Beach Volleyball in Fort Wayne

Holiday Volleyball Tourneys at Spiece

2011-11-01T14:36:00.003-04:00

There will be three Holiday Tourneys by Fair Play Volleyball at Spiece this season:

Saturday, November 26th
Coed Sixes
"A" & "B+" start at 10 am
"B", "B-" & "C" start at 2:30 pm
$15 per player/$90 per team

Saturday, December 31st
Coed Fours
"A" & "B+" start at 10 am
"B", "B-" & "C" start at 2:30 pm
$15 per player/$60 per team

Saturday, January 7th
Coed Sixes
"A" & "B+" start at 10 am
"B", "B-" & "C" start at 2:30 pm
$15 per player/$90 per team

Teams and players interested can let me know by email (fairplaybeach@yahoo.com), by phone (260) 402-3999, or by facebook.

Advertise on the Wall

2011-09-05T18:40:00.005-04:00

Get an inexpensive decal made ($15 to $30) and advertise on the wall surrounding the 3 original beach courts at River City. Put one up for the rest of this year and next year is included for a $100 advertising fee.

It can't be more than 28 inches high or more than 42 inches wide. You can also get a separate small decal 3.5 to 4.5 inches high to place in the blue line, perhaps with your website or phone number listed. Put up four more decals after the first one for $60 each.

What are the impression numbers?

Earlier in the summer I would have said at least 1500 per week: 236 teams * 5 plus at least 30 fans per night. Add in tourneys, bar customers, and youth practice during the day and that should be the average up until mid-August. I would put it around 1000 later in the season. Next season should be more though as it slowly grows... The season runs from early May until Early October. The total impression number for summer would be a little over 30000.

Decals are much cheaper and cleaner to work with. I have several contacts if you would like to have inexpensive decals created. One of them is Nick Miller at American Reprographics Company: nick.miller@e-arc.com

Not messing with banners anymore. They are more expensive to make. The wind tears them up and the bungees wear.

We have recently improved and cleaned up the look of the 5 beach courts. We still continue to do so and by the time it gets warm next May or June it should look very nice, and be something that adds more to the sports culture of Fort Wayne.

Sign-up to Play Volleyball

2011-03-13T23:12:00.004-04:00

Weather Policy

2010-07-30T14:23:00.014-04:00

For mid summer:

The beach courts at River City don't rain out. Except for the middle court is drains immediately. The roads to travel to the courts will flood before the beach courts do. If we get behind by 15 to 20 minutes we'll move on to the next match and make up the missed one at a later time.

Problems that would cause us to get behind on a night of play are lightning, heavy rain and/or strong wind, or other severe weather.

For early or late beach season:

If it is a combination of cold, wet and windy I may postpone a night of play, or maybe up until sunset when the temperature dives.

For winter:

The Spiece Fieldhouse only closes during a severe city weather emergency, when cars should not be out on the streets. Concordia Seminary rarely closes as well, unless they do not have classes on campus, in which case they might...

For unruly winter weather and storms I will just have to do the best I can and will try to get a cancellation on the fairplayvolleyball.com website and on facebook asap. I will also try to contact all the captains.

BCA Pool State Championships

2010-04-04T20:41:00.001-04:00

BCA Pool State Championships this year will be held at River City Bar & Grill Thursday, April 22nd through Sunday, April 25th. The event draws players from all over the state to Fort Wayne. Out-of-town readers can find a hotel site-map here.

BCA- Indiana event link is here.
You can print the pdf flyer for the event here.
Last year's event coverage is here.

Summer Charity Events

2009-11-11T12:34:00.003-05:00

Once again next summer I will allow charity events to happen at the beach courts. Also available is the quality putting course and the bar. Thanks to Dave & Suzanne Anglin for making it possible to help others with their special events. Contact me at (260) 402-3999 or fairplaybeach@yahoo.com for more info.

Logo History

2009-07-04T16:55:00.047-04:00

Ok, a year later now that the 2 new courts are in place with some shelter and a deck one thing I want to do is get a few shirt designs online and see if I can sell them beyond Fort Wayne. It relates to the idea of a Fair Play philosophy, and to the Fair Play mission statement and the Fair Play code of ethics. I've also wanted to write a "Fair Play Manifesto" and shoot more video and pictures but there's only so much that can be done...

This concentration can emphasize a character and uniqueness to the "franchise" and maybe Fair Play as a volleyball business could be successful in another city... like Pittsburgh, or in Hawaai.. lol.

I don't really have a regular logo for Fair Play. The first one is this one below done by a "Mona" who wouldn't give me a digital copy of it.

So since I couldn't get a digital copy I went to Classic Products, who played in the league, and had a new one done based on that (below):

I also had Classic do a 9/11 shirt for a charity event:

Then a Mark from the league took some of my ideas and came up with some images. Unfortunately I either misplaced or never received some of them in digital form. Nevertheless there are a lot of circular logos:

as well as the commie logo:

My favorite, of these, was always this simple blue one:

Mark took one of my ideas and then I found a mantis, um somewhere, and a Jen helped make the Mantis logo:

Next up Sandra made a cool merger of the Spiece and Fair Play logos:

and also some logos for the cornhole leagues at that time:

And then last year, after I heard someone say they wished the summer wouldn't ever end, I came up with the idea for the Ouroborus shirt (Endless Summer), and had Classic do it:

Here are a few shirt shots from the league:

A few other art ideas: here, here, & here.

Indy Email

2009-05-19T01:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a cool email I got from someone from Indy. I hear this type of thing every two or three months, and often from Indy.

I really like what you have going on in Ft. Wayne for the volleyball. Do you operate anything like this in the Indianapolis area? If not do you know of anything like this. I am 15 minutes east of Indy and 2 hours from Ft. Wayne otherwise I would come your events. Thanks, Chris

I wouldn't get these reactions had it not been for Dave Anglin and the River City property... slowly developing an abandoned property and turning it into something positive (also, see "River City Links" below).

SCAN's Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship

2009-05-11T16:07:00.000-04:00

On Friday, May 15th the 2nd Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship will be taking place at River City Links. Last year 140 players took part, and it's expected that over 200 will this time. Times to play will be between 7:30 am and 5 pm. Individuals pay $100 to participate in the championship ($75 of which is tax-deductible.) To participate in the Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship, or to learn more about SCAN and its duck race, contact Stephanie Jentgen at (260) 421-5000, x2238.

SCAN Link: here Facebook link: here Last year's event: here

BCA Pool Tourney Held at River City in Fort Wayne

2009-04-27T20:03:00.001-04:00

The BCA hosted a big pool tournament this last weekend at River City Bar & Grill. As you can see from their calendar here they host tournaments all over the country. Last year this tournament was held at the Dome.

This tournament drew a large number of high quality out-of-area players and was held Thursday through Sunday.

On the Board

2009-04-16T14:45:00.001-04:00

Turnstone Casino Night

2009-02-26T16:11:00.004-05:00

From Jen Neher of Turnstone:

Tickets are $25 if purchased by March 7 or $30 if purchased after. You get appetizers, beer tickets, $40,000 in play chips - and cna play bingo, blackjack, watch crab races and more. Seriously - it's super fun!

Volunteers are also needed that night (and, the day after for clean-up).

Facebook site for the event is here. The Turnstone website is here. The event takes place from 7 to 11 pm on Saturday, March 14th at Turnstone, which is located at 3320 North Clinton.

