Is a 4th of July get down in your future? Need some jams for ‘da beach? Hosting a pool party and/or grill out? Not to worry! The H16 soundrack is ready to work for you in all conditions. When you choose to play H16, you’ll have ten fluid hours of variety at your beck and call. Enjoy!

Can’t get enough? Search Spotify to find all of the Higgyball soundtracks dating back to H9!

Back by popular demand, we have reopened the shirt orders. You have until 11:59 PM on Thursday, June 6, 2019 to make your (wise) decision. Click here to order yours today!

Well that was quite a day, eh? Another Higgyball is in the books, and despite an attempted monsoon, we have another champion on the cup. Congrats to House Team, Patrick Lytle and Andrew Bomholt, for becoming the first ever 3-time Higgyball Champions *

* of the Modern Era

Congrats also to our MVPs, Emily Silberstein and PJ Hile! As always, we’d like to thank our gracious hosts, Danielle Mann and Marc Tincher, for allowing to us to be idiots on their property, Holly and Ken Perander (and Nathan!) for managing the deck, and to all of you, for making this silly backyard tournament one of the best days of the year.

Please make arrangements to claim anything left behind at Higgyball, and help with the cleanup. Also, if you have any photos from the event, please share them with a Council Member, and we can collect them on the website. Now it’s my least favorite time of the year: the wait for next year’s Higgyball. See you all in 363 days!

Happy Higgyball Eve! In addition to the stuff from the last post, a few more things:

• We need ice! Our gracious hosts will have a couple of giant tubs for community beverages, and they need a lot of ice. When you’re buying your ice tomorrow, please get another big bag or two for the tubs.
• It’s gonna be hot! The weather forecasters are now saying some rain in the morning tomorrow, but clear sailing for the main event. The side effect of that morning rain means it’ll be hot and humid throughout the day. The pool is open, so consider bringing a bathing suit and towel for a quick reprieve. In the event that we do get a quick popup storm, we’ll have a rain delay, but then resume once finished, so bring some rain gear just in case. We’ll play through any light precipitation.
• Don’t forget your balls! You can’t spell Higgyballs without balls. If you pledged your set for the tournament, please make sure they come with you tomorrow. Check in with a High Council member to let us know that you’ve brought your set, and which field you’ve placed them on.
• Be on time! I can’t stress this enough. We start at 11:00am, so be there well before that. If something comes up, please let us know ASAP. When you arrive, if you’re a registered team, please check in with us on the back deck, and we’ll let you know what to do.
• Happy Higgyball!

A quick last-minute overview of the next Higgyball (which is this Saturday!):

• BE ON TIME! The event starts at 11:00am, so be there before then, especially the registered teams. Speaking of teams, take a look at the rules. No new rules in there, but newcomers should familarize themselves with how we run things. As usual, we’ll run everything through a computer on the deck, so you can see field assignments and standings on the big screen.
• Keep an eye on the weather. Looks to be hot, as usual, with a possibility for a thunderstorm. We’ve yet to use it, but the rain backup date is Sunday, May 26, 2019. We’ll make the call on Saturday morning if we need to use it this year. If we just have a couple of sprinkles during the event, we’ll have a weather delay, so bring some rain gear just in case. In the event that we do use the backup date, any teams that cannot make it will be refunded.
• Speaking of sun, don’t forget: water, sunscreen, bocce set(s), Food Registry items, lawn chairs, water, bug spray, sunglasses, tape measure, rain gear, and water.
• The Bracket and Wait List have gone through some transformations lately. If you’ve signed up and your plans have changed regarding Higgyball, please let me know, and you’ll get your money back. If someone bows out the day of the event, we’ll take any replacements that are at Higgyball to fill the spot.
• Just like last year, parking is now in the big field to the left of the driveway (rather than on the right as in years past; see the updated map on the previous post). Just park where everyone else is parked.

For the first time ever, team registration filled up in less than 45 minutes. Amazing! If any registered team has to drop out for any reason, let us know as soon as possible and we’ll refund your money. For those that missed the boat, if you haven’t already, please use the Wait List to reserve a potential spot in the field of 28. We’ve had to draw upon that list many times in the past. Also, the Music Registry and Food Registry are still open, so check those out.

I see some new names in the crowd, so you’ll probably need some directions. Higgyball will be held on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 11:00am (be on time!) at the stately Tincher-Mann estate: 7650 King Rd, Oxford, OH 45056.

Head over to the Higgyball Rules for a refresher on how we play. We’ll be doing Swiss Pairs again for the first five rounds, and then a single elimination tournament to determine the ultimate champion.

