The international youth softball flagship event will begin with a 36-game round-robin, followed by 10 playoff games (double page playoff system). Six placement games will also be staged to determine the final standings. All 13 nations will be in action on opening day, with world-ranked No. 7 United States and the African nation of Botswana officially starting off the world championship tournament on July 24 at 9:30 a.m. ET. Opening ceremonies will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET at the main competition field, which will be followed by host Team USA facing off against the two-time defending champions, Argentina. The Gold Medal World Championship final will be contested at Currie Stadium at 7:00 p.m. ET on July 30, while the Bronze Medal match will be staged at 1:30 p.m. ET. The 13 National Teams competing have been delegated to their respective pools and will begin the World Championship tournament with a single round-robin. The top four teams from each pool will then advance into a double-page playoff system.
Competing on home soil, Team USA hopes to make gains on their fifth place finishes in 2012 and 2014. Argentina will head to Midland as the two-time defending world champions, winning gold medals in Parana, Argentina in 2012 and Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada in 2014. Currently ranked No.1 in the world for Men, New Zealand captured the silver medal in 2014. Asia powerhouse Japan claimed the silver medal in Parana and the bronze medal in Whitehorse.
About ASA/USA Softball
Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.2 million. ASA/USA is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles as well as claimed eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.com/.
About the World Baseball Softball Confederation
Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland — the Olympic Capital — the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 213 National Federation and Associate Members in 142 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually.
The WBSC also governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women’s).
For further information, please go to www.WBSC.org or follow the WBSC on Twitter at @WBSC.
Katie Willis I Communications Coordinator
Amateur Softball Association/USA Softball
2801 NE 50th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111
Visit Us Online: ASAUSASoftball.com