Turnstone has been running this event for years. This is not one of the recent loophole casinos in town.

Baby in the Ball Cart

2009-02-24T22:25:00.003-05:00

I received this shot from a phone tonight at Spiece. It's Adelyn Greene, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eric Greene. We like to use Carolina blue volleyballs because they are much more visible against the cream and crimson background. Well, when they're moving and spinning the color averages out to Carolina blue.

Rare Funny Vid from Ft. Wayne on the Progress of Harrison Square

2009-02-20T20:23:00.009-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWIO7fe3cZE

Spiece Economic Estimate 2008

2009-01-23T16:37:00.005-05:00

is here.

The info above is the economic impact study that was done on the Gym Rats. The data from this study was taken from all of Gym Rats events in a 12 month calendar year. This was done by a third party… the Fort Wayne CVB.

412 Club Closing Tonight

2008-11-29T17:27:00.020-05:00

It will probably be packed tonight though, although I'm not sure many know about it.

The 412 was one of the most regular team sponsors for the Fair Play Volleyball Leagues.

Previous 412 Posts: here and here

Rent for Space

2008-09-08T12:29:00.009-04:00

There is space for rent at River City. Call 422-0233 for more info...

There are more current renters than indicated on the sign. Besides River City Bar & Grill, C & M Auto, Vend Pro and Chem Tech, there is also Green and Growing Landscapes, Paul Miller Auto Repair, Fair Play Volleyball, Neukin Motor Development, River City Links and Lentz Trucking... Also Misener Electronics has moved out to the former grocery store location on Coombs.

USA Wins Gold

2008-08-24T08:34:00.005-04:00

The second best story of the Olympics is the U.S.A. winning men's volleyball in the Beijing Olympics. Woodburn native and starting setter, Lloy Ball, playing in his fourth Olympiad, gets his first medal.

For those in the leagues who are used to playing indoor and have struggled playing beach volleyball Ball hasn't really been that great out on the beach courts at River City when he has had a chance to come out and play. But obviously his priorities are different and if he had taken it up it probably would have been a different story. But still, I'm hoping that gives some encouragement to players who don't give the beach enough of a chance...

Two Fair Play players and Lloy Ball in downtown Fort Wayne.

Bobby Knight once tried to recruit Ball to play basketball at I.U.

SaveMaumee.Org Flyer - August 9th, 2008 Event

2008-07-31T16:00:00.002-04:00

D.I.D. Island Fest

2008-07-28T12:29:00.018-04:00

Here are a few shots from Island Fest this last Saturday. The event was well attended. They ran out of beer.

For the volleyball portion of the event, pool play was played at River City and then all teams traveled down to Columbia Street for their seeded tournaments. Former IPFW player Jason Yhost, who played for the NCAA championship last year, was on the winning "A" team after they came out of a 4-way tie for first in pool play.

Harding Volleyball Fundraiser Tourney

2008-07-22T16:01:00.000-04:00

Thanks River City Links for Leveling Sand Piles

2008-07-09T14:09:00.020-04:00

Thanks to Mark Slater of River City Links for leveling the 20 piles of beach sand I just received last week from a location at a distance to remain unnamed and faraway. By my count it took him only 40 minutes last Thursday night. Also thanks to Dave Anglin and everyone else involved...

18 Wheel Solar Satellite Eclipse

2008-07-02T10:16:00.006-04:00

Misener Electronics Moving

2008-06-19T14:59:00.024-04:00

Misener Electronics, formerly Pembleton Electronics, is moving from it's current location by the beach volleyball courts to 500 Coombs Street. This will be taking place in the next 2 weeks.

Misener's new location will be just south of the Tecumseh Street Bridge in the old CAJ Discount Grocery at Cochrane and Coombs.

While I was in the store today someone simply dropped off 2 antiques: a device with this art deco dial and this apparatus of the Capehart-Farnsworth Corporation in which the tag alone is actually worth $500.

Crazy Kids at Tennessee

2008-06-13T23:03:00.015-04:00

I was witness of an accident yesterday as I was going from the Plex to River City. As I was turning off of St. Joe Blvd. to Tennessee heading east by the Tennessee Mart I saw a little kid dart out of a group of kids just behind a DHL truck that passed by heading west. There was a only a split second to hope that he would stop but instead he got hit by the front of the red car that was right in front of me. The driver actually did a great job of stopping because he was totally blind to this sudden sprint, as I was only able to pick it up a little more than peripherally.

As you can see by the photos above the little boy suffered some scrapes to his face and he was moving ok... but of course any type of injury to the head can be serious. I haven't seen anything about it other than the News-Sentinel link I have above.

Have Fun Locally

2008-06-05T16:29:00.020-04:00

We're a hurricane away from $6 gas... so have fun locally. At River City you can putt, play beach volleyball or have fun at the date-themed River City Bar & Grill.

About River City Bar & Grill:

Over 20,000 square feet (largest band stage in Fort Wayne)
17 Valley Pool Tables
Three 8 ft Tables & Two 9 Foot Tables
5 by 10 Snooker Table
3 Beach Volleyball Courts (Two More Coming)
Has hosted MeDermott Tour Championships
Ping Pong, Cornhole, Ladder Golf, 8 Dart Boards and more...

River City is basically located at 406 River Bend Court.

Here's an MST3K clip on "What to do on a date."

Also, just for the hell of it, here's a circus oriented MST3K clip:

"Children's windows of perception are open for only a second only to take in the horror that is the circus."

Life is Short... Try to Enjoy It While We're Here

2008-05-30T02:22:00.022-04:00

Condolences to the family and friends of Scott Luley who died last night in a motorcycle accident at Clay and Berry (see WANE-TV story here, video here). The last thing I said to him last night was during these 2 pictures I took while he was serving (above). His "Biker Trash" team was playing a team called "The Lord's Team" (named after the last name of the team captain) and I told them something to the effect that I didn't realize I had scheduled an epic battle between good and evil so early in the season. I guess since we're in the City of Churches I should clarify that this idea was a running joke we've had for awhile... nothing serious.

I just happened to bring a real camera to the leagues for the first time in a long time. Posted here are images from the leagues last night. As I look at the pictures it's just the story of a typical night... just a lot of adults having innocent fun. I'm sure wherever he is now that Scott is still doing the same and wishes us to do the same. Thanks to all the great people who play in the league, like Scott and the great spirit of adventure and fun he carried with him...

(updated info 6/1: J-G story here, obit. here)

Scan Tourney Today

2008-05-09T23:04:00.009-04:00

Here's a few shots from the Scan Tourney at River City Links. Well over a hundred people played in the tourney today...

Biggest Sandbox in Town

2008-04-30T08:36:00.000-04:00

Three 24 ton piles of sand are being added to the three current courts. Images on flickr here.

River City Bar & Grill Grand Opening - May 10th

2008-04-29T13:53:00.013-04:00

There will be beach volleyball downstairs. The Martin Brothers (Classic Rock, Blues) take the stage upstairs at 9:30. Free open court also begins at 9:30 pm and goes on through the night. Free entrance to the bar.

Come support River City at the grand opening. We're all totally at-risk businesses trying to make something different happen in Fort Wayne. I guess that makes us dangerous. Come on out anyway...

Directions here. Facebook event group here.

River City Volleybar

2008-04-28T23:41:00.013-04:00

This grilling image is from the summer of 2006. In 2008 the full kitchen will be open....

