Higgyball Online

This is your reminder about Higgyball sign-ups happening this Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 12:00pm ET. An email will go out with the link for teams to enter their information and pay the $10 registration fee. Spots are limited, so be sure to get in early!

A few other things:

• Keep an eye on the teams that sign up on the Bracket page.
• If you don’t have a partner, don’t register a team! Please add yourself to the Free Agents list instead.
• When all spots have been filled, the Wait List will open up. If you didn’t make it in on Sunday, don’t despair! We almost always have a team drop out and need to fill a slot, and we take first from the Wait List.
• While you’re on the site, don’t forget to look at Shirts (sales end 5/15), add to the Food Registry, and add to the Music Registry (the form is in the sidebar on any page).
• We’ve added a new rule this year! It’s called a “baci”, and you’ll love it. Click here for more information.

Hello Higgyballers!

We are in need of a special someone to step up and fill an important role in the operations of this year’s Higgyball event. Holly, our gracious deck manager from recent years, will not be able to attend this year’s tournament. Therefore, we’re looking for a replacement.

This person will need to do the following the day of the event:

• Be at the event for the duration, including 30 minutes prior to the start of the tournament, until the awards ceremony.
• Be comfortable using a computer, specifically the custom tournament app created to manage the tournament rounds (don’t worry, instructions are included).
• Assist people with connecting to the event Wi-Fi and loading the mobile app.
• Check-in teams prior to the start of the event.
• Assign teams to open fields during the Swiss Pairing rounds, taking care to avoid teams playing on the same field too often.
• Record match scores after the completion of games to keep the rounds moving swiftly.
• Assist with the management of the knockout tournament after the Swiss Pair rounds have completed.
• Record MVP voting from people later in the day.
• Answer or find the answer to any questions people may have.
• Stay (relatively) sober for the duration of the tournament, and yet be able to deal with drunken idiots.
• Be awesome.

It sounds like a lot, but it’s truly a lot of fun. If you’re not playing on a team, this could be a great way to be a part of the event. Please send a resume with three references (just kidding) to mark.r.walker@gmail.com. We hope to hear from you very soon!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the organizers, I’m proud to announce the 13th Annual Higgyball Memorial Bocce Ball Tournament.  This year will mark the 10th anniversary of bocce mayhem at the home of Marc and Danielle Tincher.  Don’t hesitate to pass on your gratitude for their hard work, kindness, and hospitality over the last decade!
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.  In our constant attempt to improve things every year, we’ve done away with the clunky old listserv and created a shiny new post alert system that will be mailed directly to your inbox from www.higgyball.com.  Please spread the word to interested parties; there’s a post on the front page for others to sign up.

2.  Team registration (2 players per team) will occur at 12:00 noon on Sunday, May 1st.  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 1st).  A total of 28 teams will be granted entry into the tournament.

3.  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!

4.  H13 will be held on Saturday May 28th, 2016 at 11:00 AM at the Tincher homestead in Oxford, Ohio.  An address and directions will be provided on the website.  We will reserve Sunday, May 29th as a “rain day”.

5.  Be sure to sign up in the Food Registry!  It takes an awful lot of food to feed everybody twice during the day.

6.  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 on Higgyball Online.  Also be sure to send us any pics from last years tournament.

7.  Grab your favorite H13 souvenir T-shirt.  There are some great designs to choose from this year for both the ladies and gents!  T-shirt sales will close May 15th in order to have it all printed by the tourney.

8.  Once logged in to Higgyball Online, you’ll have the opportunity to be part of this year’s soundtrack! Use the Music Registry form in the right sidebar and supply us with your favorite song!

9.  In an effort to increase public safety, we’d like to encourage participants to stay the night and camp.  This year we’ll be promoting a “tent city” atmosphere which could make for a very fun after party.  This being said, we are also discussing the possibilities of a shuttle system.  If you are planning to be a sober guest at this year’s event and would be interested in running a shuttle, please contact Andy, Mark, Nate, or myself.

10. 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.

So, polish your balls, spit-shine your medals, and lay out your jerseys.  It’s officially bocce season, folks!

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

Sincerely,
Patrick Lytle
Higgyball Council

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We’re only 100 days until Higgyball13 on May 28, 2016! To get you excited for this year’s event (as if you needed any more reason!), Paddy has released the logo that you’ll find on our t-shirts (coming soon) etc. Check it out here!

Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

Congrats to House Team, champions of Higgyball12. Everyone knows the story: most 2nd place finishes; more medals than any other team; participants in every Higgyball since the beginning, all without ever tasting glory from the Cup. Well, that ended yesterday. Congrats, guys! Here’s to another 12 years before you win again!

We had a team drop out, so if you were on the fence before, now’s your chance! Go to the Team Registration page to sign up.

For those new to Higgyball, we will once again be using the latest technology for scorekeeping at H12. The wonderful volunteers on the deck will assign teams to fields for each game, but players and spectators alike can follow along using the Higgyball Scoresheet web app at the event. We’ll have a Wi-Fi network that covers most of the fields that everyone can connect to and access the web app via their phone’s web browser (no Internet access on this Wi-Fi, unfortunately). You can get a preview of the web app here: http://app.higgyball.com

Game results will be entered at the deck, but teams can see their progress (and everyone else’s progress) with the app. At the event, teams will get their access code, but spectators can follow along on the scoreboard, and everyone can view the map and read the rules, participate in MVP voting (which opens later in the day), and upload photos (still a work-in-progress; hopefully it will work this time). For prep, team members with smart phones (or iPod Touch) should learn how to enable Airplane mode on their phones (iOS, Android, Windows), since mobile data service is spotty at the event, and it’ll save your battery with Airplane mode enabled (and still allow you to enable Wi-Fi to connect to the Wi-Fi network).

If you have any questions or concerns, please let Mark know.

Higgyball12 is May 23, 2015 at 11:00am SHARP. If your team is not yet registered, add yourself to the Wait List.

Here’s a map to the location for you noobs out there:

Also, keep an eye on the weather. It’ll change a dozen times between now and then. Don’t forget your sunscreen!

Finally, don’t forget to claim something on the Food Registry or buy a t-shirt. Orders for shirts will end on Friday, May 15, 2015.

It’s finally here! Go to the Team Registration page to register your team. You’ll need your team name along with both team members (sorry, we cannot take reservations if you don’t have a partner. Use the Free Agent list to find one). When paying via PayPal (you can use a credit card with PayPal), please make sure you click continue through the PayPal screens to end up back here at Higgyball.com, to make sure everything works correctly. Let me know if you have any trouble.

Once you’ve registered, check out the Bracket page to see the teams fill up.

Update: We’re full! Sign up on the Wait List if you still want to play. You might get lucky.