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has stayed pretty steady—the group is focused on providing players with the best experience possible each and every game. "We take care of everything from grassroots to international competitions, including about 115 national tournaments a year," Radigonda said. "We're making sure to provide a location and level for everybody to participate. That's one of the real beauties of the sport in how we administer our program." One significant way ASA/USA Softball, which marks its 80th birthday this year, is keeping the experience on the field positive for its players is ensuring umpires remained properly trained. Last February, the organization held a clinic for the more than 30,000 umpires who work programs across the country. "We recognize that if a game is administered properly by the umpires it is more fun for the participants and it makes for a better environment and game," Radigonda said. Like ASA/USA Softball, Dixie Youth Softball—which offers leagues in 11 states throughout the South and Southeast—is also doing all it can to provide for its approximately 100,000 players. Last year, Dixie Youth Softball created a new style of play called X-Play, which has different rules for base stealing and pitching and is specifically for girls in the 12 and under and 10 and under age groups. "X-Play was created for players in those two age groups who want to expand their skills," said James "Obie" Evans, president of the organization. "When we implemented it last year, over half of our program went to X-Play. But this year we've had more leagues come back to the traditional style of play. Many of our smaller leagues realized they weren't as competitive in X-Play." Another change Dixie Youth Softball is considering for this year is to create a new World Series for its 6U age group. The topic is up for discussion at the organization's next board meeting. United States Specialty Sports 8 2014 Baseball/Softball Sourcebook Association (USSSA) Softball is experiencing growth—tournament numbers are up roughly 5 to 7 percent, said Tom O'Hara, USSSA's director of marketing and business development. One reason for it, the organization believes, is that they are keeping the sport on television and on the Web as much as possible. "We are live streaming entire tournaments across the country, including the Nationwide Conference USSSA events," he said. "We are also televising events on ESPN2. It is our hope that we will be able to broadcast thousands of tournament games on www.USSSAlive.com in 2014, as well as continue to grow our broadcasts on the ESPN Networks." Senior Softball-USA has approximately 27,000 registered players and is experiencing a growth in membership. In fact, in the past 10 years—from 2004 to 2013—the number of teams in the league has increased 223 percent. Fran Dowell, executive director of Senior SoftballUSA, attributes the growth to the organization's game structure. "Many prefer to h out eY Dixi ll ftba So come to our tournaments because we run them in a way that has respect for the game," she said. "And the competition is fair and equal. We rate all of the teams, which is a huge process. But, that means that if a team comes to play in the world championships, for example, they know they are coming out to play in a fair competition. That's what many players really want. They also know the tournament will be organized and run on time." Another aspect of Senior SoftballUSA's game many players appreciate is the skilled event planning. The organization has about 60 events a year, with about 25 they run themselves, and the group almost always attempts to host tournaments in cities that offer more than top-notch ballfields. "The facility has to be able to accommodate what we need," Dowell said. "But we also make an effort to choose a city that has outside attractions. It makes it much easier and more fun for the spouses and families." ■ www.sportseventsmagazine.com