With sand volleyball season in full swing, it’s not unusual to see a multitude of people convene at the local courts. Players with the Richland Area Volleyball League are among those to hit the courts at Lexington Community Park—a tradition that has been going strong for the last 11 years thanks to Scott and Gretchen Bobst of Mansfield.
The Bobsts founded the Richland Area Volleyball League in 2003. Prior to the formation of their league, the couple participated in a league at Kelly’s Dairy Bar in Mansfield. In 2002, the volleyball courts were removed from Kelly’s Dairy Bar, leaving them without a place to play, Gretchen Bobst said.
While driving through Lexington, however, she noticed the volleyball courts at Lexington Community Park, causing her to think that maybe their summer fun activity wouldn’t dissolve after all. After receiving assurance from fellow volleyball players that they would be interested in playing at a new location, and after a successful meeting with the Lexington Village Council and Park Board, the Bobsts moved forward to start a new league, which they dubbed Richland Area Volleyball.
They tried to pick a name that was representative of the group, given that many of the players resided in homes spread throughout the county.
A couple years after the formation of their league, the group put in an extra volleyball court at Lexington Community Park, bringing the number of courts up to three. “We put in a third court because the league was growing and we had a lot of interest,” Gretchen Bobst explained.
She said there are roughly 65 people who participate in the league. “Some years we have more people; it just depends really,” she said. She noted that in the past, they had to set up an extra court in the grass to accommodate the number of people who would like to play.
“There are some pretty good teams, with various age groups,” Scott Bobst said. The ages of those who play range from about 14-60 years old, Gretchen Bobst said.
Because Lexington Community Park’s volleyball courts are located within the floodplain, Gretchen Bobst said, the courts are sometimes subject to flooding. “Last year was probably one of the worst years as far as rainfall and flooding in the park,” she said.
For the most part, players enjoy participating in the league for both physical and social activity, Gretchen Bobst said. “I think a lot of them enjoy being active in the summertime, and they enjoy the social side of things…They get to meet people that they wouldn’t otherwise have met,” she said.
Kim Scheurer of Madison said, “I just love the game.”
The group meets every Monday and Wednesday evening to play for two to two and a half hours. Six-person teams play Monday evening and four-person teams play Wednesday evening.
The league begins playing at the beginning of June and concludes their season by the end of August with two weeks of tournaments.
Although the season is coming to a close, Scott Bobst noted that the league is hosting the Lexington Blueberry Festival Volleyball Bash 2014 on Aug. 16 and 17 at Lexington Community Park, 158 Plymouth St. in Lexington.
The tournament format will be six-person teams on Saturday (33 percent must be female) and four-person teams on Sunday (50 percent must be female). Team sign-in is at 11:30 a.m. and the matches begin at noon both days.
Registration costs $20 per player. Participants under the age of 18 must provide a minor waiver signed by their parent/guardian. To pre-register, call or text Scott Bobst at 419-632-4400 or email him at sbobst@hotmail.com.
