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History of Wallyball
Wallyball was invented in Calabasas, CA, in the summer of 1979 by Joe Garcia. The sport was created to provide racquetball club owners with an alternative use for empty courts due to the decline in the popularity of racquetball.
Wallyball seems to be most popular in the Midwest and East, where the weather drives people indoors looking for fun and exercise, although San Diego has one of the largest year round wallyball programs in the world. Probably the most famous wallyball players of all time were President George Bush, who gave up his horseshoes for wallyball during his presidency and his son President George W. Bush. Click here to read about "Presidential Wallyball".
Joe spent a lot of time and energy traveling around the country promoting his new sport. As a result of his tireless efforts, wallyball exists today giving pleasure to millions of players world wide.
Joe eventually sold his rights to the game to Mike O'Hara, a businessman and former Olympic men's volleyball player. Mike then created Wallyball International Inc. (WII) and set out to sanction tournaments and leagues throughout the United States.
In 1989, some members of the executive committee of WII disagreed with the direction Mike was taking the sport, so they broke with Mike and formed the American Wallyball Association (AWA). Rudy Morel, the leader of the AWA was one of these individuals. The AWA and the WII were now competing organizations.
In the past, both organizations held State Championship tournaments in many states, and both held separate National Championship tournaments each year. The AWA also hosted international tournaments in a variety of other countries.
Up until 2002, it both organizations were pretty passive.
The WII sponsored just the single tournament most years. I recently (4/01) talked with Mike O'Hara about his plans for the sport and Mike admitted that he has hit a stone wall in his attempts to promote the sport further.
Mike stated that it takes sponsors (read "money") to effectively promote the sport and over the years he has been in contact with lots of potential sponsors. However, he believes that the sport is not conducive to being broadcast on TV. Therefore, it's not possible to reach out to a large audience, something a sponsor needs to sell it's products. So the WII will not be doing anything to promote the sport other than host an occasional "National Championship Tournament".
The AWA has tried to set itself up as a clearing house for wallyball information worldwide, and they sell wallyball related supplies and equipment. However, if you check out their web site, you will find old, outdated information. Very little effort is being expended in maintenance of the site - except for the area where products are being sold.
The AWA advertises several local tournaments throughout the year, and they offer financial support to a few tournaments each year. But in recent years they have not been successful in ensuring that there are separate State Championship Tournaments, and they don't sponsor a National Championship Tournament each year. This is unfortunate as there are many of us that love to compete with, and against, "new opponents" in tournaments and leagues.
In 2001, Joe Garcia re-surfaced with the desire to pick up where he left off. Joe really wants wallyball to grow and become a more popular sport. Joe's eventual goal is to make wallyball an Olympic event.
Joe tried to partner with Rudy Morel and Mike O'Hara in an effort to focus all three organization's efforts toward promoting the sport. But Joe's efforts were strongly opposed by both Mike O'Hara and Rudy Morel. It's hard to accept that these two individuals that have had such a presence in the sport in the past are opposing plans to grow the sport.
Rudy's reasons are fairly obvious. He needs to protect his company from competition. The AWA sells wallyball equipment, and if competition exists, profits go down.
As for Mike's reasons,.......it's probably just a grudge between former partners.
In May of 2001 Joe debuted a new wallyball website. This was his first step in putting together a coalition of wallyball players that will be willing to volunteer some of their time and professional expertise to get the ball rolling.
In November of 2001 a new wallyball association was born. The Association of United Wallyball Players (AUWP) came alive with a new website in March of 2002. This is a non-profit Association that is truly devoted to the players.
You will never guess what happened next!
Late in 2002 Rudy Morel and Mike O'Hara agreed to jointly sponsor the next WII National Championship Tournament scheduled in New York in March of 2003.
Of course one of the big questions players wanted answered had to do with the rules to be used in the tournament. Both the AWA and the WII have published rule books, and the rules differ in some respects. One of the biggest differences concerned the legality of blocking the serve. The AWA rules don't allow blocking the serve, while the WII rules do allow it. In the end, they decided to use the WII rules.
What might have been the catalyst that caused these two long term adversaries to jointly sponsor a tournament?
It's generally accepted that the advent of the AUWP is what brought these two individuals back together. Time will tell if the relationship sticks, but it appears that the AUWP has shown both of them that they need to get proactive and start building the sport again. They appear to be content being the AUWP's competitor for now. But most loyal wallyball addicts most likely hope that this is just another step toward the eventual unification of the three organizations.
Tachikara, the world's largest producer of volleyballs, took note of the goals and management of the AUWP and agreed to partner with the new association. Tachikara produced a new line of wallyballs for the AUWP. For the first time, wallyball will be played with a multi-colored ball (players can't get away with bad set's anymore).
In addition, Tachikara developed an eighteen panel wallyball (the first of it's kind), and tests have shown that the ball is a big improvement over the twelve panel balls. Players love the feel of the new ball, especially when setting the ball.
Tachikara has also produced a new wallyball net for the AUWP.
The Original Ball Bag company also took note of the AUWP and they agreed to underwrite the cost of the new AUWP rule book. A new ball bag will be produced for wallyball players. This new bag will join the current product line that includes ball bags for the NBA, Disney, McDonalds and others.
If you love the sport of wallyball, you may be just the person we are looking for. We will be asking for help from volunteers to take on a variety of projects. I have to tell you that this Association has HUGE plans. I back it 100%, and I'm sure that once you have seen what is planned, and understand how it will benefit you, you will want to become involved.
