Nearly 100 LGBTQ+ and women’s softball teams from across the United States are coming to Tucson this month for the slow-pitch softball World Series.

The tournament comes just three years after Tucson Inferno Pride Softball League restarted its league for LGBTQ+ players and allies in 2023.

Now, the City of Tucson and Tucson Inferno will host the 19th annual Amateur Sports Alliance of North America Softball World Series at Lincoln Regional Park in Tucson and Sports Park Tucson from Oct. 19 to 24.

“We plan on 2,000 people,” said Angela Smith, the executive director of ASANA. “That includes about 1,500 athletes, managers, scorekeepers and those types of things, and then about 500 family members.”

ASANA, a nonprofit with teams in 35 states, promotes sportsmanship and comraderie within the LGBTQ+ community and travels to a different city each year for its annual tournament, she said. It’s stop in Tucson this year is supported by a grant from Tucson Sport, which is part of the Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“We are excited,” Smith said. “Tucson is amazing for all of the historic things there. Hopefully the weather will be great for us in October.” 

The ASANA teams will play more than 250 games during the four-day tournament, which begins at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The championship game will be played on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Lincoln Regional Park.

Schedule of events

The World Series kicks off on Monday, Oct. 19 with a hall of fame dinner at the Arizona Sands Club on the University of Arizona campus, followed by an opening party on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at The Hut on Fourth Avenue.

During the opening party, a moment of silence will be held to remember Cameron Davis Capara and Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, who were killed in a shooting outside of Venture-N on North Sixth Avenue on Aug. 31 in a suspected anti-gay hate crime.

The timing of bringing an LGBTQ+ event to Tucson while the community is still reeling from the murders is not lost on the organizers, Smith said, and ASANA is working with local law enforcement to provided added security.

Tournament pool play starts at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with timed 55-minute games. Whoever is leading at the 55-minute mark wins, Smith said.

Single elimination beginning on Friday afternoon. And ASANA will also “Paint the Park Pink” on Friday with players wearing pick uniforms to honor those who have battled cancer, Smith said. 

“Players will be wearing pink uniforms, pink head bands, pink socks, hats,” she said.

The championship game will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24.

All games are free and open to the public.

Local connection

Sheryl Phipps, league director of Tucson Inferno Pride Softball League, said being the tournament’s only local team is a major honor. The league is made up of LGBTQ+ players from across the ,Tucson area. “We are trying to promote the city, the mountains, the hiking, the gay community,” she said. 

She said many players have never been to Tucson, and she wants to show visiting teams the history of the region and highlight the desert and town.

To that end, Tucson Inferno is sponsoring a scavenger hunt for the players, which includes finding Old Main on the UA campus and a saguaro with ten arms.

“That’ll be nice for people; it’s a way for us to get people to go around Tucson,” Phipps said.

More information about games and events is on the ASANA website.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.