Signups are being taken for two Labor Day weekend Pacificwide interservice softball tournaments in Japan and Okinawa and for a Columbus Day tournament at Okinawa’s Kadena Air Base, organizers said.

The Kanto Kup at Yokota Air Base in Japan and the Typhoon Classic at Okinawa’s Torii Station on Labor Day weekend and the Kadena Klassic will feature Pacific softball’s standard single round-robin/double-elimination playoff format. All will be governed by Amateur Softball Association rules, with local modifications.

The Typhoon Classic, the Pacific’s oldest tournament, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year with a twist — a quick-play seeding system of three-inning, 30-minute time limit games to be used for round-robin play, proposed by tournament director Jim Perry.

Among that system’s oddities, each at-bat begins with a 2-ball, 1-strike count. Each team may score a maximum of 10 runs per inning; the team in the field might not register three outs. If a game is tied after three innings, it moves to one-pitch format and the last batter the previous inning will be placed at second base to open the next inning.

Perry, of Torii Station Fitness and Sports, said the format will speed things, especially in case of inclement weather, and guarantee all teams a minimum of eight games. Whether the system will be adopted “will ultimately be determined at the coaches meeting” slated for Aug. 29 at Torii’s Coral Cove, Perry said.

Scheduled for Aug. 31-Sept. 5 at Torii Softball Field, the tournament is hoping to get as many as 15 teams, Perry said.

Entry fee is $200; deadline is Aug. 25. For information, phone Perry at DSN 644-4144 or 4169 or e-mail adrosor.perry@us.army.mil.

Yokota will host the Kanto Kup for the second year. Scheduled for Sept. 1-4, it’s open to as many men’s and women’s teams as can pay a $275 entry fee by the Aug. 22 deadline, Yokota Fitness and Sports officials said. Games will be played at Yokota Park on Yokota’s east side and Wilkins Park on the base’s west side.

For information, phone Tech. Sgt. Andrew Yates at DSN 225-8881 or e-mail andrew.yates@yokota.af.mil.

The Kadena Klassic, scheduled for Oct. 5-10 at Kadena’s FourDiamonds Complex, is open to the first 32 men’s and 12 women’s teams that sign up and pay an entry fee of $250. Entry deadline is Sept. 15 for Okinawa teams and Aug. 15 for off-island teams.

For information, call Tech. Sgt. Tony Long, Master Sgt. Barbara West or Jason Vandenberg at DSN 634-5128 or e-mail them at jason.vandenberg@kadena.af.mil, barbara.west@kadena.af.mil or anthony.long@kadena.af.mil.

Migrated