Junior Olympic

Pick-up Player Forms May Be Signed Starting July 26
J.O. Commissioners Katie Kay and Kim Townsend will start signing Pick-up Player Forms on July 26. Team managers may download the form from the Forms Page. Forms may be signed by either Katie or Kim.

16U International Softball Federation (ISF) World Cup Qualifier This Weekend in Georgia
Georgia ASA is excited to be hosting a 16U International Softball Federation (ISF) World Cup Qualifier on July 23-25 in Cobb County. The top two teams from the qualifier will earn a berth to the first-ever 16U ISF World Cup in the United States. The event will be held December 30 2010 - January 7, 2011 at the ISF World Headquarters and Stadium Complex in Plant City, FL. Twelve teams form outside North America are expected to participate in addition to 24 teams from Canada and 48 from the United States. If your team earns one of the berths, you will have a six-game guarantee and play at least one international opponent. Teams will be exchanging small gifts at the beginning of each game between international opponents. For more information: Georgia Qualifier Registration Form | World Cup Info Sheet | 16U World Cup ISF Web Page | Hotel Information | RULES | BRACKET - UPDATED 7/21

Georgia ASA Crowns 2010 Class "A" State Champions
Congratulations to the five 2010 Georgia ASA Class "A' State Champions! Teams from around the state battled through the competitive brackets in Cobb and Cherokee Counties to earn this year's State Title. In addition, the final Georgia ASA Association Berth to the USA/ASA National Championship was awarded in each of the age divisions. In a situation where the State Champion had already earned its berth prior to the State Tournament, the association berth was awarded to the team without a berth who finished farthest in the tournament. A list of all teams in all "A" age divisions going to Nationals may be found at the Georgia ASA J.O. Berth Report. The 2010 Georgia ASA State Champions, Runner-ups and Berth Winners are as follows (photos to be posted shortly):

10A State Champions: Worth Cobras
10A State Runner-up: Dacula Lady Falcons
10A Final Association Berth Winner: Georgia Fire – Masoner

12A State Champions: Georgia Impact - Buster Bass
12A State Runner-up: Atlanta Vipers - Vic Loveless
12A Final Association Berth Winner: South Effingham Angels - Matt Newman

14A State Champions: Georgia Impact – Strother
14A State Runner-up: Atlanta Vipers – Prance
14A Final Association Berth Winner: Georgia Impact–Black – Al Owen

16A State Champions: Georgia Impact–White - Jeff Brock
16A State Runner-up: Atlanta Vipers – Phil Berry
16A Final Association Berth Winner: Georgia Impact–White – Jeff Brock

18A State Champions: Middle Georgia Shockers – Ricky Schnable
18A State Runner-up: Georgia Xtreme – Bruce Mercer
18A Final Association Berth Winner: East Georgia Thunder – Charles Salzman

Two More Georgia 18-GOLD Teams Earn Berths to Nationals
Congratulations to Atlanta Vipers-Seamon and Georgia Impact-Miller for each earning a berth to the 18-GOLD USA/ASA Nationals at the Regional Qualifier in Cobb County on July 10. Both teams will join the East Cobb Bullets - Pauly, Georgia Impact - Watts, Georgia Elite - Caldwell and Georgia Elite Gold - Sampson at the 64-team Gold National on August 1-7 in their own backyard (Cobb County, GA). Per a change to the ASA Code in November, 2009, the Gold National was moved to Georgia for 2010. It was announced in early July that the 2011 Gold National will be held in Irvine, CA. The tournament will be held in Oklahoma City in 2012 at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex and return to Oklahoma City every three years. With locations in the non-Oklahoma City-years to be announced at a later date. Best of luck to all six Georgia teams at this year's 18-Gold National!

10A/12A Region Qualifier Remains in South Carolina:
After much discussion, Region 4 has decided that the 10A/12A Region Qualifier will remain in Spartanburg, SC on July 16-18, 2010. For a full list of J.O. Qualifiers in Region 4 (including Association Berths) go to the Region IV Qualifier page.

