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Indiana State Tournament Milestones

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The Indiana state tournament series structure has changed several times since the first state tournament was held in the 1950s. Key events in the evolution of this structure include the following:

YEARMILESTONE
1957The first Indiana state tournament is held. Prior to 1957, Indiana leagues competed alongside leagues from Michigan for the right to advance to region tournament competition.

The inaugural Indiana state tournament uses an eight-team, single-elimination format. The state's eight districts are organized such that districts 1 through 6 follow the perimeter of the state in a counter-clockwise fashion beginning with District 1 in the Gary area. Districts 7 and 8 cover the state's interior, and split the Indianapolis area in half. Through the 1963 international tournament, every Indiana state tournament is held in Indianapolis, though at a series of different venues in the area.

1962District 9 (Northeastern Indiana) is formed as a split from District 6. State officials implement sectional tournaments, and advance four section champions to the state tournament rather than all district champions.
1965District 10 (Fort Wayne area) and District 11 (South Bend area) are formed. District 11 leagues immediately begin competing in the international tournament, while District 10 does not enter the international tournament until 1967.
1967District 12 is formed in the Southeastern quadrant of the state. The district's leagues previously competed in a number of adjoining districts.
1972District 13 (Southwestern Indiana) is formed as a split from District 5 (Kentuckiana area - Louisville suburbs).
1977District 14 is formed in the Elkhart/Mishawaka area as a spin-off from District 11 (South Bend area).
1981The state tournament changes to a double-elimination format, and remains a four-team competition.
1998Indiana enters all district champions in a fourteen-team, double-elimination state tournament. The tournament takes eight days to conclude under this format.
1999State officials again employ a sectional tournament structure prior to the state tournament by dividing the state's fourteen districts into seven sections. The two districts in the section hosting the state tournament advance directly to the state tournament, along with champions from the other six sections.
2001Indiana officials switch the state tournament format to a pool play schedule. Eight state tournament qualifiers are divided into two pools; after round-robin competition within each pool, qualifying teams advance to winner-take-all elimination round games.

Also in 2001, Indiana is assigned to the Great Lakes Region as part of Little League Baseball's expansion of the World Series from eight to sixteen participants.

2010Indiana officials eliminate sectional qualifiers for the Little League Baseball division, and instead advance all fourteen district champions to the state tournament.
2019Indiana officials consolidate the state's structure from 14 districts to 10. Districts 2, 4, 9, and 11 are all dissolved. District 2 is folded into District 1, District 4 is merged into District 8, and District 11 is absorbed by District 14. District 9's leagues are merged into Districts 6 and 10, and a small handful of leagues in legacy districts that remain are reassigned as district boundaries are adjusted.
2023District 3 is dissolved, and its remaining leagues are merged into District 8.

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