As I explained to the volleyball clientele in a mass e-mail last week, there will be changes this year at River City. The bar is back. But I will be splitting profits with the bar so that I can put money to improvements such as new sand for new courts. 3 truckloads of sand for the current 3 courts is due to arrive Wednesday morning.

This bar, River City Bar & Grill, has a much better attitude toward the volleyball crowd. They want this to be "our" bar. We want bartenders and servers from the league firstly. If you are in a band, and in the league, we want your band to play at River City (Incidently, it's confirmed as of today that Rosemary Gates will play outside by the beach courts for a charity tourney for the Save Maumee Organization, the "River Goddess Festival" on August 9th). I want players with businesses to put up advertising banners at the courts. First year is free, $75 after...

We will be selling beer in the volleyball shack. 5 for $9. $2.25 for individual domestics. On Thursday nights there will be $1 tacos, and for $6.95 you can get a sirloin steak, a baked potato, with a veggie and a salad. More ideas to follow...

Plans for the future include putting a deck on the roof with stairs leading up to the surprising upstairs bar. If you haven't seen the upstairs bar come out to the River City Bar & Grill Grand Opening on May 10th. Plans also include putting in 2 or 3 more courts that mirror the current courts... with perhaps, a stage staring opposite the upstairs deck. And then perhaps, next year, lighting for the new courts.

Current leagues are filling up so I know we can support the new courts Monday through Thursdays. (Current teams signed up for beach leagues click here). Concerts, open play and tournaments are a plan for Fridays and Saturdays. See the tournament schedule for this year so far here.

Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship

2008-04-24T08:42:00.000-04:00

From scanfw.org:

"On May 9th SCAN (Stop Child Abuse & Neglect) will hold the Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship™, a serious golfing event with serious prizes. In fact, the first place winner of the inaugural putting championship not only will earn bragging rights as the best putter in Greater Fort Wayne, this individual will take home $5,000 and a trophy ($750 and a trophy if the individual wishes to maintain their amateur golfing status), the second place winner will take home $2,000 ($750 if the individual maintains their amateur golfing status), and the third place winner will win $1,000 ($750 if the individual maintains their amateur golfing status).

The Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship will take place on Friday, May 9, 2008 at River City Links, 1227 Herbert St., Fort Wayne, IN off Tecumseh St. Individuals pay $100 to participate in the championship. This unique event has never been conducted in northeast Indiana before, yet promises to be a popular venue. At least 200 people can participate in the championship, which will serve as the official kick-off of SCAN’s 20th Annual Duck Race season. Unlike a traditional golf tournament, the Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship will take most people fewer than 90 minutes to complete their round.

Two area corporations have generously donated prize money. ChromaSource has given $5,000 for the first place winner. Raymond James has committed $1,000 for third prize. SCAN still is looking for a $2,000 second place prize sponsor.

River City Links features a challenging natural, bent-grass putting course, complete with 18 holes. With nearly three acres of professionally-manicured greens, River City Links offers a great opportunity to serious golfers and more casual putters at the same time.

To participate in the Greater Fort Wayne Putting Championship, or to learn more about SCAN and its duck race, contact Stephanie Jentgen at (260) 421-5000, x2238 or go to SCAN’s website at http://www.scanfw.org/."

Microsoft Visual Earth

2008-04-15T23:35:00.009-04:00

Find your address here. Have fun with the rotating "Bird's Eye View"

Earth Day 2008

2008-04-12T13:19:00.007-04:00

River clean-up spearheaded by the Save Maumee organization will be next Sunday, April 20th. For more info go here.

The Journal-Gazette called 46803 a cancer zone, but it seems debatable if there's more to blame than smoking. But cutting to the core of helping here's the basics for Sunday from SaveMaumee.org:

"Please join Save Maumee on Earth Day to celebrate the cleansing of the riverbanks; seeding and pole planting, erosion control mat installation! Our goal is to pick up all trash between mile marker 1 and 2, plant 250lbs of native riparian seed and and rally the community’s awareness about our 3 River’s condition in Fort Wayne."

Why Young Professionals Leave Fort Wayne

2008-04-08T23:21:00.003-04:00

I made an attempt to get a hold of 4 or 5 former Fort Wayners, who played in my leagues, to get their brief written input on why they left. The one response I did get so far... below, from my facebook, sums it up though:

"Job" is easily the number one reason for anyone college age or above. One engineer, who did not want to move, left for employment in Texas recently. One guy who grew up on a farm and worked at Parkview bluntly told me one reason he left is because he kept getting called back to the family farm to help all the time. He didn't have time for that. But he wanted to move to a bigger city (nightlife) as well. Of course he wouldn't have left if there wasn't a job lined up for him in Chicago.

May Add a Court or Two...

2008-04-04T17:50:00.010-04:00

It's possible for this summer's leagues a court or two will be added at River City. One problem is the rising cost of fuel and the impact it will have on the cost of the transportation of sand. If anyone knows of dump trucks or tankers coming or returning to Fort Wayne empty from the Cleveland area that could increase route and profit efficiency by taking a load back then let me know... Mike Harvey, fairplaybeach@yahoo.com, (260) 748-9108.

Below are some shots of the last time sand was added to the beach courts back in March of 2002.

More Indy Envy

2008-02-25T11:15:00.004-05:00

From Peter King of SI:

"And as long as we're talking about Indy, I hope Indianapolis gets the 2012 Super Bowl ... and this from a guy who wishes every Super Bowl were played in San Diego. Indy deserves it. It's the most walkable downtown in America."

Pinheads In Indy Not for Sale

2008-02-25T10:46:00.006-05:00

I had a couple search engine hits on this blog last month about Pinheads Entertainment Complex in Fishers/Indy possibly being for sale. In the Indy Star the owner says it's not for sale. The original investment was apparently $5.2 million.

The article mentions it also contains a "volleyball court." It is in fact the two best white sand beach courts in the Indy area. I'd be interested in that sand if it needs a new home but it'd have to be cheap since that's a long haul (but shorter than it's origin).

Fort Wayne still holds the envy of beach volleyball players in Indy because of their lack of good places to play.

Urban Beaches

2008-02-14T12:40:00.000-05:00

The Good City blog made a post about an urban beach in Paris. The idea is of slowing things down in the urban core, whether it be cars or people and their pollution, and enjoying life on the "beach". It's based on an article from here. I found my own article on the imported Paris beach here. It says they brought in 3000 tons of sand. It also notes that much of the sand gets taken up by volleyball courts.

World Tour, Stavanger Paris 2007

It sounds like the Paris beach isn't quite as big as I envisioned it after finding the second article. It's only 5 times as much sand as was brought into River City here in Fort Wayne. And much less than at Tampa Bay's Club V. The place that the River City Beach was modeled after was a 3 court facility with multi-level decks known as Baxter Jacks (formerly known as the Brewery) in Downtown Louisville. As I understand it in the summer they now fill a backstreet with sand in the summer and have a fourth court. The AVP has events in Louisville, which is a midwestern hotbed for beach volleyball.

Even though the current beach at River City is surrounded by old industrial buildings it still has a "happiness" effect. By throwing up a few palm trees, some murals and beach music, it's a mini-vacation land... maybe not in Downtown Fort Wayne but close enough. There was also a downtown beach blast event last year where we cooperated with the D.I.D. and brought in 30 of the 31 teams, but it suffered from bad weather.

