT USSSA and the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau have worked hard with our hotel partners to provide teams with a great inventory of team-friendly and quality hotel properties, all at excellent prices. Most properties include FREE breakfast, FREE parking and a pool. All our hotel partners offer flexible checkout policies based on when your team leaves the tournament. Our hotel inventory has all the name brand hotels teams come to expect such as Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Hyatt, Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Courtyard, Homewood Suites and more. Without this partnership with the hotels and your teams taking advantage of this process, CT USSSA would not be able to provide a quality tournament and all the amenities that go with it, such as a great opening ceremonies venue. Please be sure and book your hotel rooms through the tournament website. To Book your hotels go to this website set up specifically for the tournament: To contact the hotel coordinator directly, contact: Mary Baron Online Housing Services Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau , maryb@ctcsb.org Note: Individual properties have their own cancellation policies/minimum night stay policies that are not governed by the event --- hotel general terms and conditions should be read prior to booking. These differ by hotel. Once your team room block has been set up, you will receive an confirmation along with booking instructions. If you need assistance using this system or have additional questions about accommodations, please Mary Baron, , maryb@ctcsb.org

4 Team Gate Fee ($750 Flat Fee Payable Per Team) Early Bird Discounts Available First introduced in 2013, at other USSSA World Series events, this year s gate admission will be a flat fee payable per team. This one-time fee covers admission for team players, coaches and all spectators to all parks, the opening ceremony and any other activity directly in conjunction with this event. Deadlines are as follows: Early Bird Discount - $50 off April 30 th (Mail payment prior to April 30 th and pay only $700 per team.) Gate Fee payments deadline July 15 A late fee of $50.00 will be assessed to team gate fee payments submitted after June 30. Gate Fees are paid by Credit Card Only. To pay visit, Cooler Policy One of the most popular features at USSSA World Series is the cooler policy. Aside from alcoholic beverages there will be no restrictions on the food or drink that teams bring to the park. However, teams will be responsible for supplying their own drinks in the dugout in order to keep properly hydrated throughout the event. We ask that you keep the coolers to a respectable size (i.e. no large fishing coolers) and please continue to patronize our concessionaires. Ice is sold at the USSSA Merchandise tent. Concessions There will be on site professional food concessions at the park for the duration of the tournament offering breakfast, lunch and dinner foods. Please patronize our concessionaires.

5 General Information Tournament Location Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Club, 560 Silver Lane, East Hartford, CT Rules All playing rules shall be governed by the official USSSA Fastpitch softball rulebook and national bylaws. The rulebook online at will always supersede the latest printed version if a discrepancy exists. Awards Awards Package sizes will be based on the number of teams in the tournament. Below is the full size package that will be awarded for divisions with more than 32 teams. Divisions with less than 32 teams have a smaller package to be determined by the USSSA National office. Team trophies to the top six teams, Individual awards to the top six teams, Team Sportsmanship award, Outstanding Pitcher award, Outstanding Offensive Player award, Outstanding Defensive Player award & MVP award. Parks The primary location will be the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Club, 560 Silver Lane, East Hartford, CT Other parks in East Hartford will be used, as needed. The tournament website provides driving directions and park information for each facility. The daily park assignments for each age/class bracket will not be known until very shortly before the event and are always subject to change. Bats All bats must bear the new USSSA logo with a manufacturer s stamp of 1.20 BPF and must be in accordance with the 2016 bat regulations. World Series Merchandise Provided by Fastpitch Nation Fastpitch Nation, will be the exclusive provider of USSSA World Series National Championships apparel and souvenirs, such as tournament pins, t-shirts, hoodies, sweat pants, headbands, bows, jewelry and a vast variety of other merchandise as well as softball equipment such as bats, batting gloves and gloves. FPN will be on hand to sell tournament merchandise at the park throughout the tournament. Tournament apparel is customized on site.

