Clem Martin loves volleyball. Throughout the 70's and 80's he lived in Corpus Christy, Texas where he played 6 days a week, he helped run the annual Memorial Day 3's tourney, and he was affectionately known as " that older guy with game"! And like so many of us, Clem taught the game to his boys, teaching them to bump when they were 5 and 6. The result.....a family that played ball, on the beach, in the back yard, at the side of the road....if they had a ball, there was peppering to do!
In the late 80's, Clem, and wife Janet relocated to Bonham, TX. They continued to play, both in Bonham and in Dallas. They were hard core and even bicycled to Aspen....from Texas one year to play in the Motherlode. In 1987, Clem and Janet were dealt a blow, their 28 year old son "C" (short for Clem) was diagnosed with Cancer and four years later in January of 1990 he passed away. Throughout the fight, there was volleyball. On one particular occasion, actually, on a random August 7th, "C" heckled his father, calling him a "Putterhead" after a shanked ball. The word stuck and began to infiltrate the Martin family vocabulary, on and off the court. The Martin's subsequently christened August 7 National Putterhead Day.
Per "C's" request, his ashes were spread in the Colorado Rockies where he had made the Motherlode Bicycle trip with Clem and Janet before he passed. They also honored his wishes and in August of 1990, 17 nets were set up on the "Martin Compound" in Bonham and friends and family joined together to remember, tell stories, eat, drink and play a little volleyball.....the first Putterhead.
The Bonham gathering was repeated in 1991 and 1992, but 1993 found Clem and Janet summering in Frisco, Colorado. They observed that other mountain communities had summer tournaments but Summit County was lacking. The first Colorado Putterhead Tournament was held on the Summit County High School Soccer field in Frisco and it was "all about fun". Players from the early tourneys will remember Clem and Janet, kicked back in camping chairs, umbrellas overhead and paperwork spread on their laps, running the show! They did it again in 1994, but in 95' they could not make the trek out and passed tournament operations to the Breckenridge Parks and Recreation District.
In 2002, Recreation Director Diane McBride found herself running the 55 team event at Carter Park in Breckenridge and decided to look into possible alliances to grow the event. She contacted Steamboat Doubles organizers Volleyball of the Rockies (VOTR) and asked them if they would be interested in taking over the tournament. VOTR wanted to continue the "all about fun" attitude that was part of the tournaments inception but also grow the tournament. They added a complimentary Saturday picnic/bbq allowing players to hang out around the Carter Park BBQ cooking their burgers, sipping on a drinks, and talking and watching volleyball. VOTR also added music to the event. For the first couple of years, local favorite (Bubba Gumps regular) Rob Wivchar played live acoustic sets on both Saturday and Sunday. Rob has since been replaced by an IPOD. 2010 will see the Corona Light Wide Open Tour DJ mixing up the music on stage.
The event has grown from one day and 55 teams in 2002, to three days and over 360 teams in 13 divisions in 2009. And it has expanded to include not just Carter Park but all of the grass fields in the town of Breckenridge. While the Grass A divisions at Carter Park get to watch the Open Players in the sand, the B and BB players can get a day pass at the Recreation Center and enjoy a swim, steam or hot tub after each match! The tournaments' growth allowed us to work with Squash Keeler to set up local sponsorships with the Kenosha Steakhouse (Friday Night Check-in/Player Party). The Saturday Night Player Party has expanded to the biggest bar location in Breckenridge Napper Tandy's.
With only two courts at Carter Park, the Open draw at Putterhead has always remained small. Returning teams from previous years get seniority on the limited slots and it has been a tournament that Colorado Players traditionally do some "partner swapping" and play with someone new. In 2008, Putterhead expanded to include the two sand courts at the Silverthorne Recreation Center. This allowed expansion in the open division. The tradition of alternating the Saturday rounds of Men's or Women's competition at this secondary location began with the Women's Saturday matches in Silverthorne in 2008. The men will play Saturday matches on the Silverthorne courts in 2009. 2010 will see both genders since Silverthorne has now expanded to 4 sand courts.
Putterhead has evolved into a great Colorado Mountain Tournament. The commute to Breckenridge is easy (1:20 mins from Denver) the Lodging is super affordable, and once there, you can park your car for the weekend and either walk or ride your bike to all the volleyball sites, as well as all the bars, restaurants and shopping on main street. Add in the summer music series, 8-9 AM start times that let you sleep in a bit, and perhaps a ride down the alpine slide it becomes difficult to think of a better way so spend an August weekend!
Remember, life is short, so get on the court and in the game. See you in Breck!
