Feels like -9 and Game On!

December 17th and last game of 2009. Official temp was 8 degrees with a nasty wind chill that (according to weather.com) makes it feel like -9.

The core group of whack-jobs showed up to play and freeze their @$$es off. Especially after being warned by Jim that anyone who had committed would be hunted down if they didn't show. Alan - consider yourself human prey. Bob didn't make it because he was busy pissing off yet another continent. But that's okay, because Randy took his place at sucking. Charlie will be chewing Ibuprofen for a few days...but Bad Santa has probably survived worse.

I apologize in advance for the quality of some images (the lens froze) but you get the picture....

Charlie (pre-injury) trying to open a frozen water bottle. Is that ice in the beard?
Bryce is cold.

Between game break. You had to finish the beer or accept that it would be frozen solid by the next break.

rough icy 'stalagmite' surface

zamboni team

Six Degrees and Game On!

We had a record turn out for Jan 4, 2008 Volleyball. Weather report - 6 degrees with a slight wind chill. All the regular bunch of loonies arrived bundled up and ready to play.

I grabbed a disposable camera and snapped some pics to prove we are as insane as we really are. Apparently the flash on my throw away camera wasn't strong enough to cut through the cold. I'll bring a real camera next time!

All the white puffy clouds are breath. Notice the cooler to keep the brewskies warm. Note: Beer tends to freeze at six degrees. Unless you like "barley-hop-ice-pops" beer isn't such a great outdoor beverage at 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Why do we do this again?

Dusty, bored with the photo shoot, laid down in protest.

Old Man River across the net.

Game On!

How ironic is a cooler in 6 degree weather?

NH Outdoor Volleyball - All Year Long!

Yep. We play volleyball outside all year long. Not a big deal if you're, say, in San Diego, CA or Cancun, Mexico. What makes us a bunch of whack jobs is that we play every week all year long in Southern NH!

Not rain, nor sleet, nor hail, nor snow.

We've played during rain ("it couldn't rain any harder than this"), sleet, hail and snow. We've played in thunderstorms, high winds, and 98 degree weather. In fact, each weather challenge has the tendency to bring out more players! Told ya. We're nuts.



And collectively we've been nuts for a long, long, time.
How long you ask? We'll I've been playing for 11 years. I went into labor with my first child playing while playing volleyball! (Thanks again everyone for letting my drive myself to the hospital (^: ) Others have been playing a few years longer!

So even considering holidays or the extremely RARE nights when the game is called due to various business trips, I've played over 495 nights of volleyball. With an average of 5 games a night, that's 2,475 games of volleyball outside, all year long, in New Hampshire!!!

And the Volleyball Gods Say...

Here's the scoop. A core group of volleyball masochists get together every Thursday night for a series of informal games. Each week teams are picked and pitted against each other. Over the years we've pared down rules to the bare minimum - 3 hits a side still applies, however net violations are rarely called, sometimes adding a fun element of 'tackle' to the game of Volleyball. After playing so long together, we've inevitably added a few of our own rules, nomenclature, and superstitions.

"A pole hit is still in play"
"Madonna"
"There's no Sorries in Volleyball"
"Jump Serve"
"Gnomes"
"Dructor Position"
"Clearly Out"
"Charlie Down!"
and
"And the Volleyball Gods Say..."

Where's NH Chronicle?

Now all we need is Fritz Wetherbee to come interview my favorite group of crazy people. Fritz?

Oh yeah,we're open to endorsements too!

Here's an open invitation to Columbia Sportswear, REI, Timberland, and the like. We're more than willing to test your products under the extreme conditions in which we play volleyball. Wanna know if your gear can stand up to rain, wind, sleet and snow during serves, sets, and dives? We'd love the chance to let you know! (^;