More than 1,000 softball players from around the country came to San Diego to compete in 2023 ASANA World Series.
“San Diego has been planning for 18 months to be the host city and bring 1,300 players including their families to the destination,” Veronica Rivera, a co-chair of the host committee, said.
ASANA, also known as the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America, is a nonprofit that focuses on LGBTQ+ women in sports.
“You can come out here and play,” added Rivera, who is also on the San Diego-based team sponsored by Gossip Grill. “Show your truest self and have a safe place to be here.”
Angela Smith, the Executive Director of ASANA, told NBC 7 that there are 29 member cities in the US, including six from California.
“Honestly, ASANA is a family,” Smith said. “If we are missing one letter from ASANA it will be F.”
Smith shared that the tournament is a way to bring LGBTQ+ women together in a welcoming, yet competitive, environment.
“It’s not about politics and the outside world,” he said. “We come together and we know who we are, we celebrate it, and we don’t have to worry about anybody.”
Tournament games are held at three locations in San Diego County, including Sportsplex USA Santee, Sportsplex USA Poway and Mount San Miguel Park. This is the third time San Diego has hosted teams for the ASANA World Series, and it likely won’t be the last.
“San Diego is a truly inclusive destination, and so bringing the ASANA women’s world series here is huge,” said Rivera.
For more information on ASANA and the tournament, click here.