Almost 900 players on 59 softball teams, along with thousands of their fans and supporters, are converging on Salem this week for the 2024 USA Softball Fastpitch 10B/12B Western National Championships at Wallace Marine Park.
Teams are coming from all over the western US including California, Colorado, Idaho, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. California is sending the largest number of teams. Oregon has five teams in the mix.
All the teams have competed in lower-level tournaments to qualify.
“USA Softball is one of the few associations left that make you play in their tournaments before coming to a national,” said Bill Powers, tournament director for the City of Salem.
Opening ceremonies start at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28, at the Rotary | Gerry Frank Amphitheater.
Check-in at Wallace will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Skills games in hitting, throwing and home runs are also planned. The No. 1 hitter from each team will compete in a home run derby Wednesday, July 31, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Competition play begins at 8 a.m. Monday, July 29, and continues through the week. Games are scheduled all day and through the evening. The last scheduled game is at 8 p.m. Sunday, August 3.
For most of the players, this is their first national tournament. In addition to the players, the tournament is expected to bring as many as 4,000 family members and supporters.
“We haven’t had a tournament this size in Salem in 15 years,” said Powers. The event is one of the biggest USA Softball tournaments in the nation.
Weekend activities for the tournament overlap with Hoopla scheduling, so hotels, restaurants and nearby streets may have larger crowds than usual. Economic impact of the softball tournament is estimated at $7 million to $10 million.
