Beyond Pitchers and Catchers
Forget limp wrists: Gay volleyball championship spikes hard in Houston
Friday began with what is known as "pool play."Photo by Steven Thomson
The games are rife with excitement.Photo by Steven Thomson
F Bar packed more than 500 volleyballers on Thursday evening.Photo by Steven Thomson
The games are rife with excitement.Photo by Steven Thomson
The games are rife with excitement.Photo by Steven Thomson
The games are rife with excitement.Photo by Steven Thomson
The American Association of Museums Annual Meeting ended on Wednesday, but that doesn't mean that the George R. Brown Convention Center is suffering from a dearth of homosexual hubbub. That's because Friday marks the beginning of the North American Gay Volleyball Association (NAGVA) Championships XXIX.
It's a four day extravaganza of slick serves, ball-busting spikes and non-stop gay clubbing for 1,000 volleyballers from all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The NAGVA championship goes down every Memorial Day. "Houston's advantage laid in the proximity of the convention center, the Hilton and The Grove," local tournament director Brian Crumby tells CultureMap.
Working with the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, a Houston crew made their pitch last year at the annual NAGVA board meeting during the Portland, Oregon-based championship. Houston also hosted the games in 1994 and '99.
Friday afternoon's "pool play" brought a slew of underhand, sky ball and topspin serves to Halls A and B at the convention center, which were recoated with special volleyball courts.
"This is the fifth nationals I've been to," said Jason Wong, who had flown in from LA and plays for the San Francisco Freeballers.
Why the city double play? "The way it works is, each team needs just four core players that have played in a NAGVA tournament together," explained Wong, who is also friends with "a lot" of the SF players. At NAGVA, team loyalty runs from deep to nonexistent, and city slutting is far from frowned upon.
Wong listed the tournaments in Portland and Denver as among his favorites, but added, "It ends up being about the teams you play on and how well you end up doing."
When CultureMap spoke with Crumby, he reported that his team, titled Houston That's Just Lazy, had won five games and lost three. A second round of pool play will be held on Saturday, with the actual championship launching that evening with an opening serve by councilwoman Sue Lovell and performance of the national anthem by Tye Blue.
Blue happens to be the resident host and entertainment director at the fledgling F Bar, where he welcomed 500 volleyballers Thursday night after a welcoming party at The Grove.
"I liked the music," Wong said. "But, honestly? Compared to LA clubs, it's a little small."
Contestants will decide whether or not size does really matter as they grind tonight at Guava Lamp and Vue, during a Saturday night Hilton Americas-Houston pool party and closing banquet on Sunday. That day has the reputation for the hardest partying — Crumby predicts that 70 to 80 percent of the 1,000 members will pile onto coach busses and head to the F Bar after-party.
