International Slow Pitch Softball

What International Slow Pitch Softball does

International Slow Pitch Softball (ISPS) is a private, Miami-based sports governing organization founded in 2008 that operates as the dedicated global sanctioning body for slow-pitch softball. It sanctions local leagues, tournaments, and destination championships, and serves athletes, team managers, league and tournament directors, umpires, and national/regional federations through a web platform branded as playisps.com. ISPS enforces official equipment standards, including the 220 and 240 bat compression rules, and publishes two proprietary ranking systems — the World Points Race (WPR) and the ISPS Diamond Index (IDI) — that track team performance and standings across sanctioned events.

The organization's product surface consists of the Athlete Card membership program, event and tournament sanctioning, team manager tools, a director affiliation program, an umpire network, a federations program, and an ISPS Shop for merchandise. The underlying technology stack is SportsEngine's Sports Relationship Management (SRM) platform, which provides member management, event registration, team communications, and website infrastructure. ISPS monetizes through four revenue streams: recurring Athlete Card memberships and director sanctioning fees, one-time merchandise sales, and commission-based hotel and travel bookings through an ISPS hotel portal for tournament participants. The company employs 7 people, has no disclosed revenue or outside funding, and operates without institutional investors.

ISPS pursues an event-driven go-to-market model, acquiring and retaining members through destination championships, regional tournaments, and local leagues, with director affiliates and federation partnerships serving as distribution channels. Marketing is conducted through organic social (@ispso), YouTube livestreams, a content/news hub on the website, and email communications. The company claims a global footprint, with evidence of U.S.-based regional championships (Washington, Florida) and a federations program aimed at international slow-pitch development, though no quantitative participation metrics are disclosed.

Name

International Slow Pitch Softball

Website

https://internationalslowpitchsoftball.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

International Slow Pitch Softball is a private, Miami-based global sanctioning body for slow-pitch softball, serving athletes, team managers, directors, umpires, and federations through event sanctioning, memberships, and proprietary ranking systems, with technology powered by SportsEngine SRM.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Amateur Sports Sanctioning & League Management

NAICS

Spectator Sports (7112), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional Sport Governing Bodies & League Sanctioning Authorities (MPAKAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Baseball & Softball Leagues (MPAKAAAC)

Keywords

• Slow-pitch softball sanctioning
• Amateur sports league management
• Tournament sanctioning services
• Athlete membership programs
• Sports ranking systems

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Athlete Card Memberships: Annual membership fees for athletes providing access to member benefits, events, and global slow-pitch community connectivity. A Memorial Day special offered 50% off annual registration.
2. Event and Tournament Sanctioning: Fees charged to directors and leagues for sanctioning tournaments, leagues, and championships under the ISPS brand. Includes director program affiliation fees.
3. Merchandise and Shop Sales: Sales of merchandise through the ISPS shop including equipment and apparel.
4. Hotel and Travel Services: Commission-based revenue through hotel booking portal for tournaments, championships, and destination events using ISPS hotel portal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

International Slow Pitch Softball (ISPS) is a global sanctioning body for slow-pitch softball that organizes, sanctions, and promotes tournaments, leagues, and championships ranging from local play to international destination events. It sells Athlete Card memberships to individual players, licenses league and tournament directors to run sanctioned events under its brand, maintains proprietary team ranking systems (World Points Race and ISPS Diamond Index), and publishes standardized bat and gameplay rules.

Product overview

International Slow Pitch Softball (ISPS) operates as a global sanctioning and event management platform for slow-pitch softball. The platform consists of interconnected services including the Athlete Card membership program, event/tournament sanctioning system, team management tools, and director/umpire networks. Key ranking products include the World Points Race (WPR) for official points standings and the ISPS Diamond Index (IDI) for team performance tracking. The platform serves athletes, team managers, directors, umpires, federations, and host cities through its web portal, providing tools for event discovery, team registration, live rankings, and league affiliation. The ecosystem also includes equipment guidelines and a federations program for international growth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISPS Athlete Card Annual membership program for individual slow-pitch softball players that provides member benefits, event access, eligibility to compete in ISPS-sanctioned competitions, and connection to the global slow-pitch community.
• ISPS Events & Tournament Sanctioning Sanctioning service for slow-pitch softball tournaments, leagues, and championships ranging from local events to international destination championships. Directors pay affiliation and sanctioning fees to operate events under the ISPS brand and rule set.
• World Points Race (WPR) Official points race ranking system that tracks overall top teams by current WPR points across ISPS-sanctioned competitions, providing season-long standings and competition storylines.
• ISPS Diamond Index (IDI) Independent team performance index that tracks team performance, consistency, level of competition, and results across ISPS-sanctioned events, providing a live ranking snapshot that teams build by entering events and competing consistently.
• Team Manager Tools Platform for team managers to register teams, manage rosters, communicate with athletes, and organize squads for ISPS league and tournament competition.
• Director Program Affiliate program for league and tournament directors to affiliate their events with ISPS, run sanctioned tournaments and leagues, access ISPS support resources, and connect local programming to a global movement.
• Umpire Program Network for softball umpires to receive event officiating opportunities, connect with directors, and support game integrity at ISPS-sanctioned events worldwide.
• Federations Program Partnership program for national and regional softball federations to create slow-pitch programming, training, events, and international growth initiatives with ISPS.

Quantifiable outcome

• Professional credibility and global recognition for local leagues and tournaments through ISPS affiliation

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SportsEnginecoreTechnology or IntegrationSportsEngine's Sports Relationship Management (SRM) software powers the ISPS platform, providing member management, event registration, team communications, and website infrastructure.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Softball Association (NSA): A long-standing slow-pitch softball sanctioning organization running national tournaments, world series events, and league play. It is directly comparable to ISPS in mission, membership model, and event sanctioning structure.
• USA Softball: The national governing body for softball in the United States (formerly ASA/ Amateur Softball Association). It sanctions amateur slow-pitch and fast-pitch competitions, sets equipment rules, and runs national championships, directly competing with ISPS for slow-pitch sanctioning authority in the U.S. market.
• USSSA: United States Specialty Sports Association is a large multi-sport sanctioning body that runs slow-pitch softball leagues and tournaments nationwide. It competes directly with ISPS for directors, teams, and tournament sanctioning fees in the U.S.

Regional players

• Softball Australia: National federation governing softball in Australia, a key slow-pitch market. It is comparable to ISPS as a federation-level governing body and a potential federation partner competing for slow-pitch authority in the region.
• Canadian Softball Association / Softball Canada: National federation governing softball in Canada. It plays a federation-level role analogous to one of ISPS's federation partners and represents both a partner opportunity and a competing authority in the Canadian slow-pitch market.

Broad incumbents

• World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC): The international federation recognized by the IOC as the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC oversees slow-pitch globally through its member federations and competes with ISPS for the role of authoritative international governing voice.

Emerging players

• Triple Crown Sports: A youth and amateur tournament operator that runs softball and baseball events across the U.S. It overlaps with ISPS in tournament operations and director-level relationships, though it is more event-operator than sanctioning body.

Others

• SportsEngine: The technology vendor whose Sports Relationship Management (SRM) platform powers ISPS's member management, event registration, and team communications. It is an enabling infrastructure provider rather than a competitor, but the partnership is core to ISPS's operations.
• DICK'S Sporting Goods (Team Sports / Softball category): Major sporting goods retailer that sells slow-pitch softball bats and equipment. While not a competitor to ISPS, it operates in the same softball ecosystem at the retail/equipment layer, relevant for partnership and merchandise/equipment distribution opportunities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/ISPSSOFTBALL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-slow-pitch-softball

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Slow Pitch Softball