OKLAHOMA CITY – Four branches of the United States military will go toe-to-toe at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex during the Armed Forces Men’s and Women’s Championship with the event held in Oklahoma City for the first time in history. Opening on Friday, August 4 and running through Wednesday, August 9, top athletes from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps will take part in pre-event festivities and five days of slow pitch action – culminating with Championship play on August 9.
Teams will arrive at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex beginning Friday, August 4 for individual team practices before uniting at OGE Energy Field at 4 p.m. CT for a Home Run Derby in which two players from each team will compete for bragging rights.
Following opening ceremony honors at 8:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, August 5, the five-day, tournament will kick off at 9 a.m. CT, continuing into Wednesday, August 9. Determined via round-robin standings, the top two branches in each division will face-off in Championship play with the event’s 50th Men’s Championship game slated for 3 p.m. CT and the 44th Women’s Championship contest scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT. All 38 games will be played on the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field.
This unique event is open to the public with no parking or gate fees. Fans can also follow along with the action via live stats and streaming on USASoftball.com.
Participants across all eight teams will have the chance to advance to the Armed Forces Team after being evaluated throughout the tournament by the U.S. Armed Forces Selection Committee. The selected athletes will go on to represent the Armed Forces at either the USA Softball Women’s Open Slow Pitch National Championship or the Men’s Super Slow Pitch National Championship taking place August 19-20 and August 17-18, respectively.
An affiliated member of USA Softball, the Armed Forces offers over 20 sports for active military members, with softball competitions dating back to 1972. Looking to defend its 2022 title will be the Men’s Air Force team, while the Women’s Navy team last hoisted the trophy in 2021. Overall, the Men’s Air Force leads with 25 National Championship titles, followed by the Army with 14, Marine Corps with six and Navy with four. Atop the Women’s leaderboard is the Women’s Army team with 22 titles, the Air Force with 18 and the Navy with three.
To be eligible to compete in the Armed Forces Championship, military personnel must maintain active duty, reserve or national guard status, with participants being selected from United States military installations from across the world.
For more information on the Armed Forces Men’s and Women’s Championship, visit USASoftball.com.