Stonewall Philly Announces Winter Dodgeball and Volleyball Leagues, Plus a New Way to Give Back to The Community

On Sunday, Stonewall Kickball wrapped up its fall season with a tournament and booze-fueled celebratory banquet at Field House, but fans of the league won’t have to wait till spring to slip into their short shorts and move balls into goal thingies. Stonewall announced it is branching beyond kickball to launch its first-ever Philadelphia dodgeball and volleyball leagues, both starting in January.

Registration opens on Wednesday, November, 19th, when LGBT athletes can sign up for either (or both) sports. Here are the details on each, according to volleyball league organizer Justin Nordell:

• Dodgeball will start January 11, 2015, and run Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Saint Paul’s Community Center, just a few blocks off the Spring Garden Broad Street Line. The space is fantastic, complete with locker rooms and showers (!), a full kitchen, and a piano.
• Volleyball will start January 13, 2015, and run Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. at Parkway High School, just one block from the Spring Garden Broad Street Line.

But the added leagues isn’t the only change taking place in the way Stonewall’s doing things going forward. Nordell tells me that, “Built into registration will be a pot of money that the top three winning teams will get to donate to a Philadelphia LGBT nonprofit of their choice. So if you want to make sure GALAEI, the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund, or The Attic Youth Center get the money, put together an awesome team and win it for them!

At the banquet yesterday, for instance, Stonewall teams donated $6,500 to the William Way Community Center and Mazzoni Center. So these aren’t just a bunch of cute faces in booty shorts filling up your Instagram feed—these kids are working those balls for a cause.

To sign up for the volleyball or dodgeball leagues, go to stonewallphilly.org at noon Wednesday, November 19th. There, Nordell says, “you can join an established team, create your own or sign up as a free agent to play with new friends and teammates.” It costs $45 to sign up for dodgeball, and $55 to sign up for volleyball. Each person who signs up gets a T-shirt.

Go teams!