September 1, 2010
What was already a huge beach volleyball tournament just got even bigger: Aspen’s Motherlode Beach Volleyball tournament is (sadly) benefiting from the AVP’s decision to scrap the rest of its season due to $$ (lack thereof). Read the full Aspen Times article here.
This guy will be in Motherlode next year ... anyone need a partner?
Want to watch some seriously awesome vball this weekend? Here’s the scoop:
Thursday Sept 2: Men’s Seniors and Women’s Masters play, with the finals at 6pm at Koch Lumber park.
Friday Sept 3: Men’s Masters play at Koch Lumber park. Co-ed divisions play, with the finals at 6pm at Wagner park.
Saturday Sept 4: Men’s and Women’s Open begin play at 8am. Men’s A, BB and B, and Women’s A, BB, B begin play at various locations in Aspen at 9am. Men’s Masters final rounds begin with finals scheduled for noon Koch Lumber park.
Sunday Sept 5: Men’s Open, A, BB and B, and Women’s Open, A, BB, B continue play at various locations in Aspen. *Grass start times contingent on player check-in and park conditions.
Monday Sept 6: Amateur finals at Koch Lumber Park grass court; Men’s and Women’s Sand Open finals at Koch Lumber Park Sand Courts
Amateur Championships – Koch Lumber Park Grass Court
- 9am – Women’s B
- 10am – Men’s B
- 11am – Women’s BB
- noon – Men’s BB
- 1pm – Women’s A
- 2pm – Men’s A
Beach Championships (Pros) – Koch Lumber Park Sand Courts
3pm – Women’s Open Sand
4pm – Men’s Open Sand
This is some seriously awesome volleyball, sand and grass, so make sure if you’re around you at least stop by for one game!
I want to be good enough to play … 
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July 27, 2010
I did an Aspen version of this Top Ten Things Newbies Should Know post, and it was so popular that it bears building an Austin one… which, with a few adjustments for climate, is more or less the same. See? There are so many Austin / Aspen similarities!
1. There will be opportunities for free drinks any given night of the week. Do not take advantage of all of them.
2. There are two seasons: hot, and not-as-hot. There will probably only be three cold days in any given year, but those three days will be deemed “THE BIG CHILL” and covered relentlessly by the media.
3. Check the bus schedule. You won’t understand it. You have to have a PhD to understand that thing. Bike instead.
4. Don’t drink and drive. Not even a little. Cops have plenty of other things to do, but they like the drunks the best.
5. Learn the local ways and the Spanglish pronunciations of the streets. Nothing says ‘tourist’ like asking where man-chack-a is (Man-shack) or how to get to Ceasar. It’s not a salad, it’s a two-named street. Cesar Chavez. Or First Street. But not South First Street–that’s different. And what Guadalupe (don’t you dare pronounce the -eh at the end) turns into as it crosses the lake. Town Lake, not Lady Bird.
6. Austin is dog-friendly. Scoop the poop.
7. You live at 105 degrees in the summer. You might think you’ve adjusted, but then you forget to drink your water and end up in the hospital. DRINK LOTS OF WATER.
8. True: it’s mostly about who you know. In business, relationships, and getting hooked up at bars. You can also make it with a lot of pluck, luck, and networking.
9. Summer sports: pick-up sand volleyball at Zilker and Krieg every weekend morning and most evenings, Pease always on the weekends. Aussie’s (pictured) Volleybar has pickup after leagues are over, at 11pm, but are VERY competitive. Pick-up basketball almost every evening. Ultimate Frisbee on Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon … (for the love, see #7)
10. Austin is a lot like Woodstock. Don’t get lost in the freedom!
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June 25, 2010
I should know, since I am a newbie. Top ten things I didn’t get until I moved to Aspen:
1. There are no weekends. Any given night could be a party.
2. There are two offseasons: May and October. At least half of the restaurants and businesses will be closed at least half of the time.
3. Check the bus schedule. Yes, it’s awesome they have public transportation. No, sitting in the bus station for an hour is not fun.
4. Don’t drink and drive. Not even a little. Cops have nothing else to do.
5. Learn the mountains. It’s not enough to know what Ajax, Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass look like. You need to be able to identify them and at least the Bells, Pyramid, Red Mountain, Smuggler, Red Butte, and Sopris.
6. Aspen is very dog-friendly. Apartments for rent are hardly ever dog-friendly.
7. You live at 8,000 feet. You think you’ve adjusted to the altitude. Then you hike at 10,000 feet. You haven’t adjusted. Give yourself time. And hike a lot.