Moving quality sand is an even more expensive proposition now more than ever. I heard the Pinheads Entertainment Complex in Fishers spent $60000 for sand for 2 courts a couple of years ago.

Here are more pictures from around the world from my facebook group "Around the World Beach Volleyball."

New Zealand National Tour, Mt Maunganui, Tauranga 2007

Camps Bay, Cape Town

New Zealand National Tour, Auckland 2007

World Tour, Stavanger Norway 2007

Camps Bay, South Africa World Tour 2004

Sandbagging Fun

2008-02-09T00:09:00.000-05:00

Sandbagging Fun from fairplaybeach on Vimeo.

If a person, or a couple, is looking for something to do this weekend maybe sandbagging is an answer. At least for a short stint it's actually kind of fun. They feed you pizza, cookies and provide music part of the time. And the people who receive the sandbags certainly appreciate it.

Bring someone with you, although maybe you'll run into someone you know if you don't, or someone who knows someone you know. In my case I ran into someone from Decatur who was just passing through. It turns out he was a neighbor of my brother back in July of 2003 when part of Parkview Drive by Kekionga Park at the St. Mary's got rubbed out by a flood. He was just glad to volunteer because of people who sandbagged for him back in 2003.

I'm not sure if they still need volunteers but if they do, the building at 1701 Lafayette Street that you want to find would be the one closer to downtown... on the North side of the property. You can shovel, tie, hold bags open, or move them out. I learned 3 shovel fulls is the right amount for a bag.

I didn't realize most of the people there (early part of my video) when I got there were city employees. In the evening more regular citizens started coming in. A parent with kids wasn't an unusual sight.

New Waterparks Open All Across City

2008-02-08T23:45:00.000-05:00

Still Before Crest of Maumee - at River City Feb 8, '08 from fairplaybeach on Vimeo.

Call for Volunteers Done

2008-02-07T00:22:00.000-05:00

The LPAC Blog is reporting that volunteers are no longer needed for sandbagging. FWOB has flood related lnks here, here and here.

Volunteers Wanted for Sandbagging

2008-02-06T14:43:00.000-05:00

1982 Fort Wayne Flood - Image from J-G Archives @ mrbc.org

It's doesn't look like this yet... But volunteers are needed to help fill sandbags.

(Fort Wayne - WANE) The City of Fort Wayne is asking for volunteers to help fill sandbags to aid in flood-fighting efforts. Volunteers should report to the Street Department located at 1701 S. Lafayette Street. Volunteers will be needed throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

Clay levee construction and sandbagging has begun at the Ross-Michaels area at Superior Street, the Woodhurst Neighborhood, Berry and Thieme and the NIPSCO parking lot.

Four areas have been set up where people can make sandbags. The Street Department has placed sand and bags at the following locations:

- Portage Middle School - 3521 Taylor St.
- Broadview Florist - 5409 Winchester Rd.
- Taylor University - 1025 W. Rudisill Blvd. (parking lot on the south side of Rudisill)
- Southwest Conservation Club - 5701 Bluffton Rd.

Anyone with questions related to flooding can call 311.

County Road Closures

2008-02-06T14:30:00.000-05:00

Volleyball leagues are still on for tonight but I want people to know about road closings so that alternate routes can be planned. WANE has a listing here.

St. Joe Road between Eby and Notestine at 1:35 pm

IPFW Volleydon Season Ticket Offer

2007-12-27T00:02:00.000-05:00

IPFW is ranked #6 nationally in the pre-season poll and is favored to win the MIVA. Play begins January 18th vs. #1 BYU.

For Fair Play participants this is a discount offer on season tickets for the coming season.

NFL Network Games

2007-12-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

River City Billiards possesses a couple of big screens if you want to watch any of the games that are on the NFL Network. River City is located at 405 River Bend Court.

Youth Volleyball Leagues

2007-12-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

Fair Play does offer Youth Volleyball Leagues. It is not a club. We will have a Monday league for girls or boys from approximately 10 years old and up. Leagues will be at Spiece and start January 7th. It costs $45 per player. There is just a league format. There are no coaches. It's just a place to play. Email me at fairplaybeach@yahoo.com for more info.

For club info you can go to the Fort Wayne Volleyball Club site here. Contact them if you are interested in coaching club volleyball.

Contracts

2007-11-29T13:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big college football fan, but the out-of-nowhere surprise big game between Kansas and Missouri reminded me of the film The Outlaw Josey Wales. Only two times have states ever gone to war (here and here).

Below is an image of what I think is one of the great moments of the film. This is when Wales meets the Comanche Chief Ten Bears. The dialogue from this meeting is here and below:

Josey: You be Ten Bears?

Ten Bears: I am Ten Bears.

Josey: (spits tobacco) I'm Josey Wales.

Ten Bears: I have heard. You're the Gray Rider. You would not make peace with the Blue Coats. You may go in peace.

Josey: I reckon not. Got nowhere to go.

Ten Bears: Then you will die.

Josey: I came here to die with you. Or live with you. Dying ain't so hard for men like you and me, it's living that's hard; when all you ever cared about has been butchered or raped. Governments don't live together, people live together. With governments you don't always get a fair word or a fair fight. Well I've come here to give you either one, or get either one from you. I came here like this so you'll know my word of death is true. And that my word of life is then true. The bear lives here, the wolf, the antelope, the Comanche. And so will we. Now, we'll only hunt what we need to live on, same as the Comanche does. And every spring when the grass turns green and the Comanche moves north, he can rest here in peace, butcher some of our cattle and jerk beef for the journey. The sign of the Comanche, that will be on our lodge. That's my word of life.

Ten Bears: And your word of death?

Josey: It's here in my pistols, there in your rifles. I'm here for either one.

Ten Bears: These things you say we will have, we already have.

Josey: That's true. I ain't promising you nothing extra. I'm just giving you life and you're giving me life. And I'm saying that men can live together without butchering one another.

Ten Bears: It's sad that governments are chiefed by the double-tongues. There is iron in your word of death for all Comanche to see. And so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron, it must come from men. The words of Ten Bears carries the same iron of life and death. It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life... or death. It shall be life. (he takes his knife and cuts his hand. Josey does the same and they grasp each others hand.) So shall it be.

Except for very basic rental contracts I've never had any of the 3 written contracts honored that I have been involved. I like the reality of this contract in the dialogue above. I'm not saying that oral contracts are superior to written contracts. But the depth of understanding that each of the above characters have for each other and themselves in their contract is the type of dealmaking I want to have with any serious contract I am involved.

Here's the clip on YouTube of that scene that's up at least for the moment:

The Pink Neon is Back

2007-09-24T00:05:00.000-04:00

River City Billiards is now open again. It's filled with pool tables and dart boards, as well as having the largest stage for bands in Fort Wayne, and soon with a kitchen again. It will be operating for the moment with a 2-way liquor license, and will be a work in progress...

It was in February of 2000 that River City Billiards closed. I suppose the wildly popular River City Beach Club may have still existed in name at that time as well. The Beach Club never recovered from an incident in the 90's where a police chase ended in a death for a chased driver who ran into a pole near the entrance of River City. The place was swarming with cop cars and rumours that someone had died at the bar, and business never returned to the same level after that...

Dealing with Telemarketers

2007-09-15T06:42:00.000-04:00

I doubt if these were real, but it'd be funnier if they were.

Beach Blast Shorties

2007-08-21T01:27:00.000-04:00

Beach Blast - Reggae Cowboys

Beach Blast Reggae from fairplaybeach and Vimeo.

