Beach Volleyball Tournament

I was really excited when several weeks ago my physio had asked if I wanted to play in a beach volleyball tournament. She was entering/organizing a team for the staff at the clinic and knew I used to play. Obviously I wouldn't be able to do a whole lot, for the most part I'd have to be stationary, but I was willing to give it a try.

I knew my limitations and that I wouldn't be able to run around the court but it wasn't until about a week before the tournament that I thought of a potentially big issue. I wasn't worried about the physical act of serving but couldn't conceive of a possible way to serve from outside the court and then get into position. As I saw it, there were three possible solutions. One, I rotate off before serving and come back on after, skipping the serving position all together. Although that would be no fun because then I wouldn't get to serve. Two, I serve from outside the court and my team carries on the rally with only 5 players on the court. Or three, and the most desirable choice, I serve from within the court. We would just need to clear this with the opposing team before each game. And that is exactly what we did. Our captain would explain the situation to their captain and see if they were ok with it. There was only one team who really took issue with it and questioned us. I don't think they fully believed I couldn't move at all after serving. Reluctantly they allowed it but I'm sure any scepticism was put to rest when they saw me play and not take a single step.

I was able to hop a little bit and turn to face any direction. I wasn't afraid to dive for the ball either. Although, it was funny when I'd dive for a ball that would have landed just a couple steps from where I was standing. Under any other circumstances, someone would simple take a couple steps in that direction. Amazingly, I truly only fell down one time. I ended up twisted and caught up on my own leg when going for a ball. Other than that, I was able to stand in the sand without my crutches for nearly 8 hours total.

The other near impossible task we had to figure out was how I would rotate around the court. Short of crawling or rolling to my new position, I needed someone's help to move. In the end it was amazing teamwork that kept me moving around the court. I would link my arms around the neck of whoever was closest or the first person to come to my aid and they would carry me on their back to my new position. As the day went on and the guys started to play without shirts on and me in my bikini top, it did get a little gross. Everyone was hot and kind of sweaty... need I say more. It was a very effective system though. However, I did feel bad about all the extra work my teammates had to do whenever I was on the court. Not just rotating me but covering a lot more ground during the game as well.

Just a few other things worth mentioning from the day. Walking in the sand with crutch was interesting. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be but it wasn't easy. With every step the tips would sink a couple inches. This did make for an amazing arm workout though. I sure felt it the next day. Also, I will still be getting sand out of my crutches weeks from now.

Early on in the day while moving between courts, a girl from one of the other teams asked me if I was playing. My answer was obviously yes. Later that afternoon when we played her team and she saw me on the court she looked at me and said "I thought you were kidding!" I found this pretty funny.

Lastly, I started off the court for one of our games. When we rotated and I came on, or should I say was carried on for the first time, the entire opposing team applauded me. That was kind of cool.

All in all it was a great experience and I'm happy I did it. I was playing with an amazing group of people and a couple of them were really good. An added bonus to an already fantastic day, somehow we ended up winning the 6s division, losing only one game all day. Way to go team!