Summer PWNage

As summer rolls along, the courts still rebound with the sound of a big blue ball bouncing off the walls.  The teams may be smaller as the members of the Pasadena Wallyball Network take their summer vacations, but the games are no less competitive or fun.  As always, I am trying to keep the game as fun as possible and also keep the competition going strong. 

Those of you who participated in the King and Queen Tournament may remember the charts I sent out showing each players success rate and also other information like who you play best with, etc.  I have been working with a guy in New York (Scott) who is creating a web site made especially for wallyball players.  On this site, an organizer can track tournaments and leagues and do all manner of stuff to show how the players are doing when they play the sport we love best. 

In my efforts to figure out “what’s next” for PWN, I have come up with an idea to track our games.  For now it is just for fun, but I can see a potential to make it into something more down the road, with future prizes or something a possibility if it works out.

The way it works is pretty simple, as you play, you just keep track of who you are playing with, who you are playing against and who wins.  It doesn’t matter if the other players are participating or not or even if you know their names, but the more participating, the better the data. 

I haven’t decided if we will do this every time we play, or maybe just one of the days or what.  I need to consult with my other directors and advice council before I make a final decision.  Any opinions on the subject are welcome.  As I figure out how to best do this, I will let you know. 

Right now there is not a lot an actual player can do on the site, which is www.wallyspot.com btw, but Scott is making enhancements all the time and has big plans for the site.  As an organizer, I can send all the active players reports that show how they are doing as we add more data.  If we are successful, we can award prizes to the person with the best percentage of wins and the person who plays well with the most players, etc.  There are many more things to do, like age and height adjustments, but fun is the name of the game. 

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and I will be seeing you on the courts.

Joe

King and Queen Update

Players,

Ok, I have about 7 people signed up for the tournament and possibly three more (myself included). I will only play if I need to fill a spot otherwise I organize and run the show.  We need 12, 18 or 24 players to make this work.

When I planned this, I allotted four days to get all the games in.  Now that I have an idea of how many players want to play, I think we can get it done in two days.

Therefore, the first games will be played on Sunday, July 6th.  That should give everyone a day to recover from the holiday.  Any games that didn’t get played in the first round and the final round will be played on Saturday, July 12th.  If we need to finish anything, we can do it on the 13th.

Now if you were on the fence as to whether or not you can play, maybe that will knock you off one way or the other.

The registration form can be found on the new web site in the Network section.

I will see you on the court,

Joe

PWN News

Well, most of you have heard by now that a lot of us PWN members were getting pretty exciting about competing in a “National” Wallyball Tournament.  After weeks of psyching ourselves up, the tournament was canceled.  It seems that PWN had the most team entries, followed by a few Severna Park players and only two or so out-of-state teams registering.  The management at Severna Park decided it wasn’t worth the trouble, so they decided to cancel.  We hope to get a chance to play with and against the Severna Park group sometime soon.

With no tournament to worry about, I have decided to concentrate on the next PWN venture.  The King and Queen of the Court Tournament.  I am opening up registration as of now…  Registration will go until July 3rd or whenever I have 24 players signed up (and paid).  The New PWN Website has more information, so just click on over that way to get a registration form and more info.  The Tournament will take place July 5th, 6th, 12th and 13th. 

So as we head on into summer, the courts are still full and the players keep getting better.  Come on out and hit a few around.

King and Queen Page

See you on the courts,

Joe

What is next for PWN?

Well, Hersey Park was pretty nice.  It was a lot colder than most people planned for and the park made a killing on selling Hershey Park sweatshirts.  Never have I seen so many brand new sweatshirts being worn in one day.  As the day went on we, (of PWN), would run into each other as we hurried to and fro to get on a ride or get some food.

The next event for the people of PWN is the AWA/WII National Wallyball Championship at the SevernaPark Racquetball and Fitness Club.  We already have quite a few teams registered, with a few more trying to organize before the deadline.  The Tournament is May 16th, 17th and 18th.  There are a few more details on the web site. 

In July, (I am thinking July 5th, 6th 12th and 13th) PWN will be sponsoring its next playing event.  We are going to have a King and Queen of the Court Tournament.  Each player will sign up as an individual and groups of six will play with and against each other (10 games).  The leaders of these groups will go on to play a final set of games.  The Man and Woman that has the best record and differential will be crowned the King and Queen of the Court.  There will be a limit of 24 players and the number of players must be a multiple of six.  There will be more details to follow on the web site in a few days. 

I still have a few women’s medium and Men’s large shirts.  They size small, so if anyone has a small person around that might want a shirt, let me know.

That’s it for now.  As the weather gets nice, there may be other things to do, but the courts are still drawing players and the games continue.

I will see you on the court,

Joe

PWN at Hershey Park

This Sunday, the 27th, is the Hershey Park Get-Together up in PA. (Actually a TelecomPioneers Company Picnic), so I won’t be reserving any courts on Sunday. We will be playing some open play, pick-up or whatever on Saturday though.

The weather up in Hershey for Sunday will be partly sunny with a high in the mid 60s. There is a 40% chance of rain, which means there is a 60% chance of no rain.  Call me an optimist.

See you at the park,

Joe

Spring Is Here

With the nice weather we have been experiencing lately, the courts have been rather empty on the open play nights. This is very understandable as there is a lot to do besides play wallyball. We still are having some pretty good games though, so keep those skills up.

