Growling 1n the right ways

> Men’s volleyball has big showing at Provincials

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

oming into the PACWEST Provincial

Championships, nothing was
really expected out of the fifth-seeded
Douglas College Royals. While they
were expected to make the playoffs,
many had them placed as a quarter-final
exit. The men had other plans, though.

Right from the start of the
tournament, the guys had their odds
stacked against them. Facing them in
the first round was a very well rested
College of the Rockies squad. The
CotR team made sure the Royals knew
it, too. In the first set, they were able
to up-end the Royals 25-20. But the
Douglas College squad just needed a set
to get warmed up, or, at least, Devon
Dunn did. Dunn was a monster on the
defensive end, racking up dig after
dig, then finishing his own defensive
play with a crushing swing. Nothing
less than what was expected from a
PACWEST First-Team All-Star, but
maybe a little more. Behind him, the
Royals were able to grab a 25-17 set win

to tie the game up at one-a-piece.
Carrying on with their momentum,
the Douglas squad was able to get off to
an early lead in the third, but the CotR
squad were not to be beat so easily.
They stormed back into the set after a
timeout, and finished the set comeback
with a win, 25-22. Down to the wire, the
Royals needed to win the fourth to force
the fifth and final set. Justin Faester
helped with that by grabbing the team
six points to start the fourth. Building
on that lead, the Royals were able to
expand and hold it as they marched
their way through the fourth set,
winning 25-19 to force the fifth set.
With both squads facing possibly
their last set of the year, it was all or
nothing. Desperation was a huge factor
here. Maybe that’s why it was so close.
Tied up 12-12 in the fifth, it was the
heroics of several Royals players that
delivered them from the fifth set into a
semi-final bout with a 15-12 set win.
Next up were the hosts, the
VIU Mariners. The Mariners were
probably the best team coming into the
tournament, and beating the Mariners

was always going to be a longshot. But
the Royals have done it before, and they
looked to do it again. They got off to

a rough start, but eventually pulled it
close again. In fact, it was so close that
it went to extra points and a little bit
more than that. When the dust settled,
it was the Mariners out on top with a
31-29 set win. With the momentum, the
hosts drove the game out of the Royals
hands. It was a clean 3-0 win, with the
two other sets being 25-19. The loss was
a hard one, but overall, the team played
well. Although out of gold contention,
and out of a National Championship
berth, the Royals still had a chance to
bring some hardware home.

They matched against the second
seeded UFV Cascades in the Bronze
medal match. The Cascades, who were
National Championship favorites, fell
to the Chargers the night before in
the semi-finals and were now heavily
favoured for the bronze. However, the
Royals gave them a couple of things to
think about from the start. A dominant
25-18 set win was just what the Royals
needed, but maybe what the Cascades

Sports around the world: Zorbing

> Experience being a hamster in this extreme sport

Carlos Bilan
Staff Writer

 

magine yourself on top of a hill and in
front of you is a smooth, steep slope.

Would it not be a breeze to just slide
down? Well, with your own body, it’s
not physically possible of course—how
did Jack and Jill do that anyway?—
but when you're inside a plastic ball,
everything changes. It is now possible to
experience the feeling of rolling down a
hill, without getting your clothes dirty.
This is all thanks to zorbing.

Zorbing sounds like a name for
an activity for thrill-seekers, which
is partially true. It is classified as an
extreme sport. However, for the most
part, it is incredibly safe, because of
both the ball’s material and the fact that
it is done in a controlled environment.

A zorb ball is made of thick,
transparent yet durable plastic. This
human hamster ball actually has
two sections: one ball, which can
accommodate one to three people,
inside another bigger ball, and between
them is a layer of air. (Sounds like ball-
ception to me.) These two sections are
linked by a complex network of rope or
nylon wires. This structure ensures that
the balls don’t turn together, and acts as
a shock absorber during the ball’s trip.
Typically, a zorb ball has one or two
openings that acts as not only a way for
passengers to enter and exit but also
to be a source of oxygen for the riders.
These openings usually measure around
two feet wide in diameter.

There are two types of zorb
balls, or, more specifically, two ways
to experience it: dry or wet. The dry
experience of zorbing involves a person
being strapped into a zorbing ball
with a harness. It feels safer and seems

more like a comfortable experience
as you still get to feel what it’s like to
roll rapidly down the hill without the
endless tumbling around.

The second type is called
“hydrozorbing” which is what thrill-
seekers like me would love to hear.

It’s called the wet experience because
about 10 gallons of water is poured
inside the ball. The best part is, you
are unharnessed! So, your body will
definitely be rolling all over and get to
experience the best of both worlds—
sliding down a water slide and being on
a rollercoaster.

Zorbing is guaranteed to be one
hundred per cent safe. The only time
fatal incidents have been reported is
due to people zorbing in dangerous
places, which is why zorbing must be
done in a controlled environment.
These places are recognized as zorbing
sites. The zorbing track deemed the
most excellent by critics is in Rotorua,
New Zealand. The hill is very smooth,
and a lovely green during warm season.
There are no cliffs, and it is a safe and
beautiful environment.

There are even Guinness World
Records that exist related to zorbing.
Coincidentally, they both happened
in New Zealand. On November 7,
2006, Keith Kolver became the fastest
“human hamster” as he rolled down the
Rotorua hill at an incredible speed of
52 kilometres per hour. Another world
record was broken that same day in
Paengaroa, when Steve Camp rolled
a distance of 1,870 feet in one single
roll. The city of Hong Kong also set
a world record when it had the most
participants in a zorbing event; a total
of 237 people consecutively ran 50
metres on a specially designed track.

The origin of this extreme sport is

a bit of a toss-up. Official records state
that zorbing originated in New Zealand
in 1994. Andrew Akers and Dwane van
der Sluis created transparent inflatable
spheres people can enter, and they
called this the “zorb.” With the help

of two other investors, the firm ZORB
Limited was created.

However, there is a debate
surrounding the invention of zorbing
due to the existence of earlier
prototypes. In the 1980s, a group of
extreme sports enthusiasts called
Dangerous Sports Club created a huge
sphere with two suspended deck chairs

needed as well.

The UFV team had a couple of
gems of their own, including a second
set win, 25-20. Once again, the Royals
fell behind in the third. They nearly
caught them late, but the Cascades just
barely squeezed out a third set win,
25-23. Down to the wire once again,
the Royals needed a huge effort to
comeback. That effort came in the form
of Johnson Yi. His play in the fourth set
singlehandedly tied the game for the
Royals, and forced the fifth set.

It’s something about the Royals and
fifth sets. Maybe the players are just
better under pressure. Or maybe they’ve
got an extra gear labelled “clutch.”
Whatever it is, they just always find a
way to step their game up in the do or
die set. In this case, it was Devon Dunn
who literally stepped up, and slammed
down the bronze for the Royals. They
upset the UFV Cascades in the fifth
set (15-9) and won bronze at the
PACWEST Provincial Championships.
Not bad for a team that was expected
to barely squeak into the playoffs at the
beginning of the season.

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inside. The first prototype actually
dates to the late 1970s when the ball—
called La Ballule (from the French word
“la balle” meaning bubble)—was created
by French architect and inventor Gilles
Ebersolt.

Despite this, the zorb is considered
a novelty invention and one can
conclude that its origin is as wobbly as
being in a zorb ball itself. One thing
is for sure, though: These brilliant
minds have found a way for humans to
experience rolling down a hill without
dying or hurting themselves in the
process.