The Amateur Softball Association of America is an independent and unique organization. It is the largest and fastest growing amateur sports association in America today. Its membership is composed of men and women who are dedicated to amateur sports.
To point a picture of ASA and its activities will show a colorful progress of dedication, effort and growth. To understand its uniqueness and its strength, you will realize that ASA is not only improving the status of its members and the game but, it is also developing and sharing with youngsters and people everywhere a program to develop strong minds and strong bodies. To clearly understand its accomplishments you must first realize what ASA is, what it does, and the goals it seeks. ASA is a non-government, non-partisan and non-profit organization, accepting all who qualify as amateurs, regardless of sex, color, creed or national origin. It is an organization of men and women who voluntarily associate themselves in the interest of amateur sports, particularly softball.
ASA is on organization with affiliation with other amateur organizations all of notional scope but, in no way dependent upon any other organization for policy or administration. Its finances cannot be expended to the advantage of any individual or group of individuals, but only to the improvement or expansion of ASA itself, and, its membership.
The membership of ASA is a cross section of the United States, from this membership comes its officers and volunteers. There are nine area vice presidents heading nine areas into which the ASA membership is divided. There are 100 state and metropolitan commissioners who administer the ASA activities, programs and rules. In addition there are some 2500 district and deputy commissioners also serving on o voluntary basis, none of whom receive a salary or stipend. An adequate but small national office staff is employed to administer the policies and functions of the ASA.
Since 1933 the ASA has developed and promoted softball on an organized basis, softball once a sport that was played under no less than twelve different sets of rules on a notional basis today, is played under one set of rules in over forty countries. Standardization and uniformity of the playing rules and, the ASA, are primarily the reason that softball today, is played the world over on such an organized basis that many other amateur sports have followed softball’s pattern. Over 25 million adults and youngsters play annually in the United States some form of competitive and recreational softball.
For over 35 years the ASA has developed and promoted organized and championship softball in the United States, as governing body for the sport in the United States it carries on important responsibility to the participating teams, players, officials and sponsors to regulate competition and to assure fairness and equal opportunity to all who participate under the ASA banner.