In the late 80's, Clem, and wife Janet relocated to Bonham, TX. They continued to play, both in Bonham and in Dallas. They were hard core and even bicycled to Aspen....from Texas one year to play in the Motherlode. In 1987, Clem and Janet were dealt a blow, their 28 year old son "C" (short for Clem) was diagnosed with Cancer and four years later in January of 1990 he passed away. Throughout the fight, there was volleyball. On one particular occasion, actually, on a random August 7th, "C" heckled his father, calling him a "Putterhead" after a shanked ball. The word stuck and began to infiltrate the Martin family vocabulary, on and off the court. The Martin's subsequently christened August 7 National Putterhead Day.
Per "C's" request, his ashes were spread in the Colorado Rockies where he had made the Motherlode Bicycle trip with Clem and Janet before he passed. They also honored his wishes and in August of 1990, 17 nets were set up on the "Martin Compound" in Bonham and friends and family joined together to remember, tell stories, eat, drink and play a little volleyball.....the first Putterhead.
The Bonham gathering was repeated in 1991 and 1992, but 1993 found Clem and Janet summering in Frisco, Colorado. They observed that other mountain communities had summer tournaments but Summit County was lacking. The first Colorado Putterhead Tournament was held on the Summit County High School Soccer field in Frisco and it was "all about fun". Players from the early tourneys will remember Clem and Janet, kicked back in camping chairs, umbrellas overhead and paperwork spread on their laps, running the show! They did it again in 1994, but in 95' they could not make the trek out and passed tournament operations to the Breckenridge Parks and Recreation District.
In 2002, Recreation Director Diane McBride found herself running the 55 team event at Carter Park in Breckenridge and decided to look into possible alliances to grow the event. She contacted Steamboat Doubles organizers Volleyball of the Rockies (VOTR) and asked them if they would be interested in taking over the tournament. VOTR wanted to continue the "all about fun" attitude that was part of the tournaments inception but also grow the tournament. They added a complimentary Saturday picnic/bbq allowing players to hang out around the Carter Park BBQ cooking their burgers, sipping on a drinks, and talking and watching volleyball. VOTR also added music to the event. For the first couple of years, local favorite (Bubba Gumps regular) Rob Wivchar played live acoustic sets on both Saturday and Sunday. Rob has since been replaced by an IPOD. 2010 will see the Corona Light Wide Open Tour DJ mixing up the music on stage.
The event has grown from one day and 55 teams in 2002, to three days and over 360 teams in 13 divisions in 2009. And it has expanded to include not just Carter Park but all of the grass fields in the town of Breckenridge. While the Grass A divisions at Carter Park get to watch the Open Players in the sand, the B and BB players can get a day pass at the Recreation Center and enjoy a swim, steam or hot tub after each match! The tournaments' growth allowed us to work with Squash Keeler to set up local sponsorships with the Kenosha Steakhouse (Friday Night Check-in/Player Party). The Saturday Night Player Party has expanded to the biggest bar location in Breckenridge Napper Tandy's.
With only two courts at Carter Park, the Open draw at Putterhead has always remained small. Returning teams from previous years get seniority on the limited slots and it has been a tournament that Colorado Players traditionally do some "partner swapping" and play with someone new. In 2008, Putterhead expanded to include the two sand courts at the Silverthorne Recreation Center. This allowed expansion in the open division. The tradition of alternating the Saturday rounds of Men's or Women's competition at this secondary location began with the Women's Saturday matches in Silverthorne in 2008. The men will play Saturday matches on the Silverthorne courts in 2009. 2010 will see both genders since Silverthorne has now expanded to 4 sand courts.
Putterhead has evolved into a great Colorado Mountain Tournament. The commute to Breckenridge is easy (1:20 mins from Denver) the Lodging is super affordable, and once there, you can park your car for the weekend and either walk or ride your bike to all the volleyball sites, as well as all the bars, restaurants and shopping on main street. Add in the summer music series, 8-9 AM start times that let you sleep in a bit, and perhaps a ride down the alpine slide it becomes difficult to think of a better way so spend an August weekend!
Remember, life is short, so get on the court and in the game. See you in Breck!
Copyright 2008, Volleyball Of The Rockies (VOTR)
VOTR is a Colorado based company offering volleyball leagues, volleyball tournaments and volleyball vacations. Information on related volleyball entities can be found at VOTR.com, IslandVolleyball.com SportsOasisVolleyball.com, ShootersVolleyball.com, SOBVolleyballVacations.com, SteamboatDoubles.com, BreckenridgeDoubles.com, BeachBashDoubles.com.
VOTR is a Colorado based company offering volleyball leagues, volleyball tournaments and volleyball vacations. Information on related volleyball entities can be found at VOTR.com, IslandVolleyball.com SportsOasisVolleyball.com, ShootersVolleyball.com, SOBVolleyballVacations.com, SteamboatDoubles.com, BreckenridgeDoubles.com, BeachBashDoubles.com.
