A Muddy Good Time

At today’s Mud Volleyball and Dodgeball Tournaments in Richmond Heights, more than 4,500 amateur athletes get down and dirty. The action takes place in 40 pits, which organizers fill with water to make a very muddy, very messy playing field. “You get extremely dirty,” says Scott Baltusnik, director of the 22nd-annual tourney. “People dive, jump, and wrestle in the mud.”

Each team (10 players for volleyball, 6 for dodgeball) plays five matches. The top four squads in each sport then square off in the finals. Winners snag commemorative sweatshirts. Afterward, everyone snacks on appetizers and downs some beer. “There’s a lot of drinking, so we throw a bonfire and encourage people to camp out and stay overnight,” says Baltusnik. “It’s an excuse for adults to be kids again.”
Sat., July 21, 9 a.m.