The MotherLode
“So you goin’ to the 'Lode?” I was subbing on a volleyball team when one of the players asked me this question. I said I’d never heard of it and asked him to explain. This was my introduction to the MotherLode Volleyball Classic back in the summer of 1997. Held in Aspen every Labor Day weekend, the MotherLode was one of the largest pro-am tournaments in doubles volleyball in the country. After several years of playing in the tournament, I wanted to find out about its roots and why people continue to go back every year. I talked to Leon Fell, Tournament Promoter since 1981, and the MotherLode’s biggest fan. He told me a story about a backyard Bar-B-Q.
In 1972, two transplants from Newport Beach, CA, Howard Ross and Gordon Whitmer, co-owners of The MotherLode Restaurant, missed playing volleyball on the shores of the Pacific. For a little fun, they decided to organize a barbecue at Wagner Park complete with food, a keg of beer and volleyball nets. Fourteen teams showed up and they had so much fun they did it again the next year…and the next year…and the year after that. Each year more teams showed up. During those early years, the restaurant’s bartenders took registrations and one of the waiters designed T-shirts. Simply through word of mouth, the message got out that Aspen was the place to go for volleyball Labor Day weekend. Soon they had over a 100 teams and almost half were from out-of-state, more than they could handle.*
In 1981, Ross and Whitmer brought in local event promoter Leon Fell to coordinate the tournament. Fell had produced a series of events for the Subaru/Aspen Winternational World Cup Skiing Week held in Aspen that year so he definitely had some experience. Fell asked them if they were interested in doing what it took to take the MotherLode to the next level. They said yes, but didn’t really think anything would come of it. Fell, a self-admitted industrious fellow and not the type of person who did anything half-heartedly, immediately set up a marketing and promotional group called MotherLode Volleyball Productions. Thinking big, he had the goal of making the MotherLode the country’s most popular doubles volleyball event. He more than succeeded.*
Fell said one of the toughest parts of creating the MotherLode each year was keeping the experience similar the first tournament over 30 years ago.
“It was just a few of people who wanted to have a good time and play some good volleyball,” he said. “It’s not about the prizes or the money. People, professionals, come here because they have a good time.” No one knows how to have a good time like volleyball players. Just walking down the streets of Aspen during Labor Day weekend you see bars and pubs overflowing and hear music from every hotel room. A Players’ Party is held on Sundays, which is free to all participants and has plenty of food, drink and live entertainment until the wee hours of the morning.
Fell was most proud that he had been able to maintain this atmosphere all these years. Although the prize purse was bigger and the names of the players who participated better known, that was not why people came. For example, Fell pointed out there were only two small sets of bleachers set up at Koch Park for the Open events. When the bleachers filled up, people had to sit on blankets or chairs in the grass surrounding the courts. He purposely did this because he didn’t want all the craziness of a professional tournament like you would see on TV. Spectators sat right next to the courts heckling players and always cheering for the underdog teams.
The volleyball tournament is two-on-two volleyball. Everyone is welcome to play with divisions for men, women and co-ed teams, from recreational players to Association of Volleyball Professionals. FIVB/AVP rules apply, such as rally scoring. The divisions include Men’s and Women’s Seniors (age 45/50 and over), Men and Women’s Masters (age 37/35 and over) played on Thursday, and co-ed play for Open, A, BB and B on Friday. Men’s and Women’s Open, A, BB, and B play Saturday/Sunday. The matches are held in parks all over town. The Open divisions play on the sand courts at Koch Park. All other divisions are on grass courts at various other locations. These include Wagner Park in the center of town, Rio Grande Park on the north edge of town, and near Aspen High School just outside of town at Islip and Rotary Parks.**
Doug Jones of Denver, CO, had been volunteering for the MotherLode for over 15 years. He started out as a player in 1979. As bad knees slowed him down, he started helping out with the tournament. Then in 1988 he volunteered full time. It was a little easier on the wallet as well.
“Volunteers get a place to stay, which was great incentive and I’ve stayed at some pretty nice places.” He said it wasn’t the only reason, however.
“I’ve been running the Women’s BB for so many years now that everyone’s become a regular. They’re like my girls,” he said. “I've seen moms whose daughters have grown up and are now playing. There are families from Chicago and all over and I get to see them every year.”
“And then of course, it’s Aspen,” he continued. “The view from Rio Grande (Park) being in the valley with mountains surrounding you or watching the open courts when the para-gliders start coming down off the mountain. It’s just beautiful.”
More than just volleyball, the MotherLode has many events going on including a Bar-B-Q and beer garden at the sand courts. The Town of Aspen is welcoming to all with fall sales in the stores and special happy hours at the bars and if you just can’t stand to see anymore volleyball, you can enjoy the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival in nearby Snowmass featuring nationally known music acts.
I met my husband at the MotherLode back in 2000. I recognized him and his partner as players from Denver and when I said hello, he said he couldn’t focus on playing volleyball anymore. He had brought his dog, Jasmine, with him and I was instantly in love…with Jasmine. We married in 2002. My cousin from Omaha, NE, proposed to his girlfriend (and my volleyball partner), on their first trip to the MotherLode in 1998. They now have two kids. These weren’t the only stories of love at ‘Lode. A woman on a team I played against invited everyone at the park to her wedding atop Aspen Mountain that Sunday. She and her fiancé decided after they arrived that they wanted to marry in Aspen and called a Justice of the Peace. Because of the impromptu nuptials, they invited everyone at the MotherLode as witnesses. Their service was at sunrise, which was a little too early for this volleyball player, but the thought that she extended my partner and I, complete strangers, an invitation was something I never forgot. According to Fell, there have been many “marriages made in Aspen.” He was glad to have been a part of it.