8. True: it’s all about who you know. In business, relationships, and getting hooked up at bars.
9. Summer sports: Wednesdays the good people play sand volleyball at Koch Park, though you can find a game almost any day; the most competitive soccer league is in Snowmass; there’s pickup soccer at the high school Fridays at 5:30pm and Sundays at 10:30am; there’s pickup basketball at Yellow Brick on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the late afternoon.
10. Aspen is a lot like summer camp. Resist the temptation to become a lifer/10-year-ski-bum. Stay focused!
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June 3, 2009
Last summer I spent 3-4 days a week playing sand volleyball. While this summer my schedule hasn’t looked like that, there is some good volleyball to be had. Three things on the agenda:
- Weekly, the ATXVB Meetup Group plays at the Krieg Complex, known before as the softball fields off Pleasant Valley and Riverside. Wednesdays from 5pm-dark and Saturday mornings from 10am-??
- Coming up not this weekend but next, Aussie’s hosts their popular El Sol tournament. From their website:
In 1999, Eric “El Sol” Solie tore his Achilles tendon playing indoor volleyball at ARC. The surgery had gone well but a couple weeks later, Eric died from a blood clot. He was 30 years old and taken away from us too early. Eric was extremely friendly to everyone he met. He could put a smile on your face just by being around him.
The Eric Solie Foundation was created in 1999 in honor of Eric and his love for volleyball, beer & boiled shrimp. This year will be the 10th Annual “El Sol” Blind Draw 4′s Tournament being held at Aussie’s Volleybar & Grill on Saturday, June 13th. Money raised from the El Sol Tournaments and from the Gemini & Halloween Poker Rides & Raffles goes to the Eric Solie Foundation. The foundation will benefit a selected junior volleyball player each year once the fund has reached its maintenance level.
Register by phone or at Aussie’s: 512.480.0952 or 306 Barton Springs Rd., 78704
Then I’ll just crib notes from an email a friend of mine sent detailing how much fun the tourney is:
“This is the biggest tournament they have each year, and it is followed by a shrimp boil.
Last year they had over 100 people, which is why they will have to spread out the games between Aussie’s and Krieg Field.
Since the tournament is so huge, it should take all day.
I don’t know if they have a lot of spots left, so I wanted to remind you guys to sign up since as we all know these tournaments are a lot fun, and even more so when you get to spike a ball at your friend’s face J
I just signed up yesterday, and the fee is the standard $25, or you can pay $35 (which is what I did) which includes the ticket to the shrimp boil right after the tournament. I think the boil also includes beer.”
- Don’t forget about the awesome Adult Volleyball Camps I told you about put on by Misty May’s dad. It’s a conflict with the El Sol tournament, but if you need to pick up some more skills, you should definitely look into this camp. It runs Friday after-workish through Sunday, June 12 – 14, at Austin Beach Volleyball Club in Manor. Their website is here.
So it looks like my summer calendar is filling up all volleyball-style again …
Posted in Good people/services, Playing, Sports/Fitness, Things to do ... all the time |
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May 15, 2009
For anyone who:
- Misses the summer camp days (activities all day, nightly programs, late-night cabin talking, week-long romances)
- Misses sports camp days (activities all day, sport-specific training, scoping out the opposite sex, trying to win the camp-culminating games)
- Sucks at sand volleyball
- Wants to get better at sand volleyball
Durango Camps has finally announced their 2009 Adult Summer Volleyball Camp. Dreams do come true!
The camp will run Friday through Sunday, June 12 – 14, at Austin Beach Volleyball Club in Manor. Butch May (yep, THAT famous Olympic athlete’s dad himself) and Jim Graham will lead everyone through the paces. Jim on what we’ll be doing: “sharing our love of the game and information gathered from years of playing, coaching and officiating the game. Needless to say, we will have a few surprises and gifts to share at this year’s production, so tell your friends about us. WE WILL HAVE A GOOD TIME.” That’s him in all caps. The dude is excited, I’m excited, we’re all excited.
Read more and sign up at Durango Camps.
Seriously, best announcement ever. I’m gonna get good.
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November 18, 2008
Pitting #4 Texas against #3 Nebraska in some badass women’s volleyball action, the Big 12 Showdown is slated for 8pm tomorrow, Wednesday. It’s likely to sell out–it did last year–so get your tix stat for a mere $4-$10. It’s at Gregory, so the $4 seats should be just as good as the $10 seats.
I haven’t ever been to a UT women’s volleyball game, so I’m super excited about getting to see some really high quality volleyball! Maybe it’ll even get me inspired again … after the Olympics I decided that I wanted to become a pro volleyball player and play in the Olympics, but life quickly got in the way of that one.
Tickets can be purchased online through TexasBoxOffice.com or by phone by calling 512-471-3333.
