The teams that play and support USSSA (over 17,000 in 2022) are accustom to our age cutoff and like the progressive nature of it. The sport has evolved over the last decade as you we all know and by having our age cutoff at January 1^st it forces athletes to begin their new age/class in the fall season if their birthday falls between 8/15 and 1/1. This gives them time to see what the next age level will be like in the fall, and give them time to prepare for the larger state and national events that happen in the spring and summer.