Four More 16A Teams Going to Nationals; 10 Total
Congratulations to each of the four Georgia 16A teams who earned berth to Nationals on June 27. Three teams (East Cobb Bullets - Wells , Georgia Impact - Giles , and Georgia Fire - Kearns) won one of the eight berths awarded at the 16A Hall of Fame Classic in Oklahoma City. East Cobb Bullets - Schnute won the Region 4 National Qualifier in Cherokee County to earn its berth. All four teams will join the six previously qualified 16A teams from Georgia in College Station/Bryan, TX for the 2010 16A USA/ASA National Championship on August 1-8. A list of all teams and all "A" age divisions going to Nationals may be found at the Georgia ASA J.O. Berth Report.

**UPDATED APRIL 30, 2010**A Message to J.O. Coaches/Tournament Directors from Georgia ASA Commissioner, Al Dattolo:
FRIENDLY (Clarification): A few days ago I posted a notice on the Georgia ASA website concerning teams/clubs holding a friendly that Georgia ASA considered tournaments. In posting that notice I failed to consider events that are actually a friendly - that is – an event with four or fewer teams. I did not intend to eliminate those type events from approved events.

The events I was speaking about are events with more than four teams that are clearly of tournament status and using the term friendly to avoid paying a sanction fee. Those events are still required to pay a sanction fee to be considered an approved event. Checking into how those events are held, specifically no tournament director and basically as fund raisers, the sanction fee shall be $5 per team. The event still must be sanctioned to be approved. You need to inform Kim Townsend or Katie Kay that you intend to sanction the event and send the sanction fee to the one whom you sanctioned through within 48 hours of event.

The sanction fees are used to help with the program initiated several years ago whereby Georgia ASA pays the entry fee to the National Tournament for which a team qualifies. At the present time, due to lack of funds, reduced registrations and tournament sanction fees that program is in jeopardy. I will not cause Georgia ASA to go into the red due to this program. Therefore, the entry fee for any team that qualifies will not be paid immediately after the conclusion of the qualifier as it has been in the past. Georgia ASA will submit entry fees as funds become available. If the qualifying team wishes, it may pay the fee and request a reimbursement from Georgia ASA.

If the teams wish this program to continue beyond 2010 they must support the program by paying tournament sanction fees. The only other solution is to increase individual and team registration fees. The future of this program rests with the participation of the teams.
All we ask is you help us support you.

Georgia ASA Commissioner, Al Dattolo, on Background Checks (April 30, 2010):
In January, Georgia ASA notified all concerned that background checks were mandatory for all coaches and anyone else who would be present in the dugout. The requirement to initiate the background check is the sole responsibility of the coach or other individual. Now, with the first qualifier scheduled for this weekend, coaches are asking for waivers because they have not yet begun the background check process. Everyone has had 4 months to initiate the process. There is no excuse for waiting until the last minute and then claiming it cannot be done because the system is down for maintenance. We are aware there were system problems early in the year and have granted waivers to coaches/individuals who have initiated the process but have not yet received the results. There are no waivers for anyone whose request is not yet in the system.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ALL BACKGROUND CHECKS MUST BE COMPLETED BY MAY, 10, 2010 OR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE DUGOUT OR ONTO THE FIELD. THE ONLY EXCEPTION WILL BE FOR NEWLY ASSIGNED COACHES AND THEY WILL BE REQUIRED TO INITIATE THE PROCESS WITHIN 72 HOURS OF ACCEPTING THE COACHING POSITION.

Georgia ASA Launches J.O. Coaches' Accountability Program
Georgia ASA has instituted the Georgia ASA Coaches’ Accountability Program for unsporting behavior which results in the coach being ejected. This is effective beginning April 1, 2010 for all Georgia ASA Events, including Association Berth Tournaments, National Qualifiers, Region Tournaments, Territory Tournaments, Friendly, and any other event that utilizes ASA certified and sanctioned umpires. Download the details of the Georgia ASA Coaches’ Accountability Program here. Any questions, please contact Georgia ASA Commissioner, Al Dattolo.

Follow Georgia ASA on Facebook and Twitter
Georgia ASA has joined the social networking world! Become a "Fan" of Georgia ASA on Facebook or be a "Follower" on Twitter. Get real-time updates on tournaments, meetings, rule changes, Web site updates, news and more. You can also connect with other Georgia ASA fans from around the state and around the world. Best of all, its FREE and easy to use. This is a must-have for players, coaches, parents, fans and umpires. Join today and start receiving Georgia ASA status updates and tweets!