Lastly, don’t forget to order your H16 Higgyball T-Shirt. Your last chance to buy one is 11:59pm on Sunday night, so don’t delay!

If your experience was anything like mine on Sunday, you probably had to register like a Russian race horse and didn’t have an opportunity to even consider donating your teams musical flava to the cause. As it turns out, the music registry is still open and will be until Monday. The secret to Higgyball’s best soundtracks is its diverse recipe. Add what gets your team jazzed and we’ll do our best to include it.

Sunday will also be your last opportunity to purchase an iconic H16 tee shirt in order to fill orders and have them in your hands by the day of the dance. Choose to celebrate our location and host emblazoned in all his glory, or commemorate one of our most popular lunchtime institutions…the wiener. All shirts will be printed on super-soft and comfortable Tultex products.

Expect to hear more from your friendly, neighborhood council in the coming weeks!

Update 12:43pm: Aaaand we’re full. Please use the Wait List to add your team. We nearly always have teams drop out, so don’t delay!

H16 Registration is open: Go!

Follow along on the Bracket page. When you register, don’t forget to pledge your balls to Higgyball, and add a few songs to the Music Registry list.

If you don’t have a partner, please add yourself to the Free Agents list. When all team spots have been filled, the Wait List will open up.

While you’re there, don’t forget to buy a Shirt (sales end May 12) and add to the Food Registry.

Please email mark.r.walker@gmail.com if you have any problems or questions. Good luck!

Here’s your reminder that Sign-up Sunday is fast approaching. Mark your calendarios for Sunday, May 5, 2019 at 12:00pm at www.higgyball.com. The cost is $10 per team, paid via PayPal (credit/debit card or PayPal accepted). You must have two team members to register, or you can use the Free Agent list if you don’t yet have a partner. If the 28 slots fill up before the event, we’ll open a Wait List for the slowpokes. During registration, we’ll also ask you to pledge your balls, just like last year, and allow teams to request music for the event playlist. Note: the top four teams from last year will get early registration, so watch your inboxes for that.

Also, H16 T-shirts are now available to order. Act fast; we’ll close T-shirt sales at 11:59pm on May 12, so don’t delay! Some great choices from Paddy this year.

Finally, take some time now or later to sign up on the Food Registry. It takes a village to feed this army, so we ask that you bring some items to share.

On behalf of the organizers, I’m proud to announce The 16th Annual Higgyball Memorial Bocce Ball Tournament.  By now I would assume that we all know the drill pretty well, but for those who may need it, I’ll be happy to remind you.

1. Team registration (2 players per team) will occur at 12:00 noon on Sunday, May 5th.  Go to www.higgyball.com to register.  $10 per team will be charged through PayPal as an entry fee to cover expenses.  Last year’s top 4 teams will be granted an automatic spot, BUT STILL NEED TO REGISTER AND PAY (they’ll receive the registration link prior to May 5th).  A total of 28 teams will be granted entry into the tournament.
2. Registration sometimes fills up quickly.  In the event that our bracket fills up, a waiting list will be opened.  If you are unable to enter your team due to a full bracket, be sure to sign up on the waiting list.  Waiting list teams have won the tourney in the past!
3. H16 will be held on Saturday May 25th, 2019 at 11:00 AM at the Tincher-Mann homestead in Oxford, Ohio.  An address and directions will be provided on the website.  We will reserve Sunday, May 26th as a “rain day”.
4. In an attempt to make the event ever more interactive the food and music registries will be included in the team sign-up process as well as the soundtrack.  In the event that we need more songs, a music registry will be opened to the public.
5. Send us pics of you and/or your loved ones wearing your Higgyball swag throughout the year and tell us where you were.  We’ll add it to our “Where Have Your Balls Been” page at Higgyball Online.  Also be sure to send us any pics from last year’s tournament.
6. Grab your favorite H16 T-Shirt.  There will be some great designs to choose from this year!  T-shirt sales will open on May 5th and close May 12th in order to have everything printed by the tourney.
7. In an effort to increase public safety, we’d like to encourage participants to stay the night and camp or find alternate transportation if necessary.  
8. If you haven’t contacted or found your partner, now is the time to do so. We have a Free Agents page for those needs.
9. Be sure to “Pledge Your Balls” this year if you’d be willing to donate a regulation size set of bocce balls to the day’s cause.  Not to worry, your balls are yours and yours alone.  We don’t want to own them, we just want to play with them for the day.

Expect to hear more from your friendly, neighborhood Council members soon.