Rob’s Blog….

It was August 2008 and I had left my 3 young children and adoring wife to attend something called The Growler that was the idea of one of Springdale’s little regarded member’s Mark Williams and one of his few friends.  I remember thinking at the time that I would go and play a couple of games and maybe have a beer and then go straight home from the event which I was sure would be lame.  At the time I was doing some volunteer work for the McCain/Palin ticket and I was really looking forward to listening to all the wisdom that Sarah Palin was going to be able to impart upon the American people over the next 8 years and I was appreciative that I would never have to hear the name Hillary Clinton again.

Obviously I am not very good at predicting the future. (I’ve put entire companies out of business by investing in them) but who could have known how big The Growler would become?  I believe that it would be easy to argue that The Growler is the single greatest thing to happen to Raleigh if not the world since 2008.  It’s almost as if Mark Williams is trying to overcompensate for something.   For those who have never played in the Growler before hold on to your freakin hats and get ready for 4 weeks of inebriated volleyball mediocrity.  The Growler has done more to sell Advil and kill office production on Wednesdays than any other event in Raleigh history.   This year will be the biggest ever with 32 teams, 7 clubs, 2 bands and who know how many kegs.  I realize that most people attend to see me with my shirt off and find out whether “clean cut” or “street person” Gary Caiola will show up but those other things should make for a fun event as well.  It’s the only 4 days of the that your kids have to watch you compete.

An event of this magnitude does not occur without the help of many people.  As with most events a few people do the work for the masses.  If you have time and even if you don’t have time perhaps you could help with the event:

Sat. 7/26 Starts at 9 AM – until the work is done….at Springdale.   We have lots to do: tents, lights, set up nets and boundary lines, rake sand, build stage, backstop nets, get water, put up banners, etc.  Lunch, water and beer will be provided.
Player Bag Stuffing- Monday 7/28  7:30 at Springdale-   beer and water provided (sorry no pizza this year)
Game Day Set Up-  Wed 7/30– Come out any time after 1 PM.- Sign up
You can sign up here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiKeb_3QlT2DdHNEX040UTA2ZzFGYUs4T3FzaGFoanc&usp=drive_web#gid=0

In advance I would like to thank all those who make my Tuesday evenings in August as unmemorable as possible and for God’s sake bring The Growler Trophy back to Springdale where it belongs!

Sincerely,

Rob Caulfield “Master of none”

2014 Team Registration-  Deadline for captains to submit Team Registration Forms is July 11th.  You can tweak your rosters up until the opening night, but this will guarantee your shirt order.  The registration form can be found at >>>   http://growlervolleyball.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-Team-Registration-Form.xlsx   

Plans are underway for an even larger Growler format this year.  We will cap out with a 32 team format without giving up the number of games each team plays.   32 teams allows an even 8 flights of  4 teams each.   The schedule will be similar to years past.  One interesting twist with the seedings, is that we will schedule the top 8 teams to be in 2 of the flights.  This means that they will play a round robin of each other in a more competitive bracket.   The other 24 teams will play no more than 2 of their 11 games against the A bracket.  There will be incentives for the A team Bracket.   They will be guaranteed a top 9 seeding the final night and they will not have to play on grass the first night.

The opening night will be moved to WEDNESDAY this year, due to scheduling conflicts with the TSA swim team schedule and school start dates.  The other 3 nights will be Tuesday nights as usual.

We hope to top our earnings of $20,000 for St. Baldrick’s this year.  Start soliciting donations.  Also check with your employer to see if they will match contributions.  Our 2014 St Baldricks site will be up soon.

Start forming your teams now and get out on the volleyball courts.

Look forward to another great GROWLER.

Mark Williams
Growler Tournament Director

I used to sit in front of a mirrors for 30 minutes, sometimes an hour fixing my hair. I loved it. I would spend hundreds of dollars a year cutting it, straightening it, and coloring it.

Since telling people that I would be shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research I have been called brave. Ha! After sitting in the pediatric cancer clinic week after week, watching a clinic full of kids get chemo, and being on the 5th floor for weeks at the time, and sitting in the recovery room waiting for my child to wake up from anesthesia every day for 27 treatments of radiation at UNC-Hospitals I have had the pleasure of meetiing brave and courageous people, and hair ain’t got noting to do with it. It’s all heart.

So I ask you today to have a heart for all these little warriors. If the action of me shaving my head inspires you in any way, please reach in your wallet or purse and make a donation this organization.

If you don’t know how much to donate, how about $27.00 for the 27 radiation my little warrior received. Or how about $55.00 for the 55 weeks of chemo, blood, and platelets. Or how about $100 for the 100 nights we had to spend in or around the hospital getting the chemo. I donated $182 to represent all these figures.

Please share this post in an effort to raise money for a worthy cause. Hair grows back, Kids don’t.

Melissa Markham   http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/655075/2013 

Some Highlights—-

I’ve had a few questions on how to participate with our goal of helping the children.

First here is our event.  Toward the bottom of the page you will see teams and participants.  Usually its best to click on show all teams and find the team you would like to support.  If you team is not on there, you will want to start the team or talk to your team captain to see if they want to start the team.  Once your team is listed, click on the team name and you can either click the “Join Us”  button which will make you a participate on that team or you can donate to that team directly.  If you are unsure on if you are doing it correct, I suggest doing a sample 5 dollar amount to make sure everything does what you think it would.  Then go back and give more.  Thanks.

Pre-Registration is Closed..

We’ll have 28 teams this year!  Springdale and Lake Park will have one additional team from last year.
This year we will have A New Team made up of our SPONSORS

One of the goals each year is to raise more money then the previous year. In order to come close to achieving that goal, this year we will be implementing a new wrinkle. This year the team that raises the most money (must be before final night so brackets can be finalized) has the option to elect to take 5th seed in the playoffs thus having a first round bye and only having to play 4 games to win. If they would have been the 25th seed team and they raised the most on the website, they will be the 5th seeded team and everyone else will be pushed down one spot.  Also, if the team that raised the most money finishes in the top 4 seeds they have the option to take any seed 1 – 4.

Opening night only: Have your team bring a couple of 5 dollar bills each as you will be able to purchase mulligans (a do-over) on your serves only.   We will have containers attached to the poles on each court. If your serve goes out or doesn’t make it in the net, quickly put a 5 dollar bill in the container and serve again. 5 dollars washes away your serving mistakes. If you want to arrange with other team in advance and just drop a 20 into the jar and prepay for four serving mistakes great.  No refunds and only for that games’ mistakes. Speed is still of the essence but we want your money for St Baldric’s.