Congressional Softball League

The Congressional Softball League is a softball league organized by the non-profit Congressional Athletic Association consisting of teams of Congressional staffers as well as employees of other federal agencies and private Washington D.C. companies and organizations.

History
The league was founded in 1979. The Congressional Athletic Association is a non-profit, recreational organization which organizes softball teams from the U. S. Congress, Federal agencies and private companies and organizations. From 1979 until September 10, 2001 the tournament was played over a two week period at either Andrews Airforce Base or Bolling Airforce Base. The games were played from Monday through Thursday and were played on lit regulation sized fields. This allowed the opportunity for teams to play under the lights and it also allowed for greater league participation since it occurred during the week. After September 11th 2001, Gary Caruso, commissioner of the Congressional Softball League, was forced to look for new fields because security concerns prohibited further use of the Andrews and Bollings fields. A former player on the Yellow Journalists softball team enlisted the help of Fairfax County and after a two week delay the 2001 tournament was completed at Wakefield Park in Springfield Virginia. Due to the prohibitive cost of using lighted county fields Mr. Caruso has been forced to use an unlit pair of fields in Fairfax County since 2002. This has caused the tournament to be spread out over 3 to 4 weekends instead of the 2 weeks prior to September 11, 2001.

In 2005 a tourist was hit by a fly ball while walking on the mall. This person chose not to pursue legal action against the team or league. As a result of this incident Mr. Caruso consulted with an attorney who advised him that both the team sponsor and the league is responsible for any injuries suffered by pedestrians in and around the mall. In 2006 Mr. Caruso required that any teams playing in the Congressional Softball League be covered under a policy that the league bought. In order for the House Softball League to play at Braddock Park and use ASA umpires the league had to join ASA and pay a premium that protects the umpires in case of injury. Mr. Caruso has been requested to post the Declaration of Insurance page for transparency purpose. This policy also acts as secondary insurance for any player who is injured while playing softball. if they do not have insurance it acts as the primary insurance.

House Softball League
In the off-season before the 2006 season beginning in April, 115 teams seceded from the league in protest of requested rules changes that were consistently ignored by league Commissioner Gary Caruso. These rules changes included, but were not limited to; a straight playoff system based on seeding from 1 to 64 (exactly the same as other tournaments including the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball tournaments), greater interaction with the Senate Softball League, and full transparency of league finances.

The new league, consisting of 115 bipartisan teams from the old league, is organized and directed by a commission incorporating representatives of teams, Democratic and Republican, with varying skill levels. The newly formed league featured such colorful teams as the Big in Japan Softball Club.

The U.S House Softball league held it's first tournament on September 16, 2006 at Braddock Park in Clifton, VA. The top 32 teams participated in the tournament. Potomac Fever won the inaugural House League Championship defeating Denny's Grand Slams (Rep. Dennis Hastert) by a score of 15-1 in the Final. The top four teams were: Potomac Fever - Champions; Denny's Grand Slams - 2nd; Insliders - 3rd; Blue Pups - 4th.

On September 19, 2006, the new House Softball League champion, Potomac Fever, played the Senate League champion, RBIs of Texas, in the first annual "King of the Hill" game. Covered by local media, the game was immediate evidence of the evolution of play incorporated under the new House Softball League.

In its 2nd year of existence in 2007 the U.S. House Softball team now includes 123 teams. This year's tournament has been expanded to include 48 teams.

Rules
Unlike many softball leagues, strikes are not called unless the batter swings and misses or hits a foul ball.

Many of the fields played on are public and thus cannot be reserved, forcing Congressional interns to wait at the fields—often for hours—to hold them.

Games
Games are played on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the US Capitol, as well as in parks and at softball fields all over the city of Washington. Teams in the league are responsible for securing the locations for their team's games.

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