Random Beach Blast Action Surrounding the Beach Volleyball

Random Beach Blast Shots Surrounding Volleyball Action from fairplaybeach and Vimeo.

One Long Clip at River City

One Long Clip at River City from fairplaybeach and Vimeo.

31 Teams teams played in different divisions (Men's and Women's Doubles, Coed Fours A, B+, B & C). Pool play was at River City where teams established their seeds and everyone followed in sequence down to the Beach Blast site...

Beach Blast Video from WPTA and is here, and WANE is here.

Speed Boating on the Fort Wayne Rivers

2007-08-11T11:11:00.001-04:00

Takin' a Left onto the Saint Marys from Mike H and Vimeo.

Downtown Fort Wayne from Mike H and Vimeo.

Bottomed Out at Stevie's Island from Mike H and Vimeo.
More river clips from my phone are here.

More pictures are here.

Former Luers Player Makes Final of AVP Chicago

2007-08-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

Cut and pasted with permission from Fort Wayne African-American Independent Woman blog here.

Angie Akers formerly of Fort Wayne, Indiana and her partner, Brooke Hanson could not beat the veterans, Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan in the McDonald's AVP Chicago Open presented by Nautica.

Despite being the big target in a field that didn't include Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, Johnson Jordan and Davis never blinked. In workmanlike fashion, they took out Angie Akers and Brooke Hanson, 21-16, 24-22, to claim the Chicago Open on Sunday and split a winner's share of $28,000.

http://www.avp.com/
http://www.angieakers.com/

Epyptian Mural at the Beach Court Entrance

2007-08-05T21:09:00.000-04:00

It's done. Images are here or here.

Harding Volleyball Sand Sculpture Contest

2007-08-04T21:06:00.000-04:00

Coach Melissa Fisher brought her team out for practice and a sand sculpture contest. This may be the first one at River City. More images are here.

Marriage Proposal Last Night

2007-08-03T12:15:00.001-04:00

There was a marriage proposal in the league last night, and it was accepted. Congratulations to Annie and Bill... Unfortunately, I was at the Plex reffing and missed the whole thing. Apparently, it attracted a circle of attention and was rather dramatic.

I also had the former manager of the bar with the third largest sales in alcohol in town ref for the first time last night and he said this is the best kept secret in Fort Wayne. I haven't missed that...

River Rides Appear To Be A Go

2007-07-25T00:59:00.001-04:00

It looks like we may have a boat and a pontoon to ferry volleyball players from the River City Beach Courts down to the makeshift volleyball court at Don Hall's/Club Soda for the D.I.D. Beach Blast. It's possible that potential golfers could be taken back to River City to try out the new putting course.

The format for the volleyball tourneys will be that pool play for each tourney will be played at River City, followed by a seeded single elimination tourney at Don Hall's/Club Soda. It should be a continous stream of players for each tourney coming "downtown" through the course of the event if it goes to plan.

Everyone I talked to so far that is playing wants to ride down... so I don't know if everyone can be accomodated at this time.

Downtown Improvement District Tourney

2007-07-24T00:32:00.000-04:00

There's going to be a Downtown Improvement District Volleyball Tourney on August 18th at River City and at a makeshift court between Don Hall's and Club Soda. At this time I'm getting a few minor details ironed out, such as what type of tourney to offer exactly when... Everything will be in teams of four (coed, women's and men's).

There will also be a Cornhole tourney at the Don Hall's site. I will be getting help on that with boards and such from 3NOUT. I'm also going to check on possible river rides from River City to Don Hall's for volleyball players or whoever is interested. Dave Anglin, owner of the River City Complex, has 2 or 3 pontoons that might make it so.

River City Links...

2007-07-16T01:15:00.001-04:00

is now open.

The course has 18 putting holes. The position of the holes can be changed daily. At this time leagues are forming, memberships are available and it's open for rentals.

You get a great view of the Maumee River walking out the back door.

Current Hours of Operation:

Monday through Wednesday: 11 am to 9 pm
Thursday & Friday: 11 am to 10 pm
Saturday: 10 am to 10 pm
Sunday: 12 pm to 8 pm

Note for volleyball league players: RC Links has carry out beer, as well as other drinks, food and snacks.

Hoagland Days

2007-06-23T16:25:00.001-04:00

Since I injured my thumb I was actually able to take the train tracks down to see the Hoagland Days Parade for the first time... after playing in the Hoagland Days Volleyball Tourney only for many years. Look out! There are llamas...

More images are here.

The volleyball tournament had a record 44 teams...

The Welcome Mantis

2007-06-22T15:59:00.001-04:00

There's now a "Welcome Mantis" at the entrance of the beach courts. The reason for it being a mantis (and not a llama) is because when River City Beach Club first opened in 1995 the place was swarming with them. I've mentioned it before here and here.

Below is a vimeo clip of a mantis at the courts from less than 2 years ago:

Mantis Turns to Witness Bouncing Volleyball from fairplaybeach on Vimeo

Cornhole Tournaments

2007-06-18T13:30:00.001-04:00

Cornhole tournaments are this week... Separate tourneys will be on:

Tuesday, June 19th
Wednesday, June 20th
Thursday, June 21st

They will all start between 7 pm and 7:30.

Thanks to Jessica of the News-Sentinel for the plug... here.

Each of these tourneys will start at 7 pm, and new teams will be allowed to enter the tourney up until 7:30. It'll be accelerated double elimination format. It'll be best 2 of 3 in the winners bracket, and one game in the losers bracket. It'll be just $5 per team.

I wanted to start leagues on June 19th, but with the league tourneys for volleyball coming up... it started to look to complex for me to schedule... So Cornhole Leagues will start the week of July 17th:

CORNHOLE LEAGUES:

Tuesday - Cornhole Doubles
Divisions offered: A & B
Begins July 17th
Team Entry Fee: $40
Start times: 7 pm to 9 pm

Wednesday - Cornhole Doubles
Divisions offered: A & B
Begins July 18th
Team Entry Fee: $40
Start times: 7 pm to 9 pm

Thursday - Cornhole Doubles
Divisions offered: A & B
Begins July 19th
Team Entry Fee: $40
Start times: 7 pm to 9 pm

There will also be tourneys the week before the league starts: July 10th, 11th, 12th and 14th.

Downtown Escape

2007-06-09T11:38:00.000-04:00

The new putting course at River City Links is looking to be open to the public by July 6th.

When I walked back and took a few pictures I felt that even though I wasn't golfing that it was relaxing anyway to be nestled in a suddenly, very green area. This is right next to the river, and the pretty Edgewater Avenue, next to the River Greenway.

Don't Park in the Truck Dock

2007-06-04T10:11:00.002-04:00

We did have leagues last night. The weather policy on days like yesterday is that we play. The beach courts don't rain out. The only question is severe weather, lightning, or hard rain... In that case it is just waited out. If matches get 15 to 20 minutes behind then we just move on to the next scheduled match and reschedule the matches that are not played.

Also, league participants and spectators shouldn't park in the truck dock because sometimes deliveries need to be made...

In the event that it appears that it is never going to get better we may cancel the night.

After waiting it out 15 minutes last night it was mostly fine the rest of the evening...

412 Club Last Night - Pre-Smoke Deck

2007-06-01T10:30:00.002-04:00

Here's the new smoke area behind the 412 Club. Customers now are required to enter at the front.

