SALT RIVER PIMA MARICOPA INDIAN COMMUNITY, Ariz. — The atmosphere inside the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community rec center was strong at the start of a two-day tournament featuring 24 teams from three states. I was full of expectations.
Team captains gathered around a long table to hear the rules from team organizers and referees for one of Indian Country's most popular games: No Swearing. Don't yell at officials. There are no spikes. And perhaps the most important rule: “Always keep your butt on the chair. The 'one cheek' rule does not apply here.”
Yes, my butt is sitting on the chair. These teams were itching to compete in the 2nd Annual Salt River Senior Chair Volleyball Tournament, nicknamed “The Big One.” Teams with names like Tribal Roots, Puma Puma, Native Chaos, Fort McDowell Firebirds and Blackwater Jackrabbits competed against each other and against tribal teams from Arizona, California and Nevada.
Chair volleyball is taking the senior centers of India by storm. Dozens of teams have been formed over the past decade, and seniors can be found honing their skills, serves and game strategies in tribal communities across the region. One tribe in Washington state included a chair volleyball match with tribal council members as part of a meeting with tribal elders.
This game provides seniors over 55 with physical and mental exercise and the opportunity to interact with other indigenous people. It also gives silver athletes a chance to win a gold medal, or at least continue playing the sport after retirement.
Jennifer Viaco, a family physician with Phoenix-based community health provider Native Health, said chair volleyball can help seniors reach their goal of getting 150 minutes of physical activity each week. ”“It also supports cardiovascular health, increases upper body strength, promotes hand-eye coordination and stretching, and helps improve self-esteem,” she said.
David Willis, athletic manager for the City of Salt River's Community Recreation Services Department, said the game can also help get older adults out of the house, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to stay home. Yes, he said.
“I'm looking forward to seeing them do well,” he said. “Our elders hang out and travel every weekend.” Willis said the seniors hold karaoke nights and other social events during weekend tournaments. “They go out and meet.
“They are more active than our young people!”
“It’s like a class reunion.”
Brian Smith, a member of the Salt River Tribal community, leads the Nyaa Tosh team. “These are names for 'sun' in Pee Posh and Pima, so we are the Suns,” said Lewis, 64.
Smith designed the team T-shirts to reflect the sun and earth. Previous shirts were reminiscent of twilight or basket designs. Current shirts have faded from bright red to a muted teal.
Smith, a former firefighter, said he played all kinds of sports, including baseball. Chair volleyball wasn't high on his list of games.
“I didn't want to do it at first because I didn't want people to think I was getting old,” he said. However, thinking he could continue playing sports as he gets older, he joined the chair volleyball team about two years ago.
Smith said after having a great experience at a chair volleyball tournament in Pala, Calif., home of the Para Band of Mission Indians, the Salt River seniors wanted an event of their own. Participation was limited to 24 teams this year due to construction, but he said he expects more teams to participate as more space becomes available.
Large tournaments, like the one held at the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe's Abi Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nevada, feature nearly 70 teams. Smith said he was proud that his relatively new team finished fourth out of 67 teams competing for top honors in the Avi tournament.
Camaraderie ranks high among Smith's goals for the chair volleyball team. He said he started hanging out with people he knew in the community.
“People come up and say, 'I used to play softball with you,'” he says. “It's like a class reunion.”
Willis said the game helps build social bonds within the senior community beyond the tournament. “They're spending more time with their friends,” he says. “They go to dinners and yard sales.”
And the people, personalities and characters of Salt River's community of more than 1,000 Elders make it fun to come to work, Willis said.
From social hour friends to competitors
Once social etiquette is gone, upperclassmen play hard to move up the bracket. It happened a few weeks ago at the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community rec center gym.
The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians was bussing in elders from a reservation in Southern California. The other seniors carpooled to the rec center. The players, some of whom used wheelchairs or electric scooters, wore colorful T-shirts emblazoned with their team names and logos.
Chair volleyball teams use regulation courts, but with lower nets and regulation beach balls instead of traditional volleyballs. Teams play his two best of his three matches, with each match lasting his 10 minutes or at the point when one team has scored his 15 points.
Most of the rules are the same as regular volleyball. All player chairs must face forward and all four legs must be firmly placed on the floor. While some chair volleyball teams allow players to keep only a portion of their seat on the seat, Salt River players require their entire back to rest firmly on the chair. it needs to be checked. If a violation occurs, points will be awarded to the other team. The wheels of your wheelchair or electric scooter must be locked. Rolling play is prohibited.
After two days of frenetic play, one winner has made it to the bracket. It's Turtle II from Pala. The team, based in northern San Diego County, wore bright green and yellow shirts featuring the Palaelder logo, a turtle decorated with feathers.
Willis said plans are underway for the third tournament and he hopes 40 teams will participate.
“I'm really happy to see my seniors doing well,'' he said. The Tribal Recreation Department serves tribal members ranging in age from he-3 to she-99, but they didn't want to leave out the elders.
Smith said Nya Soshu plays to win, but they also play to lift each other up.
“We have developed a friendship where we each have different strengths,” he said. “I tell my team there's no worst player, we're all on the same page.”
Debra Kroll reports on indigenous communities at the intersection of climate, culture, and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Please contact Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X (previously her Twitter @debkrol). Our coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation.
