World Series Berth Procedures for Ohio USSSA Fastpitch
1. Any team qualifying for a World Series (WS) berth, "A" or "B", must participate in the USSSA State Tournament in order to validate that berth. A team's failure to participate in the State Tournament will result in their berth being rescinded.

2. A minimum of four teams must participate in order for a WS qualifying tournament to offer any berths. The following are the general principles in awarding berths out of WS.

          a. The amount of WS berths will be determined by the number of teams participating per
          age bracket as follows:
 4 - 5 teams  1 Berth  State Director will determine classification
 6 - 8 teams  2 Berths  1st is A; 2nd has choice
 9 - 11 teams  3 Berths  1st is A; 2nd & 3rd have choice
 12 - 14 teams  3 Berths  1st & 2nd are A; 3rd has choice
 15 - 19 teams  4 Berths  1st & 2nd are A; 3rd & 4th have choice
 20 - 24 teams  4 Berths  1st, 2nd, & 3rd are A; 4th has choice
 25 or more  5 Berths  1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th are A; 5th has choice
  1. When a choice is offered, teams will have the option of accepting either an "A" or "B"
    2.           berth. This decision must be made within 7 days of the qualifier or before the beginning
              of the team's next USSSA qualifying tournament, whichever comes first.

  1. If a team that chooses a "B" berth later qualifies as "A", that team will be reclassified
    2.           as "A". However, the team has the right to appeal such a reclassification and the
              reclassification may be overturned if conditions warrant.

  1. If a team earns a berth to a WS for which they've already qualified, it's possible that
    2.           berth may be awarded to the highest finishing team in the tournament which has not yet
              earned a berth.

          e. The preceding points are not to be considered absolute in all cases. Other factors
          could come into play when determining the nature of awarding berths. The State
          Director reserves the right to determine the final amount of berths and to which WS they
          are awarded.

3. A team that qualifies for a WS berth will need to submit the WS entry form and fee to the State Director within 14 days of qualifying, or sooner if deemed necessary. The WS entry form is usually contained in the WS information packet. Failure to submit either the form or fee will result in the team being left out of the tournament.

4. Teams should carefully determine whether they intend to participate in the WS for which they've earned the berth, as WS entry fees are non-refundable once they are submitted to the State Director.

5. Teams that earn an "A" berth as described in 2(a) above will be classified as "A", whether or not that team chooses to accept the "A" berth. A team that earns a choice berth will be classified by the berth it chooses to accept, either "A" or "B".

6. The State Director will forward all rosters and WS entry fees on behalf of teams earning berths to the WS tournament director. It is up to the individual teams to handle all other paperwork associated with the WS (eg. housing forms, admission passes, and insurance forms).