18-GOLD Berth Allocation Set for 2010
Based on 2009 participation levels, Georgia ASA 18-GOLD teams will have a chance at 14 slots to the coveted 64-team 18-GOLD National Championship in 2010 (in Cobb County, GA). Region 4 will award two berths and the Southern Territory (Regions 4, 5, 6 and 7) will have 12 berths. Click HERE for a full national 18-GOLD Berth Breakdown. Please contact Katie Kay with any questions.

Fayetteville's Ashley Holcombe Makes 2010 Team USA Roster
Congratulations to Fayetteville's Ashley Holcombe for making the USA Softball Women’s National Team! Holdcombe joins a roster with 16 other talented players who will be traveling to Canton, Ohio, Venezuela for the ISF Championship, Canada, Oklahoma City for the World Cup and ending the season in Japan. Holcombe was a four-time All-State selection (including three first-team selections) at Fayette High School and helped lead the Georgia Elite Gold to an impressive 5th-place finish at the 2004 USA/ASA 18-GOLD National Championship Tournament. Click here for more information on USA Softball!

2010 ASA Rule and Code Changes
The ASA National Office has published its 2010 ASA Rule Changes. Changes to the rules include (but are not limited to) pitching distances and use of metal cleats in 16U and 18U J.O. classification and pitching arch heights in adult slow pitch. In addition, ASA has made modifications to the ASA Code. These modifications include (but are not limited to) college student-athlete eligibility in J.O. classifications and the location of the 18-GOLD national championship.Click Here to view a replay of ASA Deputy Director of Umpires, Jim Craig, explaining the 2010 ASA Rule Changes at the 2010 Georgia ASA State Umpire (January 30, 2010 at Emory University).

Cobb County to Host 2010 Girls' 18-GOLD National Championship
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) national office has awarded Marietta, GA (Cobb County) as the new site for the 2010 ASA Girls’ 18-Under GOLD National Championships August 1-7. With an ASA Code decision recently passed by the ASA Council, the 18-U GOLD will move to the Lost Mountain Softball Complex in Marietta in 2010, a to be determined west coast site in 2011 and return to the ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City in 2012. The Girls' 12-B Southern Fast Pitch National originally scheduled for Marietta in 2010 will be relocated.

“With the changes that occurred in Reno at the ASA Annual Meeting, we decided that moving the GOLD to the east would be a great first step towards the new rotation,” said ASA Executive Director Ron Radigonda. “Marietta has proven to be a successful host for ASA National Championships especially as the 2004 hosts of the GOLD National. We are excited to move this tournament next year to the west and then every third year return to our home in Oklahoma City. We feel this is the best solution to meet the needs of the teams and everyone else involved in the success of the GOLD.”

Be sure to stay posted with GOLD updates by visiting http://gold.asasoftball.com/

Balls & Strikes Magazine and The Inside Pitch Available Online
Click HERE for the latest edition of ASA's Balls & Strikes Magazine, It features the 2010 Tournament of Roses Queen who is also an ASA Umpire, the Women's World Cup to be held in Oklahoma City and ASA's new partnership with Live Earth. The March, 2010 issue of The Inside Pitch is also available for free online with features other associations around the country. You may also want to check out the February, 2010 issue of The Inside Pitch which features on the front page one of Georgia's J.O. Commissioners, Kim Townsend who was honored at the ASA J.O. clinic in Oklahoma City for her 15 years of service to ASA (seen to the left receiving her award from ASA Director of Membership Services, Craig Cress).

ACE Certification and Background Checks REQUIRED For J.O. in 2010
Effective January 1, 2010, every coach of teams playing in Championship play MUST be ACE Certified with a background check. The background check will automatically be included with the ACE Certification. Also, per ASA National Office, ANY and EVERY ADULT in the dugout MUST have a background check. This includes scorekeepers, trainers, etc. The background check must be done through Georgia ASA and all adults in the dugout MUST wear the ID Card verifying the background check was conducted. Everyone who takes the ACE Certification Training will receive the required ID Card. The cost of the background check not associated with ACE is not yet known. This information will be posted as soon as it is finalized.

