Mud volleyball tournament encourages hundreds to get dirty

BIG LAKE — They don’t apologize for playing dirty.

In a scene resembling spring break meets a frat party while tailgating, more than 300 players and hundreds more spectators, families and friends kicked off their shoes and kicked back Saturday to knock back some suds and knock around a few volleyballs. With temperatures in the mid-60s, 32 teams loaded up their trucks with sunblock, favorite tunes and cases of cold beer for the 23rd annual Big Lake Lions Club Mud Volleyball Tournament.

Along with bragging rights and the coveted championship T-shirt, teams also seemed to be in top trash-talking form.

“We’re here to take home the championship!” boomed Cole Christianson of the Swamp Donkeys, an Anchorage team making its third appearance at the tourney. “We’re going to get muddy, and we’re very dirty. It’s prison rules.”

Although the Swamp Donkeys made the semifinals the past two years, “there’s really no strategy,” Christianson said.

Well, maybe one — find the right balance between peak athletic performance and alcohol consumption, said teammate Briell Burnett.

“It’s very important,” she said about the team’s pre-game warm-up of 12-ounce curls at the tailgate of Christianson’s truck. “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 6 being the highest, it’s a 6. Actually, we’re not even drunk yet. In fact, we’re not even ready to play, we haven’t had enough beer yet.”

That didn’t stop the Swamp Donkeys from getting in a few pre-game shots on their rivals, the Mudd Divers.

“The secret is not to get drunk,” said Michael Seibert, pointing to the Mudd Divers. “Look at them. You can get a buzz, but you can’t get drunk like that team over there. I mean, they can’t even hit the volleyball now. They’ve had too much, but we’re perfect.”

But that’s all just a lot of bunk, said Kendall Hardy of the Mudd Divers. From his perspective, the Swamp Donkeys (the teams are friends outside the volleyball tournament) are just upset over a loss to the Divers last year.

“Well, when we win our first game and they win their first game, we’re going to play them,” Hardy said. “They’re just a little nervous and talking a little crap to our team, but they don’t know anything. We beat them last year and we have a little rivalry.”

As much as performing in the 12 inches of mud and murky water in the playing pit, trash talk “is very important” to mud volleyball, said Casey Bailey of the Mudd Divers.

Well, that and tailgating, interjected teammate Steve Thompson. “If there’s one thing our team lives by, it’s ‘win or lose, we booze.’”

While teams like the Donkeys and Divers had their sights set on advancement, others were just looking for a good time and celebrated any moral victory.

Take Nick Jacobs, a Big Lake resident and member of the Mud Sharks, which lost in their opening game 11-1.

“Hey, we got one point,” said Jacobs, covered head to toe in mud. “We got that point. That’s on the record, right, that we scored a point? I do this every year — not very good, but every year.”

One of the more impressive early performances was put up by the B3nd3rs, a team comprised “of varsity players of every sport, athletic as (all get-out),” said player Tyler Shambert.

Their preparation started Friday night when the team gathered to watch a scary movie. The “training” continued prior to the start of the tournament, said teammate Alexis McCarty.

“The key to winning is communication,” she said. “Communication … and beer.”

That anticipated showdown between the Swamp Donkeys and Mudd Divers didn’t materialize as planned, however. The Donkeys were tripped up in their first game by the French Toast Mafia, a team that included some mud volleyball veterans and newcomers, like Valley resident Dylan McCree.

“This is my first time, and it was fun,” he said. “I just want to get muddy.”

Why the name French Toast Mafia? McCree wasn’t sure where that came from, but had a theory.

“Our captain made it up,” he said. “He looked it up online.”

Along with playing volleyball and partying with his team, McCree said there’s another benefit to the muddy madness.

“Well, I like my girls dirty,” he said.

Along with promoting a fun event, the annual tournament is a fundraiser for the Big Lake Lions, said club member and scorekeeper Bill Haller. Seeing the pit area packed with players and families, along with the raucous atmosphere, made Saturday’s outing another success, he said.

“We’ve been doing this for 23 years and it’s just a fun time,” Haller said. “They come to have fun. There’s bragging rights if you win; a T-shirt and a trophy. It’s just a full day of dirty fun.”

The money raised from mud volleyball goes to support Big Lake Lions efforts in the community, like its eyeglass program or the community’s new ice rink and activity center. Along with the $120 entry fee paid by the teams, the Lions also raise money selling concessions.

So, what would it take to get Haller out into the mud pit?

“Uh, it would have to be 20 years ago.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.