For now, to publicize the hijacking of the Western Wayne County Senior Olympics Volleyball Tournament by Northville Parks and Recreation Administrative staff Joe Barberio, Mary Barberio, and Charles Gabbeart. They have turned what started out as a fun event for amateur senior players into a hard-core, elitist event for professionals and "ringers" from all over SE Michigan. The event has shrunk from a max of about 12 teams six years ago, to only six this year. The Parks and Rec administrators who make the rules also captain their own teams that compete with amateurs like myself for players, and guess who wins that battle! Based on my conversation with this year's players ( I wasn't allowed to play because the Barberio team took at least one and probably two of the female players originally recruited by me.) it appears that a majority of the players now do not even reside in the western Wayne County communities that the event was designed to serve! Due to a rule requiring that at least half of each team be female, whereas only about 25-30% of day-to-day senior players are women, a large number of male players, including myself, were excluded from the event in my home community. The conflict of interest that allows the Barberio's to dominate the event most years, and the gender discrimination against local male players, need to be publicized, so that they may be eliminated.
Over the longer haul, I also plan to use this blog to highlight other senior volleyball "Olympics", and provide info re deadlines, locations, and guidelines for tournament entry.