Georgia ASA to Host Four National Tournaments in 2011
At the 78th Annual ASA National Council Meeting in Reno, Nev., Georgia ASA was awarded Four ASA National Tournaments for 2011. The tournaments include three girls' fast pitch southern championships and the Men's Church Slow Pitch national. The ASA Nationals in Georgia for 2011 are as follows:

Girls’ 16-Under Class A Fast Pitch Southern – Columbus, Ga.
Girls’ 10-Under Class B Fast Pitch Southern – La Grange, Ga.
Girls’ 18-Under Class B Fast Pitch Southern – La Grange, Ga.
Men’s Church Slow Pitch – Cumming, Ga.

Check here for a full list of 2011 ASA National Tournament Locations

Region IV will also be hosting an additional eight National Tournaments in Tennessee and North Carolina. The 2011 National Tournaments in Region IV are as follows:

USA/ASA Girls’ 10-Under “A” Fast Pitch – Johnson City, Tenn.
USA/ASA Girls’ 16-Under “A” Fast Pitch – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Men’s Senior East 50 and Over – Burlington, N.C.
Men’s Senior East 55 and Over – Burlington, N.C.
Men’s Senior East 60 and Over – Burlington, N.C.
Men’s Senior East 65 and Over – Burlington, N.C.
Men’s Senior East 70 and Over – Burlington, N.C.
Men’s Senior East 75 and Over – Burlington, N.C.

Many J.O. Fast Pitch "A" teams from around Georgia will be working toward a National Title in 2011. The USA/ASA Class "A" National Locations for 2011 are as follows:

USA/ASA Girls’ 10-Under “A” Fast Pitch – Johnson City, Tenn.
USA/ASA Girls’ 12-Under “A” Fast Pitch – Montgomery, Ala.
USA/ASA Girls’ 14-Under “A” Fast Pitch – Midland, Texas
USA/ASA Girls’ 16-Under “A” Fast Pitch – Chattanooga, Tenn.
USA/ASA Girls’ 18-Under “A” Fast Pitch – Normal, Ill.
USA/ASA Girls’ 18-Under GOLD Fast Pitch – West Coast Location TBA

Georgia ASA is preparing for 13 ASA Nationals in 2010. The 2010 ASA Championships in Georgia are as follows:

Girls’ 18-U GOLD Fast Pitch – Marietta, Ga.
Girls’ 10-U Slow Pitch – LaGrange, Ga.
Girls’ 12-U Slow Pitch – LaGrange, Ga.
Girls’ 14-U Slow Pitch – LaGrange, Ga.
Girls’ 16-U Slow Pitch – LaGrange, Ga.
Girls’ 18-U Slow Pitch – LaGrange, Ga.
Girls’ 10-U Class A Fast Pitch Southern – Cumming, Ga.
Coed Major Slow Pitch – Columbus, Ga.
Coed Class A Slow Pitch – Columbus, Ga.
Coed Class B Slow Pitch – Columbus, Ga.
Men's 9-man Modified Pitch - Cumming, Ga.
Men's 10-man Modified Pitch - Cumming, Ga.
Men's Major Modified - Cumming, Ga.

Check here for a full list of 2010 ASA National Tournament Locations.

2009 Georgia ASA State Champions
Congratulations to the 2009 Georgia ASA State Champions:

     18A - Home Plate Athletics
     16A - East Cobb Bullets - Fullem
     14A - Atlanta Vipers - Dean
     12A - Atlanta Vipers - Barnes
     10A - Worth Cobras
     14C - Cherokee All Stars
     12C - North Gwinnett
     10C - North Gwinnett - Red
     8C - Mill Creek

2009 ASA National Tournaments in Georgia
Five ASA National Championships took place in Georgia in 2009. Information on those tournaments is as follows:

Tournament	Date	Location	Web Site
Girls' ASA/USA 14A FP	July 27 - Aug. 2	Marietta	Tournament Web Site
Girls' ASA 16A FP, Southern	July 29 - Aug. 2	Columbus	Tournament Web Site
Girls' ASA 12B FP, Southern	July 23 - 26	LaGrange	Tournament Web Site
Coed "A" SP	Aug. 27 - 30	Cumming	Tournament Web Site
Men's "C" SP Southern	Sept. 3 - 6	Augusta
All 2009 ASA National Championships

ACE Coaching Certification Goes Cyber
The ACE Coaching Certification Program is now available to coaches nationwide in a new web based format. For more information, check out the Georgia ASA ACE Certification Page.

Georgia ASA Refund Policy

Download the Georgia ASA Refund Policy