For more than 20 years, the YMCA has put on a volleyball league. Most participants don't know how the league started, they just know where to be at 7 p.m. every Thursday night.
Bob Moore and Dan Mahoney have been playing in the league for more than 15 years. Moore's team won the league championship in 2002.
While the season runs through the winter, the weather rarely slows people down from coming in.
“I think people plan on this being their one night of going out,” Mahoney said. “A lot of people plan their schedules around the league so I think when the weather gets bad they still want to go out, that doesn't stop them”.
Each team needs at least six people and it has to be semi coed, meaning you must have at least two girls on the team.
The teams can be sponsored too. Curley's sponsors four teams, Smiley's, and CNR Contracting each sponsor a team too.
Mahoney plays on Shooters, which is one of sixteen teams in the league right now.
“The busiest time for teams is the two winter sessions - the one going on right now and the one that starts in January,” he said. “That's when we normally fill the 16 team spots.”
Each session, there's always some new faces to go along with the perennial competitors. There's a new team in the league too - The Attenders. Bottom of the Barrel won the championship last year for the recreational league last season and they are back.
There are two types of leagues - red and blue. Red is the recreational league, where there are more relaxed rules. Blue is the competitive league, where the rules are more strict.
Scoring is used as a rally so you don't need to serve to collect points. It's the best of three matches and scoring is up to 25 points. There is no age group for teams. Most teams are adults with a few teenage teams. They play 24 games on Thursdays with 45-minute usage of the courts and eight minutes per period. The games are played on both sides of the basketball courts at the YMCA. Games start at 7 p.m. and go on until 10 p.m.
It's easy to know where your team stands, too. The league posts a sheet with the team records and points on a bulletin board in the area they play in. You can also go to the YMCA's website, www.auburnymca.com, to view scores and schedules.
“If you win the first two games you get all three points. Otherwise the points are split between teams.” Mahoney said.
If your team wins, each player wins a T shirt that says the year and the team name.
When playing, Moore typically wears his championship shirt from 2002 and Bottom of the Barrel used it as their team shirt.
Subs are allowed by the teams, and sometimes parents even use their own children for subs. The regular season lasts seven weeks and the eighth and final week is for playoffs.
“I got into this league 15 years ago,” Moore said. “The team I was originally on dropped out so I started my own team around 1998.”
Moore also officiates the games when he doesn't play. All officials are volunteers.
“It's a fun league and is very good for competitiveness and exercise,” Moore said.
While the season runs through the winter, the weather rarely slows people down from coming in.
“I think people plan on this being their one night of going out,” Mahoney said. “A lot of people plan their schedules around the league so I think when the weather gets bad they still want to go out, that doesn't stop them”.
Each team needs at least six people and it has to be semi coed, meaning you must have at least two girls on the team.
The teams can be sponsored too. Curley's sponsors four teams, Smiley's, and CNR Contracting each sponsor a team too.
Mahoney plays on Shooters, which is one of sixteen teams in the league right now.
“The busiest time for teams is the two winter sessions - the one going on right now and the one that starts in January,” he said. “That's when we normally fill the 16 team spots.”
Each session, there's always some new faces to go along with the perennial competitors. There's a new team in the league too - The Attenders. Bottom of the Barrel won the championship last year for the recreational league last season and they are back.
There are two types of leagues - red and blue. Red is the recreational league, where there are more relaxed rules. Blue is the competitive league, where the rules are more strict.
Scoring is used as a rally so you don't need to serve to collect points. It's the best of three matches and scoring is up to 25 points. There is no age group for teams. Most teams are adults with a few teenage teams. They play 24 games on Thursdays with 45-minute usage of the courts and eight minutes per period. The games are played on both sides of the basketball courts at the YMCA. Games start at 7 p.m. and go on until 10 p.m.
It's easy to know where your team stands, too. The league posts a sheet with the team records and points on a bulletin board in the area they play in. You can also go to the YMCA's website, www.auburnymca.com, to view scores and schedules.
“If you win the first two games you get all three points. Otherwise the points are split between teams.” Mahoney said.
If your team wins, each player wins a T shirt that says the year and the team name.
When playing, Moore typically wears his championship shirt from 2002 and Bottom of the Barrel used it as their team shirt.
Subs are allowed by the teams, and sometimes parents even use their own children for subs. The regular season lasts seven weeks and the eighth and final week is for playoffs.
“I got into this league 15 years ago,” Moore said. “The team I was originally on dropped out so I started my own team around 1998.”
Moore also officiates the games when he doesn't play. All officials are volunteers.
“It's a fun league and is very good for competitiveness and exercise,” Moore said.
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