Congratulations are in order to Jenny and Thomas Fisher of The COVID Task Force for winning Higgyball17! Congrats also to the MVPs: Jenny Fisher and Marc Tincher.

It was another great tournament (albeit a little soggy at the end), and much fun was had by all. Thanks go out to our gracious hosts, Danielle Mann and Marc Tincher, and to the Higgyball Council for getting it all organized. We hope to be back at our usual Bat Time next year over Memorial Day weekend (though you can’t beat the lower temps that we had yesterday). Save the date: May 28, 2022.

If you had to leave anything yesterday, or perhaps misplaced something, please do your best to retrieve it today, or contact someone to make arrangements. Some extra help with cleanup is also much appreciated.

Here’s a last-minute checklist for Higgyball17 (which is this Saturday!):

• BE ON TIME! Reminder for the address: 7650 King Rd. Oxford, OH 45056. The event starts at 11:00am, so be there before then, especially the registered teams. Speaking of teams, take a look at the rules. Newcomers should familiarize 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. Teams should check in at the deck when you arrive, because we need all teams present to begin the tournament. If you’re ridiculously late, we’ll give you a loss for your first match-up. If you know you will be late, please let someone know long before the start of the event.
• If you pledged your balls to Higgyball, please bring your bocce sets with you, and check in with a council member for field assignment. We’ll do our best to make sure you leave with your balls.
• Keep an eye on the weather. It looks to be pleasant, and there definitely won’t be any extreme weather like we’ve had the past few years. Even though we have yet to use it, the rain backup date is Sunday, Sept 5, 2021. We’ll make the call on Saturday morning if we need to use it this year.
• Speaking of weather, don’t forget: water, sunscreen, bocce set(s), food items to share, lawn chairs, water, bug spray, sunglasses, tape measure, rain gear, swim suit and towel, and water.
• Ice! It’s so important, it needs its own section. Please bring a large bag or two of ice to throw in the giant communal beverage tubs.
• 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. If you would like to play and have yet to sign up, hit us up, there are still spots.
• Just like recent years, parking is now in the big field to the left of the driveway (rather than on the right as in years past). Just park where everyone else is parked.
• Obligatory COVID section: please be smart. If you’re sick, please stay home. If you’re not vaccinated, please consider wearing a mask. Let’s all be safe.

Thanks go out to everyone that was able to navigate the craziness of the registration fiasco a few weeks ago. The poor web server couldn’t handle the thousands (dozens? sevens?) of eager fans vying to get their spot in the tournament this year, so I gave it an upgrade. We do have some team spots open, so if you’re able to join us on Sept 4, 2021 at 11:00am (SHARP!), please feel free to register your team. If any registered team has to drop out for any reason, let us know as soon as possible and we’ll refund your money. We also have T-shirts available, but remember that we need those orders by this Sunday, Aug 15, 2021, so do not delay.

A reminder on the location: 7650 King Rd. Oxford, OH 45056. We usually have a Food Registry so that we don’t end up with 20 bags of chips, but it crapped out this year, so please be wise and bring shareable potluck items suitable for feeding a small army of bocce enthusiasts (along with the supporting cast of things like eco-friendly plates and silverware, and lots of ice and water). Feel free to coordinate amongst yourselves.

Lastly, we are still looking for a volunteer to run the show on the deck, as our venerable manager of years past, Holly, is not able to join us this year. If you think you have what it takes (you just type in the scores and click a few buttons), please send a message to mark.r.walker@gmail.com.

H17 Registration is open: Go!

Follow along on the Bracket page. When you register, along with entering team information, 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 August 15) and add to the Food Registry.

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

Attention all spectators! We have an opening for the Deck Manager position, which involves pushing a few buttons and letting people know which field they are playing on at the start of each round, and then entering scores when the games finish. If this could be you, please let me know. No experience necessary!

Your friendly Higgyball council would like to remind you that we have Higgyball registration happening this Sunday, August 1, 2021 starting at 12:00pm. We’ll keep registration open until we fill all 32 spots, but don’t sleep on it. Cost is $10 per team, and you will need to provide your team name, the names and email addresses of both participants, how many standard-sized bocce ball sets you can lend to the cause, and also up to two suggestions for the music playlist. During the day on Sunday, you can keep an eye on the Bracket page to see who has signed up. Also, add to the Food Registry or sign up on the Free Agent list if you don’t yet have a partner (you must do this instead of grabbing a spot and hoping to find someone later).

In addition to team registrations, we’ll have the annual Higgyball shirts for sale (see above), designed, as always, by the incomparable Patrick Lytle. One little wrinkle this time around: we’re using Lebowski again for the shirts, but they only offer price breaks at certain numbers of shirts ordered. Our shirts start at $25, but if we don’t have enough ordered for either design (H17 logo or the mad cow), we may ask if you would switch designs (or we will return your payment if you don’t care to switch). Hopefully there won’t be an issue, but do keep this in mind.

Finally, since we will have 32 teams this year, we’ll have a new format for the fields. Get a sneak peek at the map above, and start practicing your bocce throws! (This new format is why we need you to pledge your balls to Higgyball, so do let us know when you register.)

For those jonesing for some early Summer fun and bocce, the usual hosts of Higgyball (Danielle and Marc) are hosting a party this weekend. While it’s not the official Higgyball event (full details on our rescheduled event still to come), this is a fun substitute.

Here are the details:

• Saturday, May 29, 2021
• 11:00am until ??
• Miss Jacque to perform 5:00pm to 8:00pm
• Bocce, pool, sun, and fun
• Bring a snack, grillables, drinks
• Kids welcome, too!
• 7650 King Rd, Oxford, OH 45056

…but not quite.

Your friendly neighborhood Higgyball Council continues to be committed to the safety of our Higgy-family. And, while many of us are taking measures to protect ourselves, there are still members of our community that need our protection. Namely, our kids.

There is some good news, however. According to the powers that be, children’s trials are already in progress and vaccines for our mini-ballers COULD be expected as early as this summer.

At this point I think we can roughly forecast a Labor Day tournament on Saturday, Sept 4, 2021. So, take the opportunity to get with/find your/a partner and start training. Rest assured that your Higgyball Council members are communicating, and that you can expect more updates and details as we continue to make progress regarding safety measures.

H17 is so close I can smell the sausage. On behalf of the fellas, we look forward to seeing you all on the field very soon.