Testing....

Unlit cigarette = Still ok

Offering a horned beast a cigarette = Still ok if unlit...

Swapping smoke = Not ok

Fair Play Cornhole Leagues

2007-05-28T02:18:00.000-04:00

Tuesday - Cornhole Doubles
Divisions offered: A & B
Begins June 19th
Team Entry Fee: $40
Start Times: 7 pm to 8:30

Wednesday - Cornhole Doubles
Divisions offered: A & B
Begins June 20th
Team Entry Fee: $40
Start Times: 7 pm to 8:30

Thursday - Cornhole Doubles
Divisions offered: A & B
Begins June 21st
Team Entry Fee: $40
Start Times: 7 pm to 8:30

Rules & Other Info

- Teams will play 2 matches a night.
- Matches will be best of 3 series, each game to 21.
- Season will last 5 weeks followed by a tournament
- Teams will consist of 2 or 3 players, male or female.
- Subs are allowed during the season but not the tournament.
- We’ll use slightly modified American Cornhole Organization rules(www.americancornhole.org).

Get a free T-shirt if you join the leagues.

Cornholers that play in the volleyball league can have their cornhole matches custom placed near their volleyball matches.

Get your ass signed up here and pay online here. But watch your cornhole...

(Yuks inspired by the writers of Hee-Haw).

New Fair Play Shirts - $10 at River City

2007-05-22T16:02:00.001-04:00

I have some new shirts in and for the next few weeks you can buy them at the Fair Play Beach Courts in the River City Sports Complex for just $10 a shirt.

The newest shirts are simply the standard Fair Play logo, with the Fair Play Man on front, on 6 different colors of shirts: Blue, Kiwi, Burgundy, White, Orange and Pink.

These shots of the shirts are from last night at Fair Play's first volleyball night at the Plex.

Also available in most sizes are shirts with the Spiece-Fair Play logo, the 2001 Red Cross design, as well as the Mantis logo and the Rise the Riveter logo pictured below:

Serve the ball. Join the People's Party...

Free T-shirt!

2007-05-19T11:47:00.001-04:00

Join the Fair Play Cornhole Leagues & get a free T-shirt. Leagues will begin in June at the River City Sports Complex. The specific location will be by the outdoor bar on the opposite side of the beach volleyball courts. League sign-up details will be available by mid-next week. For more info go to my facebook group here.

IPFW Volleydons Advance to National Championship Game

2007-05-04T00:00:00.001-04:00

IPFW upset Pepperdine in the Division 1 Men's Volleyball Semi-Final 3 to 1 Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio. This is the sixth time the Dons have been in the Final Four but the first time they have made it to the Championship Game. Beating Pepperdine is a huge upset as they had only lost one match during the regular season, and West Coast teams tend to dominate the sport... although some Eastern teams have slipped in and one a few championships in the 2000's.

IPFW plays UC-Irvine in the final in Columbus Saturday. To my knowledge I'm not aware of any sport where a Fort Wayne team has won a top-level (Division 1 or Top Pro League) championship. An ESPN link to the story with video is here.

IPFW advances to Final Four again

2007-04-28T18:36:00.001-04:00

Ohio State loses another championship game. This time it's the MIVA final to IPFW in Columbus. The 10th ranked Mastodons are hot having won their last 6 matches 3 to 0. The Final Four will be held in Columbus this year and it is now the fourth year in a row that the host of the MIVA tourney has lost.

The game was broadcast on CSTV and there were a decent amount of IPFW fans at the game, although it was sparce overall. The experts aren't expecting IPFW to actually win the Final Four this year but they do benefit from having five starters who played in last year's Final Four, and they have gained some confidence in Columbus, which they will need when the dominating West Coast teams come to Ohio.

Team Formation

2007-04-28T18:22:00.002-04:00

Here is an example of Fair Play Volleyball at its best. Every season I form 5 to 15 teams of individuals looking for teams to join. It's a way that the league has been able to grow. This is a Wednesday night team that called themselves "Random Selection" who started out slow, but ended up winning the Winter "B" tourney at Spiece. The team was made up of 5 individuals who didn't know each other before (one player found a friend for the 6th spot) but just needed to meet and took care of business on all fronts after that...

Chipping Course May Be Ready In Late May

2007-04-22T21:55:00.002-04:00

While a fire burned down a clubhouse adjacent to the Lakeside Golf Course I chose to ignore it and got a new shot of the River City Links course at the River City Complex. As you can slightly see, work has begun on the deck of the River City clubhouse.

School Teams Welcome to Use Beach Courts

2007-04-19T23:09:00.000-04:00

Last year Harding, Northrop, Luers and Norwell used the beach courts for free practice. It was ok in previous years as well. I am starting to see players who used the courts for these practices show up in the leagues so at this time it will still be ok. I just need waiver forms signed by everyone involved and support of beach tourneys & leagues offered at River City or some other future support of Fair Play programs given the generosity of this allowance.

Norwell's high school volleyball team has already claimed some dates for summer as seen at this link. If any college or junior high or younger teams are interested then that is also being allowed.

If you are in the Fort Wayne area and are interested contact me at fairplaybeach@yahoo.com . Times slots available are from 9 am to 5 pm any day of the week.

Club V- Tampa Bay Volleyball

2007-04-03T01:33:00.001-04:00

This is the largest beach volleyball facility on the continent. Alan Hafaz went to the city... Getting no help he spent more than 3 million dollars on his 18 court lighted Club V in Clearwater. The A.V.P. now has tournaments there.

I didn't find out about this until I got back from Florida. It looks very familiar plus 15 courts or so...

Post your beach volleyball pics from around the world on my facebook group here.

First Annual Tracy Stillwell Memorial Bowling Tournament

2007-03-30T19:08:00.001-04:00

APRIL 14th 2007

Tracy Stillwell was tragically taken away from us in a traffic accident. The love that she had for others is well known. The outpouring show of emotions of her many friends that she touched is
just as equally impressive. Tracy was involved in many activities, bowling, softball and also volleyball. She made many friends through these activities. Tracy is dearly missed. We are going to have a great time and celebrate together Tracy's time here.

We welcome you to join us on April 14th @ 1:00 for a fun filled day of bowling. This is a 9 Pin No-Tap Tournament (if you get a nine count on your first ball, it will count as a strike). This is a
Mixed Team event (any combination will do). Pre-party in the bar @ 12:00 noon. PARTY in the bar afterwards also.

All proceeds from this event will go to Chad Stillwell.

**MUSIC**PRIZES**50/50**STRIKEPOT**

***ENDLESS PITCHERS OF BEER***

Team Captain: _____________________ Cost: 120.00 per team

Bowler #2: _____________________

Bowler #3: _____________________

Bowler #4: _____________________

Team Captains phone #: __________

Make checks payable to : Village Bowl
Donations Accepted.
Anyone interested in sponsoring this event call Cindi Lyons @ 437-5966
Return entry form and payment to: Village Bowl
1710 Bluffton Road
Ft. Wayne, IN 46809

Any questions contact:

Cindi Lyons 437-5966
Wanita 415-2370
Jeff or Ryne @ Village Bowl 747-0611

Winter Pics of the Seminary

2007-02-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

From Fort Wayne Observed:

Eero Saarinen's design of the Concordia Seminary Campus is an architectural masterpiece by one the most important architects of the 20th Century. To read more go here.

