The big tournament is the USA Softball Girls 14U Class A Fast-Pitch National Championship, scheduled for August 6-9. That will include teams from all over the nation.
Two other tournaments have been added to be played at the same locations and dates. The 16U Class A Eastern Fast-Pitch Championship was originally scheduled for Pennsylvania but was turned back in. The local group put in a request to have it here, and after a vote by USA Softball it was approved.
The Girls 18U Class A Fast-Pitch Championship was scheduled for Loudoun County. It was also moved here, and since it was already scheduled for Virginia a vote wasn’t necessary.
The three tournaments will be held concurrently. Both Eastern tournaments were moved since their original sites were unable to host due to the conditions in their areas from Covid-19.
“The 14 U is the big one,” said John Shaner, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Salem. “Social Distancing will be practiced and plans are being made so everyone remains safe. We expect to be in Phase 3 by then.”
Other major events that were slated to take place this summer in Virginia’s Blue Ridge have been rescheduled so they could still bring in a large impact to the area over the next year. These events include the NSA Girls Class “A” & “B” Fast Pitch World Series and the WBSC/ISF Senior World Cup Adult Slow Pitch National. Salem, Roanoke County, Roanoke City and Botetourt made it a priority to only push back the timing of these events. Also, without the continued support of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge Convention & Visitors Bureau none of these events would be possible.
The WBSC/ISF Senior Tournament will be played later in the fall, with the dates being October 23rd-25th. The NSA World Series will be played next year right after the Fourth of July weekend. This event will be run in conjunction with the Salem Fair. The NSA organization did not want Virginia’s Blue Ridge to lose out on this tournament and they have selected the Roanoke Valley as the host spot for next year.
Between the three USA Softball events and the WBSC/JSF Senior World Cup, Virginia’s Blue Ridge will see an excess of 7,000 or more hotel room nights from these events throughout this year. This will be a boost to the local hotel properties in the area since the impact of Covid-19.
“This will be a huge boost to the local hotel properties in our area whose occupancy numbers have taken a negative hit since the onset of COVID-19,” said Shaner. “We are very thankful to have the support of our city leaders and a tremendous amount of regional cooperation to bring these events back to Virginia’s Blue Ridge and give the economy a boost.”
