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Sample Articles Alberta bound
Sample Articles - Volume 24, Number 1 (Spring 2009) Winter volleyball on sand!
Spring 2009 (gN/aN 24:1)
Winter volleyball on sand!
by Carman (Skippy) Batchelor
The day started with a dense fog. It was December 27, 2008! The weather was really spring-like, much warmer than usual, causing the snow to melt away. People had left their homes in the early morning hours to travel two, three, or more hours in this fog to London, Ontario. They came to take part in Ontario’s first indoor nudist beach volleyball tournament!
Organizer Peter Allison and his assistant did well in planning this first indoor tournament. Player/team registrations began at 09:00. The first games started at 10:00, with four Novice teams, four Novice Plus teams, four B teams, and two A teams—playing on three sand courts. Not bad!
AM and PM games
The morning games were the preliminary rounds, and the afternoon games playoffs. Compressing of the usual two-day tournament into one, each team in the first round played another for 25 minutes, which usually allowed for a game and a half to be played. The second game’s final score was that on the scoreboard at 25 minutes. The playoffs were just one game up to 25 points, capped at 27. So players did not usually have too much time on the side lines.
Between the morning games and the afternoon finals, we paused a little to enjoy some slices from one of the many party-sized pizzas provided as part of our admission fee of only $10 per adult.
The tournament was held at Spike’s Indoor Beach Volleyball Centre. The building had been a former manufacturing place with a high ceiling and size about that of a hockey arena. A few tons of sand had been trucked in to form the main courts.
One end of the building had tables and chairs for eating, a basic restaurant food service kitchen, a liquor bar, and two small change rooms. On an upper level were the washrooms. I heard that there were showers, as one would expect to find at a sports place, but was surprised not to see any in the men’s change room. Later in the day I noticed them along an outer wall next to the dining area.
The showers
Public showers, you’re thinking? Not really. There were two shower heads per person, one for washing lower legs, the other about a metre from the floor, it seems for washing from your waist downwards. Taking a proper shower means getting down on your knees. Luckily, we nudists rinse off easily!
Walking barefoot, I was surprised that the concrete floor was not that cold. The indoor air temperature was a bit cool for some in the morning but warmed up as the day progressed. Fortunately nudists are usually an easygoing bunch, and we adjusted to the indoor environment.
The last hour of the day was set aside for giving out awards to the winning teams. The tournament was blessed to have three sponsors of prizes: the Bare Oaks Greater Toronto Naturist Tournament, the Sunny Glades Welcome to the Jungle Tournament, and the Forest City Family Naturists.
Playing nudist beach volleyball between the usual summer seasons was a very welcome opportunity. For the small event fee, the foggy drive to London was well worth it. This tournament provided those of us wanting to play or host a winter season indoor nudist volleyball event a successful trial run.
This will be great if it can become an annual event. I know that there were others who wanted to be a part of the action but were unable to fit it into their holiday season activities. Next year!
