The Weekend of all Weekends

Most of Last Year's Team

This weekend for me is the WEEKEND OF ALL WEEKENDS! Or at least tomorrow is the DAY OF ALL DAYS! Tomorrow my city is holding it's annual H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere) Volleyball Summerfest! Basically it's a just for fun (unless you're competitive, which I my friends, am not) all day volleyball tournament and all 'round good time! It is also a charity tournament, if you didn't get that from the acronym, so there really is no downside.  I look forward to this day almost all year long. Fact. Or at least starting in January. In January I start looking forward to April which I know is when the early bird registration begins. In March I have to try and restrain myself from recruiting a team because it's "too early" when in fact, I know that we're only a month away from registration! April, well April is awesome. Then every month after that I count down is in full force. It's my Christmastime in summer essentially! :)

I started playing in HOPE 8 years ago when I worked at a restaurant that put in a team. I could not believe the time I had. I played for that team for 2 more years and was addicted! The next year I had graduated school and was in my career and not at the restaurant, which meant I wouldn't be playing on that team. I took it upon myself to start my own team and have kept it up the last 5 years - this will be year 6 of my team and 9th year playing! So far my team has been an all-girls team where the point of the day is primarily to have a good time. If ever a new person plays for us sometimes they worry that they're not a good volleyball player. As much as it's fun to win, that's not what the day (and the team) is about. 

Every year we try to do some sort of theme as well. The first year most of us wore the same vibrant purple bikinis with white cover-ups, then it was the same VS deep pink bikinis, then an all-neon theme, then black and white (most of us did zebra), last year was pacific blue with neon yellow shorts, and this year is white suits with neon accessories/cover-ups. Outfits are half the fun sometimes I swear!

2010 - Neon Year

As far at the "Summerfest" goes, in addition to the volleyball playing, there are a couple of tents that serve drinks and play music all day, as well as a mini-concert series towards the end of the day. As I type this I'm pretty darn excited, and it doesn't hurt that tomorrow looks like a STELLAR day :)
 
Have an excellent weekend!