… you can also do the LAST FREE CROSSFIT WORKOUT at Town Lake at 6:30, take a super-fast shower, and be at the game before, well, whatever they call the start of a volleyball match. Opening serve?
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August 21, 2008
I twittered about signing up for Aussie’s Blind Draw 4s this Saturday morning, and I’m so excited for it. They randomly put you with three other players to play a tournament–sounds so fun!
If I wasn’t playing volleyball, though, I’d be art attacking, because I found out this morning that I can hot sauce on Sunday!!
Bring a jar of your hottest sauce, or just bring three canned goods to donate for entry into the Hot Sauce Festival so you can try everyone else’s salsas … this SUNDAY from 11:30-5pm.
Party with perennial fave Do512 and Austin Art Garage this Saturday. $5 entry ($10 without RSVP) will get you free Bacardi Mojitos, Lonestar, TexaCali wines, some cake, and some great tunes courtesy of Brazos, {{{Sunset}}}, DJ 2 Boone from Covert Curiosity (whose work I love, I don’t have any idea about his tunes though!), and others.
Info here.
Posted in Eating, Going Out, Music, One-time event, Sports/Fitness |
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August 1, 2008
Saturday mornings aren’t for sleeping in anymore! Here’s the lineup for this weekend:
8 am: Nike+ Human Race training run at Starbucks (24th & Guadalupe)
… run 3 or 5 miles, drink coffee, hydrate with lots of water
10 am: FREE Bikram Yoga at Barton Springs Pool, southside, off Robert E. Lee.
… bring a yoga mat and towel, be prepared to sweat your face off. Can’t wait to see Wayne of YogaGroove again! Jump in Barton Springs to cool off–maybe on the free side if you aren’t planning on lounging for awhile. [This happens every Saturday in August--awesome!]
11:30 am: Head to Zilker sand volleyball courts.
Because it’s Saturday morning and you play EVERY Saturday morning.
… early crowd starts to dissipate because it suddenly got hot, you get onto the court immediately, play ten games in a row because you keep winning, and your stomach is slowly eating itself because you forgot to schedule in a food break.
1:30 pm: P. Terry’s never tasted so good.
… Maybe you’ll have some Flip Happy crepes too. You’re so freakin’ hungry by now.
Posted in Eating, Sports/Fitness, Things to do ... all the time |
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July 8, 2008
Consider this advance warning: Los Lonely Boys are playing Blues on the Green this Wednesday! It’s gonna be badass. Their style is Texican Rock ‘n Roll, which is a fusion of rock, blues, Tejano, country, and a little bit of soul. I LOVE them. Come early and camp it out, it’ll be so worth it–plus temps haven’t been AS hot as usual … high is only 97 on Wednesday, and low is 74 degrees! That’s perfectly comfortable.
Of course, you could make a day of it and come play some sand volleyball before/during Los Lonely Boys, as the meetup group will be out there regular time, regular place.
Hear a Los Lonely Boys tune, perhaps one of their most famous, “Heaven” … fyi, Songza is a pretty sweet music player, no downloads, just streams music for ya. So simple.
Posted in Music, One-time event, Sports/Fitness |
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June 20, 2008
There’s a lot going on this weekend! Here’s a calendar:
Texas music classic, big dance floor, $10 cover, $2.75 Coors Light, $3.25 Crown Royal … what more could you really want from Friday night?
SATURDAY
10am-1pm: As always, sand volleyball at Zilker starting at 10 am. atxvb.com for more info, but really, just show up and play.
Splitting Time Between:
Veggie Dog Eating Contest at Scholz Garten from 1 to 4pm
The best thing to happen to vegetarians since … I don’t know. Anyway, iLoveMikeLitt is some strange social and cultural organization that just throws parties as far as I can tell, but they’re throwing this shindig and there’s still time to sign up to compete! If you just want to watch, it’s $5 for a veggie dog and unlimited vegan ice cream. Local vegetarian celebs (like Deb O’Keefe from 101X) will be on hand for the revelry. Do512 is offering $1 off of the $5 cover if you RSVP through the site.
Clarksville Cookout at West Austin park from 1 – 3pm
The Clarksville neighborhood is trying to create a sense of community with their website, and now a cookout! There will be limited, but delicious, quantities of hot dogs, water, soda, and even some treats for dogs. They’re also giving away t-shirts to the first 35 people.
SummerFest at Guero’s from noon to 9:30pm!
mrandmrsmays is a crazy group, so much fun to watch. The rest of the lineup is pretty stellar too:
Have a great weekend!
Posted in Good people/services, Music, One-time event, Sports/Fitness |
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