Alex Waite could not be prouder of Spikeball Club, one of Florida Southern College’s newest extracurriculars, already at 100 members and counting.
Even on a Florida Southern College campus where extracurriculars and clubs are abundant, the newly established club has carved out its own niche.
“We didn’t necessarily want to start a club but we were like, where’s the Spikeball Club at?” Alex explained in an interview about how the club was founded
“So we decided to take matters into our own hands… and we started getting some interest”.
Spikeball is often associated with being a casual beach game— but it has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, even seeing screen time on ESPN. The club is an exemplar of this trend, and has attracted Florida Southern players of all skill levels. The club recently hosted its first tournament, with 10 teams competing for prizes and bragging rights.
A major milestone for the club was becoming officially recognized by the Student Government Association (SGA). “We actually very recently just became an SGA recognized club,” Alex said. “We had to go to a few of the President’s Circle meetings throughout the course of this semester to get ourselves a spot, and we had to just give a little small presentation about Spikeball Club and… how it’s going to benefit the school. And we got asked a few questions and we were able to convince everyone that it was a good club on campus that deserves to be SGA funded.”
One of the club’s ongoing challenges has been accessibility. Tony Varrone, a member who hasn’t attended practices due to scheduling conflicts, highlighted the issue.
“I haven’t been to a Spikeball meeting at all because they’ve been scheduled every single time when I have class.”
“I’d say that’s one of the biggest challenges,” Alex said. He plans to change the scheduling around next semester to improve accessibility.
Alex envisions the club in the future could expand and open up new opportunities. “We could go to different schools, we could compete with different schools… the winning pot could be significantly higher… It’s just a matter of time,” Alex said.
Students looking for a bit of competition in their Spikeball games, or even those just looking for a fun, casual activity are welcome to come out.
“We’ll have people that are looking to compete and then people that are looking to just have fun,” Alex said. “The opportunities are endless”.
To join the Spikeball Club GroupMe for announcements and updates, click the link below:
https://groupme.com/join_group/102497808/B7EWLy0C
For information on Spikeball, click the link below: