May 19, 2023 | SPORTS | By Olivia Xerras
Spikeball isn’t an unfamiliar sport to most students at Colorado College.
The game, which has become a staple around campus, involves two teams of two facing off in front of a trampoline-like net to compete in a game to 21 points. The terrain of play can vary from grass to a hard court, to water, sand, and even venture into the dark.
During the second weekend of May, a variety of competitive and casual “Spikeballers” on campus put their skills to the test in the bi-annual GlobeMed Grass Spikeball Tournament.
Taylor Harris ’24 described a comparison of the game in simple terms.
“It’s like volleyball. You can bump, set, spike before you get it over the net. ‘Over the net’ is like a volleyball comparison to a spike ball you get ‘on the net,’” Harris said. “It’s very inclusive and a very great time.”
Harris’s go-to Spikeball partner since his freshman year has been Trey Crawford ’24. He describes the nature of the initiation of their dynamic partnership before diving into the tournament details.
“Competitively, since our freshman year…I really started to ramp it up because Trey is a really big Spikeball fan,” Harris said. “We’ve made a pretty solid duo; we call ourselves Salt and Pepper.”
Salt and Pepper showed up for the GlobeMed Tournament, placing second overall and earning a grand prize of brand-new Apple AirPods. The tournament partnered with Positive Tracks Challenge and supported the Western Organization for People Living with AIDS/HIV; the organization is affiliated with the tournament through Positive Tracks, based out of Western Kenya and supports communities affected by AIDS/HIV through health education, economic empowerment, and stigma reduction.
The event was well thought out. The prizes were worth waiting hours for, as the options included air fryers, the aforementioned AirPods, Stanley tumblers, and coolers, just to name a few.
If there is any ongoing feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out), fear not, for Crawford offered information about future opportunities to play.
Crawford said, “I’d like to add that there’s a Spikeball club developing. It’s on the schedule for next year, springtime, open for anybody to learn.”
To start searching for opportunities happening now, there is currently an active GroupMe anyone can join (see the accompanying QR code). Additionally, the Instagram handle @ccroundnet offers information about club affiliated tournaments occurring year-around across a variety of terrains next year.
If you’re still on the fence about playing or feel like the sport may be too competitive, Harris quelled these fears, explaining: “It’s fun because you can try as hard as you want. So, if you don’t feel like diving on the floor or breaking a big sweat, you don’t have to.”
Harris added, “You can have some really competitive matches where you’re going all out and it makes it really fun, when people are really trying.”
With that, the only question left to ask is, what is stopping you from getting involved with the fellow “Spikeballers” on campus?