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30 teams play in Hotlanta Classic
Tournament part of gay volleyball circuit

By Matt Hennie
Southern Voice
Reprinted by permission of SoVo

The Hotlanta Volleyball Assn. showed that the sport isn’t just a West Coast phenomenon.

Some 30 teams and a few hundred gay athletes filled up six courts at Emory University on July 21-22 for the Hotlanta Classic XVI, the annual tournament of the volleyball association that this year served as the unofficial start of the season. Teams are vying for a spot at the North American Gay Volleyball Assn. (NAGVA) Championships in Miami next year.

And with nine teams from Atlanta and several from East Coast cities including New York and Washington, D.C., taking part, it’s clear that the sport best associated with the sunny beaches of California is expanding its reach.

“I don’t think you could have a better quality tournament for the start of the NAGVA season,” said Dave Adams, HVA tournament director. “The event shows the passion for volleyball. That’s what helps makes it a good tournament.”

Participants seemed to agree.

“It’s been fun, well organized and competitive,” said Jeff Kreiling, a member of the Ft. Lauderdale Bottoms & Tops Squad that took first place in the event’s top division. “People have been very hospitable.”

Manuel Ramirez, a member of the Houston Heat who also helped referee, said the tournament served as an effective tune-ip for the team, which heads to a tournament in Chicago in August. The gay volleyball circuit also makes stops in Vancouver; San Antonio; Columbus, Ohio; Anaheim, Calif.; Minneapolis; Dallas; San Diego; and New Orleans.

“The tournament’s been great and accessible. The facilities are amazing,” Ramirez said.

Anthony Young, who’s played with the Atlanta Eclipse for four years, said he picked up volleyball to try a new sport and step away from stereotypes. At 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing in at 230 pounds, he often gets mistaken for a basketball player.

“People see me and they think I should play basketball,” Young said. “Volleyball is fun, it’s organized and it’s not like basketball where you have some hot heads. In volleyball, you have to have all players playing. It’s not a one-man show.”

Adams said the tournament could easily expand to 40 teams to take full advantage of the eight courts available at Emory’s Woodruff PE Center. The event’s success, he said, was due to HVA directors and a crew of other volunteers that helped with logistics, tracked scores during matches, picked up trash and restocked drinks and snacks.

“None of us slept on Friday night after the registration. We were all so nervous and just wanted it to go well and it did,” Adams said. “If things don’t go well, it is very well voiced.”

Copyright 2007, Southern Voice

July 31, 2007