Colts vs. Patriots Classic

2007-01-22T01:54:00.001-05:00

They talked on the radio about how everyone in the dome figured it was over after the Patriots went up 21 to 3, but the feeling I got was that cooler heads knew there was still a lot of time left, and the crowd never gave up...

I haven't re-watched the game yet but I can tell you what I saw live was a Patriot with his foot out of the endzone before he leapt to catch a touchdown pass to make it 28-21. I can't believe that one wasn't overruled. Nevertheless the Colts overcame that to win 38-34. And it definitely wasn't over until Brady's interception.

Note: Don Banks of Sports Illustrated, who has covered NFL games for 17 years, called it the greatest NFL game he has covered. Also, Fort Wayne Observed has Tony Dungy's post game comment about playing the Super Bowl in Fort Wayne here. Looks like the Bears are next after felling the Chiefs, the Ravens, and the Pats.

River City Links

2007-01-21T00:31:00.000-05:00

Spiece - Fair Play Logo

2007-01-10T23:05:00.001-05:00

Above is the new Spiece-Fair Play logo that was made for the next round of T-shirts given away as prizes, sold, or in some cases given away as advertising. It is a merger of the two logos done by a Sandra, currently an art student at IPFW.

She also did the Christmas Card artwork. I sent or gave them to 10% of the mailing list, or about 150 people, so if you got one consider yourself special...

Below is the original Spiece logo:

Here is the original Fair Play logo:

Tracy Stillwell Funeral

2007-01-05T17:28:00.000-05:00

As death sometimes tends to happen suddenly I feel I need to get the word out that someone in the league has died. Tracy Stillwell played in the Fair Play Leagues, most often on her mother's teams in either the Monday women's or subbing in the Thursday coed sixes leagues on teams that might have been called "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere" or "Team Eash". There were to play in the upcoming Monday leagues as well...

TRACY L. (HALL) STILLWELL, 32, of Churubusco, was received into the arms of Jesus on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2006 from injuries suffered in a traffic accident in Whitley County. Born in Fort Wayne, she graduated from Churubusco High School in 1993 and attended Ivy Tech. She had worked as an occupational therapist at Covington Manor Nursing Home in Fort Wayne for the past five years, and had previously worked at Parkview Hospital. Tracy will long be remembered for her love of all types of animals, her unending zest for life, and her ever present smile. She attended the Sugar Grove Church of God north of Churubusco, had played in adult softball leagues, and was a member of the Fair Play Volleyball League. Surviving are her husband, Chad M. Stillwell; step-daughter, Megan Ann Stillwell of Bourbon; mother and step-father, Linda and Ken Eash of Fort Wayne; father and step-mother, Larry L. and Brenda Hall of Churubusco; sister, Lindsy Folsom of Fort Wayne; step-sister, Angela (Todd) Freiburger of Fort Wayne; and her two dogs and companions, PD and Chili. Service is 2 p. m. Sunday at Sugar Grove Church of God, with calling one hour before services. Pastor Tim Grable, officiating. Calling also 2 to 8 p. m. Saturday at Sheets & Childs Funeral Home in Churubusco. Burial in Eel River Cemetery, Allen County. Memorials to Humane Society of Whitley County, P.O. Box 245, Columbia City, IN 46725. Condolences emailed to sympathy@sheetsandchilds.net

Guestbook Link

Here is Tracy's MySpace profile.

I heard the news exactly when the first matches for the new season were getting ready to start at Spiece. My deepest sympathies go out to the family. Tracy's great personality will be missed.

Christmas Card

2006-12-25T00:09:00.000-05:00

Deck the halls with Fair Play Volleyball
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Tis the season for refs with bad calls
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Don ye now your volleyball apparel
Fa la la, la la la, la... la... la...
Serve the ball to a person named Carol
Fa la la la la, la la la la

Tourney for the Learning Center this Saturday

2006-10-12T12:34:00.001-04:00

Fair Play will be having a charity tourney for the Learning Center on October 14th at the Spiece Fieldhouse. The tourney is coed fours and it will begin at 1 pm. The tourney is $60 per team ($15 per player).

Also, there will be a Coed Sixes tourney on October 28th at Spiece starting at 10 am.

For more info contact me at (260)402-3999.

A Few Action Shots from Last Tuesday

2006-09-08T15:07:00.000-04:00

There's some decent shots from last Tuesday on the EmbroidMe Site and also the Dupont Office & Storage Site for Sundays. If any other teams have sites with pictures let me know... if you don't mind other people seeing your photos.

Spikes Reggae Party/VB Tourney on Sept. 16th

2006-09-08T15:05:00.000-04:00

Spikes Bar & Grill in Warsaw is having a 15th Anniversary Beach Volleyball Tournament on September 16th... and afterwards a reggae band from Chicago: Gizzae.

The tournament is coed 4's and there is a $200 pay out for first place, $100 for second place & $60 for first place. It costs $60 to enter. The tourney begins at 1 pm. For more info contact Spikes.

412 Club

2006-09-04T21:34:00.001-04:00

The 412 Club is back open after bricks fell down on it from a next door building.

There's a couple of hot topic issues going on right now that not every one is aware of. Both affect a downtown bar like the 412 Club (Here's some shots of a little birthday celebration at the 412 after Thursday night volleyball for Brandy, Christian's fiancé).

One is the idea of putting a stadium downtown, and the other has to do with
banning smokers from bars and restaurants. Here and here are links to local blogs that have comments about the potential of a downtown stadium and here is a link to opinions on the smoking issue.

Possible Tornado East of Decatur Last Night

2006-08-29T13:03:00.004-04:00

Thanks to J4TR for the scary storm image. At first I thought that (below) maybe this was someone with a unique way of trying to sell a car in their front yard, and that it was just a heavy wind that blew the "For Sale" sign away, but maybe it really was a tornado that blew the sign away.

It looked like most of the tree damage and vehicle tossing (no one was hurt) was done near the intersection of 224 and 300 East, which is almost 2 miles east of Decatur, and about a mile from the Fleetwood RV Facility. It's also 1/4 of a mile from where my dad farmed up until 7 or 8 years ago, a half mile from where he grew up, and 3 1/2 miles north of where I grew up. In the image below, the road was closed off due to some tree damage at Franks Seed Service.

In much more important news for me, I picked up an old phone from my mom's house this morning and I'm going to try out Vonage. Any time anyone tries to call me at home on my only phone, my Verizon cell phone, I pretty much have to start running to the front door to keep it from cutting out.

*Note: As soon as a tornado warning was issued for Fort Wayne I cancelled the leagues for last night. We got through half a night of play. Revised Monday schedules are already on line at the e-teamz site - www.fairplayvolleyball.com

First Mantis of the Season

2006-08-28T10:18:00.000-04:00

The beach courts have sometimes been swarmed toward the latter part of the beach season by praying mantid. The first year it opened there must have been at least ten (until they ate each other), and ever since there is always at least one spotted. Here's the first one for this season that was at open court last Friday. Thanks to Leah for taking and sending the pic to me from her phone.

Here's an early attempt to make the polar bear the symbol for the winter volleyball season.

On another note, regarding Friday volleyball, it would be cool if players would shovel some sand on to the picnic area side of the middle back of the middle court (from between the courts), as it is getting a little skimpy there... I would do it but the act of shoveling is sensitive to my lower back. I got that mostly corrected at Nature's Way Chiropractic. I probably did the real damage to it, though, back in the late 90's working on an assembly line at Aeroquip.