We had a little practice King of the Court round on Saturday. It was pretty fun and all the games were exciting. (at least to me they were).

Have fun doing whatever you are doing and…

… I will see you on the courts,

Joe

Playoff Finals – Team Not Dead Yet Stays Alive!

 

 

Last Saturday saw the grand finish of the PWN Winter 2008 Co-ed Triples League.  In the second week of the playoffs, 8 more games were played with some really good competition and exciting, close games. 

 

The first match was between the third and forth seed Tammy’s Will Work for Sets and Dee’s Diggers.  Dee had one guy to act as a sub, but that didn’t make any of the games easier.  Dee’s team took the first two games 15-11 and 15-6 to win the match and advance to the semi-final round. 

 

Tina’s Troyer’s Destroyers were waiting for Dee’s Diggers and the first two games were nail biting close ones that went 16-14 both times.  Each team took a win, first Dee then Tina.  Fatigue was setting in for the last game of that match and The Diggers pulled it off 15-8. 

 

This brought Dee’s team into the final to challenge Lisa’s Team Not Dead Yet.  They had a hard job in front of them as Lisa had to be beaten twice to win the crown in this double elimination event.  Team Not Dead Yet was ready to go.  They had been watching the other matches and were all keyed up when the match finally started.  Joe was a little nervous and had three long hits in a row, before he finally settled down.  Lisa’s NDY were PWNed the first game 15-4 and needed to figure something out quick, if they wanted to take the title.  Andrew came in for Mike and the second game went much better with Lisa’s team taking the win 15-10.  Dee called a time out halfway through the game and did a substitution to try to change the flow of the game, but to no avail. 

 

The final game of the match was close and saw Dee’s team in the lead and heading for a win, which would have made the final go into a second match.  Lisa’s serving helped catch the Not quite Dead team up and took them into the win with a score of 15-12 to claim the championship.  What a wild ride that was.

 

 

After a couple of pictures of the final teams, Joe pulled some names from a hat that contained all the players in the league and awarded some prizes to four lucky players.  Mike Huntley and Tina Troyer won $20 Big VGift Certificates and Darren Ray and Ayse Kirk each won a donated gift bag from Rumors Salon and Spa that contained some of their products. 

 

All in all it was a good session and I am confident our next league will be just as much fun.  The next venture the Pasadena Wallyball Network will sponsor is a King and Queen of the Court Tournament.  Players will sign up individually and will compete with and against all the other players in their group.  The players with the most wins and point differential will move on to the final round of 10 games.  Men will compete against men and women against women for the crowns, but both genders will be playing together.  There will be a limited number of openings for this tournament.  More details to follow soon.  I plan on running this tournament in July some time.

 

 In the mean time those of us who have signed up for the Nationals will be practicing with our teams to get ready for that tournament in May.  Until then…

 

… I will see you on the courts,

Joe 

 

Tee Shirt Update

Yesterday (Wednesday) I got home in time to arrive at Abstract Tees before they closed and I picked up the shirts.  I really like them.  I will be bringing them to Open Play tonight and also on Saturday at the Finals.  Here are what the logo and printing look like. 

Tee Shirts Are In

I got an email last night (Tuesday) informing me that the Tee Shirts are done.  I will be picking them up at the latest Friday.  If you still owe…  No tickee, no laundry. 

Joe

Week One – PWN Playoffs

Well the first week of playoffs was pretty exciting.  Everyone gathered around in the court area as 10:00 rolled around.  There was a cooler full of replenishment beverages, donuts and bagels.  The teams were ready to play.After 21 games and 2 forfeits, four teams were eliminated and the rest will be battling for the championship.  Lisa’s Team Not Dead Yet advanced to the finals with victories over Sharon’s Spikers, Dee’s Diggers and Troyer’s Destroyers.  All the matches were nail biting knock down, drag outs and they wait to see who will challenge them in the final.  Sharon’s team showed some real toughness as they played their matches, taking victories from Rose’s TC and almost surprising Tammy’s Will Work for Sets in the last match of the day. 

Tina’s team has been strong in the playoffs as expected and their only loss was to Lisa’s NDY.  They await the winner of Will Work and the Diggers, which will be the first match next Saturday. 

Tammy’s team had a forfeit in the first round as one team was a no-show.  They were defeated in the second round, but since this is a double elimination, they kept alive by carefully taking the match against Sharon.

Dee‘s Diggers are also showing some moxie, with their only defeat going to the Not Dead Yet team.  Their full roster is being used to the utmost to get the job done. 

Rose’s TC had to play with only two players and that definitely put them at a disadvantage in their matches.  They were just getting the hang of it, when they were eliminated in a three game match against Sharon.  Ayse’s Kirks Turks put on a good show and have displayed continuous improvement in their game. 

So next week it will be Dee’s Diggers vs. Tammy’s Will Work for Sets, with the winner playing Tina’s Troyer’s Destroyers.  The winner of that match will take on the undefeated Lisa’s Team Not Dead Yet which is currently living up to its name.  The challengers will have to beat them twice to earn the championship crown.

Come one, come all to the finals.  There will be refreshments again and a few surprise gifts given out to the dedicated members of the Pasadena Wallyball Network.  You won’t want to miss it.

See you on the courts…