Andrew Card (left) and Tucker Youngblood (right) representing Spikeball at a trade show at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
Spikeball players from around the area will have the opportunity to take their casual yet competitive game to the next level this weekend as Chattanooga will host the Chattanooga Summer Classic Spikeball Tournament.
The tournament will be held on August 6th at the Club Sport Field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The tournament starts at 9 a.m. and should be complete by 5 p.m.
There will be a competitive and recreational division. Tournament officials say if you have only played a few times or have just started playing, the recreation division would be perfect for you but if you are comfortable playing from six feet away and are looking for some higher skilled play then players should join the competitive division. The cost to register is $30/team.
This is the second large-scale tournament for tournament director Andrew Card with the first tournament taking place in 2014 at Chattanooga Christian School. 30 teams from all over the country attended that tournament and he anticipates even more for this years event.
Spikeball is a cross between volleyball and foursquare according to the official Spikeball website.
The site says there are currently over 1,000,000 players and 1,500 ranked teams worldwide.
Card, a former high school athlete at Chattanooga Christian School says Spikeball is a great sport for all types of athletes.
"It is a game that is very easy to learn but also very difficult to master," said Card. "Tournaments are a great time for a wide range of people. We have seen father-son teams, coed teams, women's teams, young teams and even senior teams. Another thing that is really interesting about Spikeball is that it doesn't require a specific body type. For the most part in football you have to be big and strong, in basketball you have to be tall and fast, in Spikeball you don't have to be anything. You can build your own style of play around your physical attributes and that's the secret behind what makes the sport so popular and so fun to play and watch. "
Card has played extensively with partner Tucker Youngblood.
"Tucker and I have been playing competitively since April of 2014," Card said. "We have traveled all over the country to places as far as Santa Monica, CA and Boston, MA. We both enjoy the sport of Spikeball just because of the friendships it builds and the competitive nature that it brings out of people."
To sign up for the Chattanooga Summer Classic go to www.usaspikeball.com.
If you have questions about the tournament you can contact Card at sceniccityspikeball.com.