Athletes Unlimited inaugural softball season set to open on Saturday

Athletes Unlimited inaugural softball season set to open on Saturday
26/08/2020
The new and innovative pro softball league held its opening ceremony on Monday with all the players standing on the field.

Athletes Unlimited 2020 softball season will begin on 29 August, with 56 of the top softball players in the world competing in the new, innovative professional softball league in the United States. The 30-game, five-week season will be played entirely at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois, just outside Chicago.

The competition format is centred on the player’s performance, not the teams. During the games, players will get points for “winning” each inning, and also for each of their individual statistics. When games are over, three MVPs will be chosen and awarded points.

After every weekend, the top four players in the points table will participate in a draft, to form the four teams to compete in the next weekend. At the end of the season, the player with the most points will be crowned as individual champion.

Highlighted by the two-time Olympic medallist Cat Osterman, and 11 WBSC world champions, the season will have 56 of the top players in the world competing in 30 games across five weeks. Athletes Unlimited announced that the list of participants includes softballers that have represented the national teams of Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico and USA.

The 30 games of the 2020 season will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network and ESPN in the US and Canada. Fans in Latin America can watch it on ESPN Play and YouTube, while in the rest of the world the games will be available on The Olympic Channel and YouTube.

Throughout the Athletes Causes program, Athletes Unlimited will provide funding to charities of the players’ choice.

Photo: Twitter Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports)