DIVISIONS OF PLAY 

Each WUSA player is slotted into a division of play according to her birth date. Division cutoffs are established to comply with area softball sanctioning bodies (e.g. USA Softball, Fastpitch America Softball Association, USSSA, etc.).  WUSA recognizes a players softball age as her age on September 1st.   **This age cutoff is a change starting with the 2024-2025 WUSA Season and moving forward**  The change for WUSA's recreational softball offerings will be phased-in for players born September 1, 2018 and earlier (e.g. August 1, 2017; August 1, 2016, etc.). **Players with birth dates falling within the accommodation windows (9/1/xx to 12/31/xx) have the option to select from two divisions during registration. Families should enroll in the division that best meets their player's goals for the season.**

IMPORTANT DATES

SPRING FUNDRAISING 

We open the season with our annual Parade/Carnival at West University Elementary School.  This opening weekend is one of our largest fundraisers and an exciting way to kick off the new season. We will also host other events like Father/Daughter Movie Night at WUES Fields and Scout House and the Adult Social/Auction Night.  More details will follow as the season progresses. We look forward to your support.

PRACTICE/GAME INFORMATION 

Teams practice twice per week before games begin and once per week after games begin.

• 6U Division: 60-minute practices, play approximately 10 games; no end-of-season tournament and no makeup games due to rain
• 7U and 8U will have 60-minute practices. 9U, 10U, 11U, and 12U have 90-minute practices. all Divisions play approximately 12 regular season games and all teams participate in an end-of-season tournament after the completion of the regular season. Rained out games are rescheduled.
• 14U has 90-minute practices on Sundays and play approximately 12 - 14 regular season games on weekdays. Our 14U Spring program teams compete against each other and a consortium of local middle school teams and other non-WUSA league teams.

PLAYER EVALUATIONS AND TEAM FORMATION 

WUSA uses an open draft process to form teams. All divisions, except for 6U and 14U, will hold player evaluations in January. These evaluations give all division managers the opportunity to observe all players for the WUSA Open Draft Process. All players MUST attend player evaluations in order to be eligible for the open draft. There are no make-up evaluations for players that are absent. Players who do not attend the evaluations are generally randomly assigned to teams at the end of the draft process. The 6U and 14U divisions does not hold evaluations; players are directly assigned to teams.

UNIFORMS 

WUSA provides uniforms as follows:   

• 6U and 7U: League provides a jersey and a pair of shorts. Teams will purchase their own socks.
• All Other Divisions: League provides a jersey. Each player will need to purchase long softball pants according to colors assigned at the team meeting. Teams will purchase their own socks.

EQUIPMENT INFORMATION 

Each player will need the following equipment: Fielding glove, batting helmet, softball bat, and infield face mask* 

Other equipment is also recommended in some divisions including cleats, batting gloves, and sliding pants.   

Through a partnership with DICK'S Sporting Goods, DICK's will host a WUSA day on January 4th at their Meyerland store where WUSA families can receive 20% off their purchases.  This is a great opportunity for new and returning players to purchase items at reduced prices.

* In the 7U/8U/9U/10U/11U/12U Divisions, infield face masks are required for all infielders, including pitchers during all girl pitch innings.  Defensive pitchers in 7U/8U/9U/10U (pitchers playing the position while a coach or machine is pitching) must wear a batting helmet.  In the 14U division, infield face masks are required for the pitcher and 3rd base positions and are recommended for other infield positions as well. Infield face masks are not required on all infielders in the 6U division, but batting helmets OR face masks are required for pitcher and first base.

REGISTRATION FEE AND REFUND POLICY 

Discounted Early Bird registration fee of $375, November 11-16.   

The regular registration fee is $400, November 17 - December 25.   

The late registration fee is $600, December 26 - January 8, 2025, as long as there are available openings.

WUSA will refund registration fees upon request according to the schedule shown below:   

• Refund requests received prior to regular registration close: Full refund minus a $25 processing fee
• Refund requests received after regular registration closes: 50% refund
• No refunds are offered if requested after late registration ends.   

NOTE: Divisions will be closed once they are full, no additional late registrations will be allowed.   

VOLUNTEERING 

WUSA is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, and we need your help to make our league run. The success of West University Softball Association is rooted in a foundation of parent volunteerism. All families are expected to help out in various roles. One adult for each registered player is required to work one shift in the concession stand at WUSA’s South Campus fields.  Team jobs will be chosen at the Division Meetings (i.e. team parent, carnival, photos, social, etc.)

WUSA will not approve volunteers (including team managers and coaches) with felony criminal convictions or convictions of crimes of moral turpitude.

SPECIAL REQUESTS 

Please note that WUSA is not able to honor requests for carpools, best friends, classmates, assistant coaches, etc.   

For all divisions except for 6U, WUSA uses an Open Draft process in which managers are free to select any available player when it is their turn to pick a player in each round of the draft. In the 6U division, WUSA does attempt to honor classmate or friend requests. However, we are not able to guarantee that we can honor every request. If your daughter has any potential scheduling conflicts due to other activities, please indicate those conflicts during the registration process. While we cannot promise that we can accommodate all scheduling issues, efforts will be made to avoid as many schedule conflicts as possible, if those conflicts are indicated on the registration form.

FINANCIAL AID

If you are in need of financial support, you can submit a scholarship application here.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Link here for League Playing Rules and League Administrative Rules