- Source: North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance
- North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance
- Amateur Sports Alliance of North America
- Homosexuality in modern sports
- List of LGBTQ-related organizations and conferences
- List of American and Canadian football leagues
- Transgender history in the United States
- Big Apple Softball League
- YMCA
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- Mixed martial arts
The North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) is a non-profit, international association of gay and lesbian softball leagues. As of 2023, NAGAAA rebranded to International Pride Softball.
NAGAAA was founded in 1977 and the first elected Commissioner was Warren Shepell, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It currently has 54 member leagues in the United States and Canada. The current Commissioner is Jeff Sloan.
NAGAAA recognizes seven divisions of play, from the competitive A division through B, C, D and E, plus two Legends Divisions for players age 50 and above. NAGAAA also maintains a player rating system used to evaluate player skill levels to ensure safety and competitive play. While each member city operates independently, NAGAAA membership allows for a consistent framework for operating interleague play during numerous tournaments hosted by member cities and at the two annual NAGAAA hosted tournaments, the Gay Softball World Series (GSWS) for all divisions, and the NAGAAA Cup Invitational tournament for teams from A and B divisions and the two Legends divisions. The 2019 GSWS held in Kansas City includes "208 teams and is expected to attract more than 5,000 people." The NAGAAA has grown to more than 3,000 teams and 25,000 participants. The GSWS is the largest annual, LGBTQ, "single-sport, week-long athletic competition in the world."
Prior to 2007, there was also a division for all female teams but the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America was formed from NAGAAA in 2007.
Current member leagues
54 member leagues:
Atlanta: Hotlanta Softball
Austin: Softball Austin
Birmingham: New South Softball League
Boston: Beantown Softball League
Charlotte: Carolina Piedmont Softball League
Chicago: Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association
Cincinnati: River City Softball League
Columbus: Columbus Lesbian Gay Softball Association
Dallas: Pegasus Slowpitch Softball Association
Denver: Denver Area Softball League
Des Moines: Pride Sports League of Central Iowa
Fort Lauderdale: South Florida Amateur Athletic Association
Hamilton: Steel City Inclusive Softball
Houston: Montrose Softball League
Huntsville: NexUs Softball League
Indianapolis: Circle City Pride Softball League
Iowa City: Lambda Softball Association
Kansas City: Heart of America Softball League
Knoxville: K-Town Softball League
Las Vegas: Las Vegas Gay Softball League
Long Beach: Long Beach/Orange County Surf & Sun Softball Association
Los Angeles: The Greater Los Angeles Softball Association (GLASA)
Louisville: Derby City Pride League
Madison: Badgerland Softball League
Memphis: Bluff City Sports Association
Mid-Atlantic (Norfolk/Richmond): Mid-Atlantic Softball Association
Milwaukee: Saturday Softball Beer League
Nashville: Metro Nashville Softball Association
New Orleans: NOLA Softball League
New York City: Big Apple Softball League
Oklahoma City: Sooner State Softball Alliance of OKC
Orlando: Central Florida Softball League
Palm Springs: Palm Springs Gay Softball League
Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Love Softball League
Phoenix: Cactus Cities Softball League
Pittsburgh: Steel City Softball League
Portland: Rose City Softball Association
Providence, Rhode Island: Renaissance City Softball League
Raleigh: Oak City Softball League
Sacramento: Sacramento Valley Gay and Lesbian Softball
San Antonio: San Antonio Gay Softball League
San Diego: America's Finest City Softball League
San Francisco: San Francisco Gay Softball League
San Jose: Silicon Valley Softball League
Seattle: Emerald City Softball Association
Sioux Falls: Sioux Empire Pride Sports Association
Southern New England (Connecticut): Southern New England Friendship League
St. Louis: St. Louis Gay and Lesbian Association of Summer Softball
Tampa: Suncoast Softball League
Toronto: Cabbagetown Group Softball League
Tulsa: Tulsa Metro Softball League
Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul): Twin Cities Goodtime Softball League
Vancouver: West End SloPitch Association
Washington, D.C.: Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League
Gay Softball World Series
Each year teams representing these leagues participate in the NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series (GSWS), hosted each year in a different member city.
Each member city is allowed to send an unlimited number of teams in the A division and up to three team in each of the B, C, D and E divisions based on the size of the local league, with larger cities allowed more teams. Members cities are encouraged to send at least one team to the GSWS each year.
Future sites for the Gay Softball World Series
2024 - Las Vegas, Nevada
2025 - Houston, Texas
2026 - to be determined
2027 - San Francisco, California (50th GSWS)
= Gay Softball World Series Champions
=Co-Champions have been declared in 2010 and 2018 for some divisions due to inclement weather.
See also
LGBT community
References
External links
NAGAAA
Annual Gay Softball World Series