The completely mechanized sport is played in a bumper car-esque cart called a WhirlyBug. In WhirlyBall it is a mortal sin to call the WhirlyBug a bumper car.
A normal game consists of two teams of five players each and every player has a jai alai style plastic scoop to throw and catch the softball sized wiffle ball. The object is to hit the 22-inch target on the basketball-like backboard.
A combination of so many different sports, WhirlyBall isn’t just for the extremely athletic, no athletic abilities are necessary.
“The good thing about WhirlyBall is that it doesn’t matter if your male or female, athletic or not athletic,” said Hollydell manager Jim McVey. “Everybody who gets in can come in and have a good time and enjoy it just as much as anyone else who is playing.”
McVey was kind enough to give me a mini-lesson on the finer points of WhirlyBall and as a perpetually awful bumper car driver, I was nervous that my driving skills, or lack there of, would hinder my playing, but driving a WhirlyBug is much easier.
It’s extremely possible, and nearly inevitable that while driving a WhirlyBug, you will get stuck in a corner, but by simply turning the steering column in a full circle, the car eases into reverse allowing you to escape the jam. Also like bumper cars, you can crash into opposing players to shake them up, though ramming from behind is strictly prohibited at all times.
Once you get the hang of driving the WhirlyBug, the next step is mastering the art of throwing the ball. The most successful type of shooting or passing is the overhand short flick of the wrist pass.
“It’s all in the wrist,” McVey said after I unsuccessfully tried to pass the ball to him underhand.
After a few minutes with a few more instructions, I was able to throw, catch, drive and shoot with a decent amount of success.
Until two weeks ago, I had never heard of WhirlyBall and as it turns out, McVey and the people at Hollydell hadn’t until the owner decided to open it at Hollydell.
The owner, who also owns a concrete business, had sent a few employees to Cleveland for a seminar and once they came back they couldn’t stop talking about WhirlyBall.
“He didn’t really want to hear anything about WhirlyBall,” McVey said about the owner. “He wanted to hear about the seminar. About an hour and a half later he finally heard about the seminar, but it (WhirlyBall) intrigued him so much that he and his partner flew out there and tried it, talked to some people about it and decided they wanted to do it so they built it here at Hollydell.”
WhirlyBall isn’t just a game for students and young people looking for something new to try out, but many corporations have been bitten by the WhirlyBall bug.
“Everybody plays,” said McVey. “Everybody from youth parties to adults to corporate outings. Different businesses come out for team building type events. National Paint Ball has been coming out lately and businesses like that.”
Corporations are the largest moneymakers, ahead of leagues, for many WhirlyBall arenas.
Hollydell is starting an adult WhirlyBall league in the upcoming weeks. There are already six teams signed up to play at the cost of $400 per team of five for a ten-game schedule.
“Right now we have six teams that are ready to play and we’ll probably get started with a short introductory league,” McVey said. “And we’ll build on that come September for a larger league.”
Interest and popularity have continually grown since the facility was opened in December.
“It’s growing more and more popular,” McVey said. “We’re getting more phone calls for parties and leagues and stuff like that everyday so it’s really starting to take off now.”
Though corporations, leagues and parties make up the majority of WhirlyBall business, Hollydell has hours open for the general public to come and play. For five dollars per person, you can play for fifteen minutes with a group as small as four and large as ten.
WhirlyBall at Hollydell is open to the public weekdays from 5-10 p.m., and on weekends from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. If you want to one of Hollydell’s two courts, they are flexible about the hours.
“If groups want to come in other times we can make arrangements,” McVey said. “We have a couple corporate groups coming in during the day this week. We’ll accommodate groups the best we can.”
It can also be arranged to have food at WhirlyBall parties.
Washington Township is the only WhirlyBall facility in the state of New Jersey with the next closest is in Connecticut.
The biggest selling point about WhirlyBall according to McVey, “It’s just pure fun” and after just fifteen minutes, I was hooked and would have to agree.
