The past few weeks may have been sleepy ones in State College. But that will change by noon today, when town should see no shortage of traffic or spandex.
This Memorial Day weekend, Penn State is once again hosting the Happy Volley Club Championships. Formerly known as the East Coast Championships, the youth-volleyball event underwent a name change three years ago, but it still marks the end of the season for many participating teams.
Three hundred and eighty-two teams from across the U.S. have been confirmed as participants, said Dennis Hohenshelt, assistant coach for Penn State women’s volleyball. One team is from Ontario, Canada. Each counts at least 10 players.
Overall, Hohenshelt said, the State College area can expect to see 7,000 to 10,000 Happy Volley visitors over the next three days — including chaperones, staff members and spectators.
Penn State is providing on-campus housing for all the players, who range in range from 12 to 18 years old. Many will stay in East Halls. Their families, meanwhile, are staying in the Nittany Apartments on campus and in a variety of local hotels. University dining halls will be available for the visitors, as well.
Seven venues across the University Park campus — including Rec Hall, the Bryce Jordan Center and the Multi-Sport Indoor Facility — will host volleyball matches, for a total of 52 playing courts. The largest venue, the Multi-Sport complex, will house 13 courts, helping to keep traffic limited to the east end of campus.
Player registration is slated to run from noon to 7 p.m. Friday, with matches set to begin Saturday morning.
The event is sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union, which bills itself as the largest nonprofit, volunteer sports organization in the country. Volleyball players may find themselves especially at home at University Park, where the Penn State women’s volleyball team has won a record three consecutive national titles.