2006-08-17T13:16:00.000-04:00

August 16th, 06 - Wednesday Coed Sixes pt 1

Turnstone Usage Question

2006-08-15T00:38:00.000-04:00

I've had a few questions about the usage of Turnstone from players in the league, and even from employees of Turnstone, who wonder why I don't rent there anymore. The answer is that I'd like to, but the answer I got is that internal programs and additional time needed for the wheelchair basketball team(s) are taking up all potential rental time.

That's ok... last year I was able to add more time at Spiece and the Seminary, and it's likely another site won't be necessary this year ('06/'07) either, but it would be easier on me for scheduling purposes. If anyone knows of a good gym, not affiliated with a local school system that might be available, let me know...

To support Turnstone programs, go here.

Book Recommendation - Replay by Ken Grimwood

2006-08-09T13:33:00.000-04:00

If I had to recommend 10 books of fiction I know this would be one of them. I'm replaying rereading it now for the 3rd, 4th or 5th time? I would also recommend reading it one chapter at a time.

If I could go back 20 years would I still be the same loser running volleyball leagues in Fort Wayne, Indiana? Of course not... I'd find a way to put all the money I had down on a preseason bet of the Bears beating the surprising Patriots in Super Bowl XX, and then go from there...

From Lost Book Archives:

In Replay Jeff Winston, a 43-year-old, dies of a heart attack and upon awakening finds himself back at college in 1963, in his 18-year-old body and having all the memories of the life he just exited. This is the beginning of a series of replays in which Jeff Winston lives his life over and over again.

Eligibility of High School Players in Adult Leagues

2006-08-02T00:35:00.000-04:00

This last Monday was basically the beginning of mandatory practices for most high school girls' teams. Not all parents are aware of IHSAA rules, but starting from now and until their season is over, girls are not allowed to play in leagues such as the Fair Play Leagues.

A couple of years ago there was a big controversy in a Snider/Northrop regional meeting. A Snider freshman subbed on a team in a Parks & Rec league, and a Northrop assistant (who is the wife of the manager of the Plex... see a future post on "Plex Ethics") sat on that information right until the regional match was getting ready to start.

I will do my best to make sure nothing as dramatic as that ever happens. My advice if a problem comes up is to report it to the IHSAA immediately. It's not like it's a matter of national security and I would hope to believe if it was something minor that students would be allowed to play on...

Turnstone Corvette Raffle

2006-07-31T00:07:00.000-04:00

The Turnstone Center for Disabled Children and Adults is raffling off this 1958 Corvette on October 12th. To order tickets, and get additional information about the raffle, call Car Raffle at (260) 483-2100, or go here. All proceeds support programs and services at Turnstone.

Also, Turnstone started a blog here.

Fort Wayne Blogosphere

2006-07-19T23:33:00.003-04:00

Links to local blogs are to the right. Thanks to the blogs that have linked to me so far. I'm not going to beg anyone to link me but if it just naturally happens then that's cool, and fits in with my underground way of promotion.

Mitch Harper from the Fort Wayne Observed blog came out to the beach courts last night. He's quickly full of interesting facts which is one of the reasons I like to check out his blog.

There may be some crazy rule that in city limits that even if you have animals like goats or chickens and roosters (like at River City) that as long as they have a name (for example: "Gary") that it's actually ok.

Shots from Last Saturday's TRF Coed Fours Tourney

2006-07-16T22:01:00.000-04:00

Here are a few shots from the Three Rivers Festival Coed Fours Beach Volleyball Tourney last Saturday. At least three different photographers were out there. The first two shots are from local photographer Steve Shive, with more at this site, and the last one is from the Journal Gazette.

There were 22 teams in the Fours Tourney this year...

Grass Putting Course at River City

2006-07-14T14:12:00.001-04:00

This is from Ryan Lengerich of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel:

River City Links could open by spring 2007.

Work is officially under way on Fort Wayne's first natural-grass putting course.

River City Links will sit on two acres in east-central Fort Wayne, nestled into Tecumseh and Herbert streets along the Maumee River. Course designer Mark Slater and Mayor Graham Richard broke ground Tuesday on the 18-hole course.

Construction will take 30 to 45 days, and another 10 weeks will be needed to grow the grass, Slater said. The course, which will cost about $8 to play, could open as soon as spring 2007.
"This is more about family entertainment," he said.

It will have bent-grass greens, fringes and a pond. Only putters (no wedges) will be allowed. Slater said he imagines the course will be suited for players ages 8 and older. A building is being renovated into a clubhouse, which will serve food. Slater also has considered applying for a beer and wine license at some point.

Slater, a Fort Wayne native, has a degree from Michigan State University in crop and soil sciences with an emphasis in turf grass management. He served as general contractor and designer for Cherry Hill Golf Club in the late 1990s, and said for years he considered the idea of a putting course in Fort Wayne but couldn't find the right spot for it.

The land for River City Links is in a floodway, but Slater has obtained the necessary state approvals to move forward. Slater will lease the land from David Anglin, who owns most of the property in the area. It also is home to the River City beach volleyball complex.

Natural-grass putting courses have become popular in tourist towns and golf resorts nationwide.

Midnight TRF Tourney

2006-07-10T12:22:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to the midnight blind draw tourney last Friday night/Saturday morning . Through the course of the night a little over 100 people came through. It was actually the first event of the Three Rivers Festival this year.

Three Rivers Festival Beach Volleyball Tourneys

2006-06-30T10:29:00.000-04:00

Fair Play is having volleyball tournaments for the Three Rivers Festival for the 7th year in a row. This year we have a midnight blind draw volleyball tourney to kick off the affiliated events on July 7th/8th. You can just come out on the night of the event to River City to sign up at 11:30 on Friday, and then the tourney will begin at 12:01 early Saturday morning. The blind draw tourney will be a fours tourney. It sounds like a lot of people plan on coming so I may set up some sort of unofficial tourney on Friday night as well if it sounds like it is going to be too packed.

There will also be a youth tourney on Saturday, July 8th, and a coed fours tourney the following Saturday starting at 10 am. For more info go here, or contact me at fairplaybeach@yahoo.com.
All tourneys this year will take place at the River City Complex at 490 River Bend Court. For more directions go here or here.

Indy Pinheads

2006-06-24T19:04:00.000-04:00

Looks like beach vballers in Indy finally have a decent place to play... at Pinheads in Fishers. It's a 2 court facility with a bowling alley, and a bar and restaurant. It cost them $30,000 per court.

I plan on checking it out sometime later in the summer. If someone else gets down there before I get down there let me know how it is. I heard they have open court on the weekends.

Before Pinheads, as of May of last year, this was all that was available for Indy beach players.

Let There Be Light...

2006-06-05T00:20:00.000-04:00

We should have all the lights working after next weekend thanks to Diamond Signs. Two need socket wiring replaced. Three needed new ballasts. None of it had been touched for 11 years.

Next on the list of improvements is the perimeter netting and a small deck going from the entrance to the entrance steps...

Substantial Sand Moved

2006-05-30T13:36:00.000-04:00

We finally got the right piece of equipment (a bobcat on tracks) out to the beach courts today and instead of pushing and dumping surface sand around, it's going to seem like about a couple tankers of new sand were added to the courts. After 10 years of the wind blowing the sand up against the east wall it will now be more level.

On average, it was 14 to 18 inches deep on the east side of the courts, and 4 to 8 inches on the west side.