6 Manager s Check-In Required Materials Team Roster All managers will be required to check in their team prior to the event. At this check-in, it is mandatory that the manager turn in a USSSA official roster, fully signed by players and parents and proof of team insurance. Gift Exchange There will be an optional team gift exchange. Teams wishing to participate should bring something that is representative of their home area, the value of which is usually in the +/-$10 range. It is recommended that teams bring a minimum of 16 gifts to exchange. We prefer you us if you intend to participate. The team manager will inform our staff at the Manager s Check-In that their team brought a gift to participate in the gift exchange. Participating teams will be given the contact info of the team representatives so they can coordinate a time that is best for both teams to meet and exchange gifts. Opening Ceremonies The festivities will be held at New Britain Stadium, Home of the New Britain Bees. The Ceremonies will run from 4:00pm to 7:30pm. There will be a variety of events from the parade of teams to many different games to play, various inflatables, music, pin trading among other things. Each team will be given a complimentary meal at the park. A wide variety of ballpark concessions will be available for purchase. The theme of these Opening Ceremonies will be Favorite Disney Movie. Teams are encouraged to interpret that as they wish or anything they may imagine it to mean. Creativity will be rewarded. The team in each age group chosen to represent the theme best will receive a prize. Program Book, Rosters and Team Photos We are planning an extensive tournament program with lots of information, including all the brackets, directions to parks and other important facilities, good luck ads and team rosters and photos. This program book will be provided FREE to every player in the tournament. Additional copies will be available for $5. Once your team is registered online the team manager/administrator should submit a roster of players (unofficial) and a team photo for complimentary inclusion in the program book. For best print quality, photos should be 300 DPI, JPEG and horizontal/landscape in layout. Photos are printed in black and white. Photos will be cropped to 1.24 high x 3.75 wide. To create your Program Book roster and upload your team photo, visit

7 Good Luck Program Ads Family, friends and team supporters can use the form included in this packet (see page 14) to submit a Good Luck Ad to be included in the tournament program book. Ads are $15 for a 15 word mention, $25 for a 1/8 page ad with 20 words and $50 for a 1/4 page ad with both 15 words and a picture/logo (JPEG format or similar) or 30 words with no picture/logo. Deadline for submission of Good Luck Ads is July 10. To submit and pay visit, Team Song During the opening ceremonies teams enter the stadium in a parade. Each team has the song of their choice playing while they are announced. The deadline for the team song is July 10. To request and/or upload your team song, visit Attractions There are plenty of things to do off the field during your stay. For information on area attractions please visit Some fun attractions include: Six Flags New England, Lake Compounce Amusement Park, Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park, Mystic Aquarium, Coco Key Water Park, Nomdas Adventure Quest, Laser Quest, New Britain Rock Cats AA Baseball Team, CT Science Center, Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods,

8 Tentative Schedule Mon July 25 10:00 am 10:30 am - Manager s Check-In and T-shirt pre-order pick-up at Best Western Hotel Conference room. 10:30 am 11:30 pm - Manager s Meeting 12:00 pm 1:00 pm - Umpires Meeting 4:00 pm-7:30 pm Opening Ceremonies at New Britain Stadium, New Britain, CT Tues July 26 9:00 am Start - Pool Play begins Wed July 27 9:00 am Start - Pool Play concludes and some Bracket Play begins Thurs July 28 9:00 am Start - Bracket Play Begins Fri July 29 9:00 am Start - Bracket Play Continues Sat July 30 9:00 am Start Semi-Finals and Finals Sun July 31 Rain Date Schedules will not be mailed out in advance per national policy. The pool play and double elimination brackets will be given to coaches during the Manager s Check-In. Player, coach and other pre-tournament items will also be distributed at the Manager s Check-In. Note that all times are subject to change. Please verify itinerary during the Manager s 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. The USSSA Fastpitch program uses a five-game guarantee format for all A/B/Open age divisions in its World Series Tournaments. Teams will be seeded into pools based on current USSSA ranking points and play a round robin. All teams will be seeded into a double elimination championship bracket following pool play. Seeding will be based on pool finish. The exact format of the tournament, e.g., number of games, number of teams in each pool, etc., will be set by the tournament director following USSSA Fastpitch guidelines as approved by the USSSA Fastpitch National Committee.