October 10 & 11 in Windsor: Nation's First "Women Rule the Field" 2-Day Tournament in Windsor

This Saturday, October 10 & Sunday, October 11, 2026
At Fastpitch Nation Park (the largest dedicated fastpitch facility in the U.S.) 1001 Day Hill Rd. in Windsor, Conn.
8 a.m. First Game of Day starts on both days
3:30 p.m. Final Game of Day starts on both days

This empowering two-day softball tournament will feature 35 Female Fastpitch Umpires (15 of whom are NCAA umpires) coming from seven states and Canada. The UIC (Umpire-in-Chief) is Jennifer Wolcott of Thomaston, Conn.

Close to 650 young Female athletes from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island will compete on Fastpitch Nation Park’s 12 softball fields for a total of 114 games. There will be 47 teams in 10U, 12U, 14U, and 16U divisions.

The Women Rule the Field Tournament Director is Jessie Griffin of Farmington, Conn., Fastpitch Nation’s Assistant General Manager. Her father, David Rocha, founded Fastpitch Nation in 2008 with tournaments at rented fields in the Hartford area and an indoor Bloomfield, Conn. facility that was sold in 2022. He built and opened Fastpitch Nation Park in April 2019 and still serves as the company’s President and General Manager. “From the day Fastpitch Nation opened 18 years ago, we have dedicated everything we do for the betterment of the girls and women who make fastpitch softball so great,” Jessie Griffin states. “We are especially proud to host this special event, bringing in dynamic women umpires from across the Northeast to officiate. Twenty women regularly umpire at Fastpitch Nation Park, and 16 of them will be working this weekend.”

“Women Rule the Field is such an important event because it gives girls the opportunity to see women leading, umpiring, coaching and making an impact in the game they love,” explains Jen Lane, Head Softball Coach at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. “When girls see women on the field in these roles, it helps them understand that those opportunities are there for them, too. As a female coach, I’m proud that there is an event in Connecticut that celebrates how far women have come in our sport while also inspiring the next generation to keep pushing it forward.”

“Having a facility in New England like Fastpitch Nation Park that purely represents girls' fastpitch youth softball, is an incredible feat in itself since most complexes are combined with baseball facilities or other sports,” adds Mollie Watson, Softball Director of Rip City USA in Seabrook, N.H., who will coach a 10U team at the event. “Events like Women Rule the Field celebrate fastpitch softball as a women’s game and shows how female involvement can leave a profound impact on the lives of so many players. This tournament is not about tearing male representatives down, but it builds women up and shows young girls what they too can one day become.”

“We congratulate Fastpitch Nation for developing and hosting this significant women’s sports event that is drawing attention from far beyond Connecticut,” says Robert Murdock, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTMEETINGS), the State’s official meetings, conventions, and sports event sales and marketing organization. “The success of this impressive 12-field complex and the 20,000 female athletes it attracts every year only adds to the appeal of Connecticut as a prime site for girls’ and women’s sports.”

According to Fastpitch Nation, the players, their families and officials will utilize over 500 overnight rooms at 10 hotels in Windsor, Windsor Locks, East Hartford and Enfield this weekend alone. Fastpitch Nation reports that more than 12,000 overnight rooms are used annually across all of its Windsor tournaments.

Spectators are welcome but should bring their own chairs. There is no admission fee.
For more Tournament information, go to https://playfpn.com/events/Women-Rule-the-Field-2026

About Fastpitch Nation: In 2019, Fastpitch Nation Park opened its gates at 1001 Day Hill Road in Windsor, Conn. Its 12 fields makes it the largest dedicated fastpitch facility in the country. It is the site of 3,500 games annually across 26 tournaments, hosting more than 1,200 teams and greeting more than 150,000 people in the park annually. In 2022, it launched the PlayFPN Tournament Network, starting with five affiliate hosts in Connecticut running PlayFPN events. In 2027, it will have 30 hosts in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and New York, and will provide more than 150 fastpitch tournaments in the region, and will continue to grow. Visit www.playfpn.com or call 860-242-0055.

About CTMEETINGS: The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTMEETINGS) is the State’s official meetings and sports event sales and marketing organization. Its experienced staff markets all of the state – convention and meeting venues, hotels and attractions, and sporting venues – as a premier destination for international, national, regional and statewide conferences, conventions and major sports events. In partnership with Connecticut’s businesses, institutions, nonprofit organizations and their surrounding communities, the Middletown, Conn.-based organization works to generate new and returning events, thereby generating increased economic impact for Connecticut’s local regions and tax revenue for the State. For more information about the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, visit CTMEETINGS.org or call 860-728-6789. Social Media @CTMEETINGS