Wallyball was invented in Calabasas, CA, in the summer of 1979 by Joe Garcia. The sport was created to provide racquetball club owners with an alternative use for empty courts due to the decline in the popularity of racquetball.
Wallyball seems to be most popular in the Midwest and East, where the weather drives people indoors looking for fun and exercise, although San Diego has one of the largest year round wallyball programs in the world. Probably the most famous wallyball players of all time were President George Bush, who gave up his horseshoes for wallyball during his presidency and his son President George W. Bush. Click here to read about "Presidential Wallyball".
Joe spent a lot of time and energy traveling around the country promoting his new sport. As a result of his tireless efforts, wallyball exists today giving pleasure to millions of players world wide.
Joe eventually sold his rights to the game to Mike O'Hara, a businessman and former Olympic men's volleyball player. Mike then created Wallyball International Inc. (WII) and set out to sanction tournaments and leagues throughout the United States.
In 1989, some members of the executive committee of WII disagreed with the direction Mike was taking the sport, so they broke with Mike and formed the American Wallyball Association (AWA). Rudy Morel, the leader of the AWA was one of these individuals. The AWA and the WII were now competing organizations.
In the past, both organizations held State Championship tournaments in many states, and both held separate National Championship tournaments each year. The AWA also hosted international tournaments in a variety of other countries.
Up until 2002, it both organizations were pretty passive.
The WII sponsored just the single tournament most years. I recently (4/01) talked with Mike O'Hara about his plans for the sport and Mike admitted that he has hit a stone wall in his attempts to promote the sport further.
Mike stated that it takes sponsors (read "money") to effectively promote the sport and over the years he has been in contact with lots of potential sponsors. However, he believes that the sport is not conducive to being broadcast on TV. Therefore, it's not possible to reach out to a large audience, something a sponsor needs to sell it's products. So the WII will not be doing anything to promote the sport other than host an occasional "National Championship Tournament".
The AWA has tried to set itself up as a clearing house for wallyball information worldwide, and they sell wallyball related supplies and equipment. However, if you check out their web site, you will find old, outdated information. Very little effort is being expended in maintenance of the site - except for the area where products are being sold.
The AWA advertises several local tournaments throughout the year, and they offer financial support to a few tournaments each year. But in recent years they have not been successful in ensuring that there are separate State Championship Tournaments, and they don't sponsor a National Championship Tournament each year. This is unfortunate as there are many of us that love to compete with, and against, "new opponents" in tournaments and leagues.
In 2001, Joe Garcia re-surfaced with the desire to pick up where he left off. Joe really wants wallyball to grow and become a more popular sport. Joe's eventual goal is to make wallyball an Olympic event.
Joe tried to partner with Rudy Morel and Mike O'Hara in an effort to focus all three organization's efforts toward promoting the sport. But Joe's efforts were strongly opposed by both Mike O'Hara and Rudy Morel. It's hard to accept that these two individuals that have had such a presence in the sport in the past are opposing plans to grow the sport.
Rudy's reasons are fairly obvious. He needs to protect his company from competition. The AWA sells wallyball equipment, and if competition exists, profits go down.
As for Mike's reasons,.......it's probably just a grudge between former partners.
In May of 2001 Joe debuted a new wallyball website. This was his first step in putting together a coalition of wallyball players that will be willing to volunteer some of their time and professional expertise to get the ball rolling.
In November of 2001 a new wallyball association was born. The Association of United Wallyball Players (AUWP) came alive with a new website in March of 2002. This is a non-profit Association that is truly devoted to the players.
You will never guess what happened next!
Late in 2002 Rudy Morel and Mike O'Hara agreed to jointly sponsor the next WII National Championship Tournament scheduled in New York in March of 2003.
Of course one of the big questions players wanted answered had to do with the rules to be used in the tournament. Both the AWA and the WII have published rule books, and the rules differ in some respects. One of the biggest differences concerned the legality of blocking the serve. The AWA rules don't allow blocking the serve, while the WII rules do allow it. In the end, they decided to use the WII rules.
What might have been the catalyst that caused these two long term adversaries to jointly sponsor a tournament?
It's generally accepted that the advent of the AUWP is what brought these two individuals back together. Time will tell if the relationship sticks, but it appears that the AUWP has shown both of them that they need to get proactive and start building the sport again. They appear to be content being the AUWP's competitor for now. But most loyal wallyball addicts most likely hope that this is just another step toward the eventual unification of the three organizations.
Tachikara, the world's largest producer of volleyballs, took note of the goals and management of the AUWP and agreed to partner with the new association. Tachikara produced a new line of wallyballs for the AUWP. For the first time, wallyball will be played with a multi-colored ball (players can't get away with bad set's anymore).
In addition, Tachikara developed an eighteen panel wallyball (the first of it's kind), and tests have shown that the ball is a big improvement over the twelve panel balls. Players love the feel of the new ball, especially when setting the ball.
Tachikara has also produced a new wallyball net for the AUWP.
The Original Ball Bag company also took note of the AUWP and they agreed to underwrite the cost of the new AUWP rule book. A new ball bag will be produced for wallyball players. This new bag will join the current product line that includes ball bags for the NBA, Disney, McDonalds and others.
If you love the sport of wallyball, you may be just the person we are looking for. We will be asking for help from volunteers to take on a variety of projects. I have to tell you that this Association has HUGE plans. I back it 100%, and I'm sure that once you have seen what is planned, and understand how it will benefit you, you will want to become involved.
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