2009 QUALIFIERS

LONE STAR SHOOTOUT SERIES:
The Lone Star Shootout State Championship Series are high-quality tournaments to be held throughout Texas during the 2009 softball season. Each tournament will have at least 4 divisions -- Men's Class B, Men's Class C and Men's Class D, Men's E.  Other divisions (such as Co-ed and Women) may be added for selected qualifiers. The top 5 finishers at each tournament will qualify for the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. In addition, any team that participates in any three qualifiers, regardless of record, will be invited to the State Championship Finals.

SHOOTOUT STATE FINALS DIRECT BERTHS: The top 5 finishers in each division at each qualifier will receive direct berths to the  Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals.  If one of those qualifiers is unable to accept for any reason (already have berth, decline berth, misses deadline, disqualification, etc.) the berth would be offered to the next highest finisher from that tournament until all slots are filled.

SHOOTOUT STATE FINALS INVITATIONAL BERTHS: A team which competes in any three Lone Star Shootout Qualifiers, regardless of finish, will receive an automatic invitation to the Lone Star Shootout Fall State Finals.

SHOOTOUT POINT SYSTEM: 1st Place = 10; 2nd Place = 8; 3rd Place = 6; 4th Place = 4; 5th Place = 2; All Others = 1.  In addition, Bonus Points will be awarded for participation in multiple events (2 Bonus Points for 2nd tournament,  3 Bonus Points for 3rd tournament, etc.). For example, a team participating in four tournaments would be guaranteed 13 points -- 4 participation points (1, 1, 1, 1) and 9 Bonus Points (0, 2, 3, 4) even if they went 0-2 in all four tournaments. This system rewards teams who participate in multiple Shootout events.

NEW!  SUPER QUALIFIERS: Two tournaments will offer ADDITIONAL POINTS because of their added magnitude: the 24th Annual Budweiser Softball Festival on May 2-3 in Bryan-College Station and the Conference USSSA Space City N.I.T. on June 5-7 at Big League Dreams in League City. Points awarded for these two tournaments will be: 1st = 20; 2nd = 18; 3rd = 16; 4th = 14; 5th = 12; 7th thru 9th = 10; All Others = 5. (Bonus Points are added to these totals at the normal scale).

SEEDING FOR FINALS: The Point System will help determine some seeding and priority order for any possible byes at the State Championship Finals. For example, seeding for the top 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. positions (depending on number of teams entered) will be set according to the Point System Standings.

NEW! STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: In an effort to accommodate more teams, there will be separate State Championship Finals this year. The North Texas State Finals for ALL divisions will be held June 27-28 at Big League Dreams in Mansfield. The South Texas State Finals will be held over two weekends at Big League Dreams in League City -- Men's D and Co-ed on July 4-5, and all the rest (Men's B, Men's C, Men's E and Women) on July 11-12. Each of the State Championship Finals will have significant prize packages, but not the prestigious Shootout State Champion Rings. The respective State Champions in each division will be invited to College Station on a later weekend for a head-to-head, North vs. South, best-out-of-three game matchup, with the winner receiving the RINGS!  (NOTE: Qualified teams are eligible to enter both NTX & STX State Finals. Teams may also play "up" in the next highest division. For example, after playing in the STX Men's D State Finals on July 4-5, a Houston D team may also play in the STX Men's C State Finals on July 11-12.)

NEW! SANDBAGGER CLAUSE: The Series Administrator reserves the right to re-classify teams, if necessary, for purposes of the Lone Star Shootout Series. For example, if a USSSA-registered D team from Alaska comes to a Shootout qualifier and goes undefeated and wins every game by 10 runs, LSSO reserves the right to move that team up to C for the purposes of the Shootout Series only. It would not necessarily affect their classification in USSSA. Only a team's home State Director can change their USSSA classification.

For immediate information, send questions to: info@lonestarsoftball.com

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