Aside from the obvious (finding players, buying equipment and uniforms, setting up practices, etc.), there are 4 basic functions that new teams need to perform.
1.        Register your team with USSSA.
2.        Purchase team insurance.
3.        Complete the online roster form and submit it to USSSA.
4.        Choose which tournaments you wish to participate in and register for them.

Every team that participates in even one tournament needs to purchase team insurance.  Simply put, none of softball's sanctioning bodies will allow a team to participate that doesn't have team insurance.  USSSA’s insurance carrier is K&K.  Teams do not have to purchase their insurance through K&K, but it’s an easy and quick process to do through the USSSA website, www.usssa.com.  The USSSA policy provides both liability and accident coverage.  Teams that purchase insurance on or after August 1 are charged half price.  All policies purchased during the year expire on December 31.  In order to purchase team insurance from K&K, teams will need to be registered through USSSA and will need to provide K&K with their sanction number upon application.  Click here to purchase a policy or to find out more about the K&K insurance program.

First you’ll need to register your team online (see section above).  Once that’s been done, go to the Roster Procedure section of the website and read the instructions, particularly the section “Information Regarding the Online Roster”.  Once the roster has been completely entered, you need to print off a copy, have the players and parents sign it, then send the originally signed version to the State Youth Office, 8343 Seamore Street, Pasadena, MD  21122.  The signed copy should be sent at least two weeks prior to participating in your first USSSA tournament of the year.  Make sure you keep a copy of the signed roster for your own records.

To get a list of all available tournaments, go to www.usssa.com and login under your ID.  Once you’re in under your ID, click on “Find a Tournament /League”, select the parameters you’re looking for, then click on the payment option (either online payment or without online payment).

Absolutely.  In fact, we encourage teams to play in tournaments run by other organizations. Although we believe USSSA will offer your team the most opportunity overall, we also understand that each weekend is different, and depending on your team's situation another organization might provide you a better solution for that particular weekend.  Contrary to what many people might think, the directors of each sanctioning body do get along with one another and help each other in every way they can.  For the most part, the various associations work with, not against, each other.