What Does USSSA Stand For?

USSSA is an acronym of the United States Specialty Sports Organization, an independent, multi-sports organization with sports leagues for athletes under the age of 19. Founded in 1968, this organization has grown from a small sports league to an international youth sports operation. USSSA hosts national tournaments for all of its sports, including the fast-pitch softball World Series in Orlando, Fla. This organization's headquarters is in Kissimmee,Florida -- a suburb of Orlando.

  1. History

    • The original name of USSSA was the United States Slow-Pitch Softball Association, which was founded in 1968. At the time, slow-pitch softball was the only sport under the USSSA's governing body. USSSA's headquarters were originally in Wisconsin. However, financial struggles prompted the organization to move its headquarters to Petersburg, Virginia, in 1971. During the 1970's, the USSSA formed separate men's and women's slow-pitch softball leagues. By 1992, the USSSA represented approximately 104,000 teams throughout the world, which includes teams from churches and women's organizations.

    Slow-Pitch Regulations

    • When the USSSA was founded in 1968, the association's founders implemented new rules and field regulations for their brand of slow-pitch softball. Two of the biggest changes in regulation were shortening the distance between the bases from 70 feet to 65 feet -- and creating smaller batter boxes. The batter box is where batters stand when swinging at the ball. Rather than have nine innings, USAA slow-pitch softball games have seven innings. Also, umpires may call the game -- if one team is leading the other by 20 runs at the end of the third inning -- or 10 runs by the fifth inning.

    Current Name

    • The USSSA changed its name to the United States Specialty Sports Association in 1997. As the name changed, so did the organization's mission. Not only would USSSA govern slow-pitch softball games, but it also decided to organize leagues for golf, fast-pitch softball, basketball and golf. This change made USSSA the first-ever amateur multi-sports organization to oversee all of these sports. Much like slow-pitch softball in USSSA's earlier years, all of the organization's new sports experienced an explosion in the number of teams in USSSA.

    Additional Sports

    • Since it changed its mission in 1997, USSSA offers leagues for additional sports; such as volleyball, flag football, amateur wrestling, soccer and lacrosse. At the date of this publication, USSSA has leagues for 13 sports. USSSA currently has teams across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and international U.S. military bases. The membership of USSSA stands at approximately 3.2 million athletes.