Registration for 2010 is already open. The dates are Thursday, September 2, through Monday, September 6. Pre-registration for the MotherLode ends Friday, August 27. The fee is $60 ($80 for Open). Late registration is $80 ($100 for Open).
For more MotherLode information, visit http://www.motherlodevolleyball.com/
For lodging information, visit http://www.aspensnowmass.com/
For Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival, visit http://www.jazzaspen.org/
WRITER’S COMMENTS – Original article written in 2003, however, this has been updated with 2010 MotherLode information. I hope Leon remembers I interviewed him for this story back in 2003. The story was turned down by Volleyball Magazine a few weeks later. I was told by the editor that they were sending their own writer to cover the event for that year. In the interest of full disclosure, I have not played in the MotherLode since 2003. However, if anyone needs a B, BB or Master Women’s partner, I’m available. Email me!
*Information obtained from the MotherLode website. Leon gave permission back in 2003 to use that information for the VM article. I hope he remembers that as well. Thanks Leon!
**Rules are always subject to change so be sure to check tournament website, entry forms and/or your division director for full information.
“So you goin’ to the 'Lode?” I was subbing on a volleyball team when one of the players asked me this question. I said I’d never heard of it and asked him to explain. This was my introduction to the MotherLode Volleyball Classic back in the summer of 1997. Held in Aspen every Labor Day weekend, the MotherLode was one of the largest pro-am tournaments in doubles volleyball in the country. After several years of playing in the tournament, I wanted to find out about its roots and why people continue to go back every year. I talked to Leon Fell, Tournament Promoter since 1981, and the MotherLode’s biggest fan. He told me a story about a backyard Bar-B-Q.
In 1972, two transplants from Newport Beach, CA, Howard Ross and Gordon Whitmer, co-owners of The MotherLode Restaurant, missed playing volleyball on the shores of the Pacific. For a little fun, they decided to organize a barbecue at Wagner Park complete with food, a keg of beer and volleyball nets. Fourteen teams showed up and they had so much fun they did it again the next year…and the next year…and the year after that. Each year more teams showed up. During those early years, the restaurant’s bartenders took registrations and one of the waiters designed T-shirts. Simply through word of mouth, the message got out that Aspen was the place to go for volleyball Labor Day weekend. Soon they had over a 100 teams and almost half were from out-of-state, more than they could handle.*
In 1981, Ross and Whitmer brought in local event promoter Leon Fell to coordinate the tournament. Fell had produced a series of events for the Subaru/Aspen Winternational World Cup Skiing Week held in Aspen that year so he definitely had some experience. Fell asked them if they were interested in doing what it took to take the MotherLode to the next level. They said yes, but didn’t really think anything would come of it. Fell, a self-admitted industrious fellow and not the type of person who did anything half-heartedly, immediately set up a marketing and promotional group called MotherLode Volleyball Productions. Thinking big, he had the goal of making the MotherLode the country’s most popular doubles volleyball event. He more than succeeded.*
Fell said one of the toughest parts of creating the MotherLode each year was keeping the experience similar the first tournament over 30 years ago.
“It was just a few of people who wanted to have a good time and play some good volleyball,” he said. “It’s not about the prizes or the money. People, professionals, come here because they have a good time.” No one knows how to have a good time like volleyball players. Just walking down the streets of Aspen during Labor Day weekend you see bars and pubs overflowing and hear music from every hotel room. A Players’ Party is held on Sundays, which is free to all participants and has plenty of food, drink and live entertainment until the wee hours of the morning.
Fell was most proud that he had been able to maintain this atmosphere all these years. Although the prize purse was bigger and the names of the players who participated better known, that was not why people came. For example, Fell pointed out there were only two small sets of bleachers set up at Koch Park for the Open events. When the bleachers filled up, people had to sit on blankets or chairs in the grass surrounding the courts. He purposely did this because he didn’t want all the craziness of a professional tournament like you would see on TV. Spectators sat right next to the courts heckling players and always cheering for the underdog teams.
The volleyball tournament is two-on-two volleyball. Everyone is welcome to play with divisions for men, women and co-ed teams, from recreational players to Association of Volleyball Professionals. FIVB/AVP rules apply, such as rally scoring. The divisions include Men’s and Women’s Seniors (age 45/50 and over), Men and Women’s Masters (age 37/35 and over) played on Thursday, and co-ed play for Open, A, BB and B on Friday. Men’s and Women’s Open, A, BB, and B play Saturday/Sunday. The matches are held in parks all over town. The Open divisions play on the sand courts at Koch Park. All other divisions are on grass courts at various other locations. These include Wagner Park in the center of town, Rio Grande Park on the north edge of town, and near Aspen High School just outside of town at Islip and Rotary Parks.**
Doug Jones of Denver, CO, had been volunteering for the MotherLode for over 15 years. He started out as a player in 1979. As bad knees slowed him down, he started helping out with the tournament. Then in 1988 he volunteered full time. It was a little easier on the wallet as well.
“Volunteers get a place to stay, which was great incentive and I’ve stayed at some pretty nice places.” He said it wasn’t the only reason, however.
“I’ve been running the Women’s BB for so many years now that everyone’s become a regular. They’re like my girls,” he said. “I've seen moms whose daughters have grown up and are now playing. There are families from Chicago and all over and I get to see them every year.”
“And then of course, it’s Aspen,” he continued. “The view from Rio Grande (Park) being in the valley with mountains surrounding you or watching the open courts when the para-gliders start coming down off the mountain. It’s just beautiful.”
More than just volleyball, the MotherLode has many events going on including a Bar-B-Q and beer garden at the sand courts. The Town of Aspen is welcoming to all with fall sales in the stores and special happy hours at the bars and if you just can’t stand to see anymore volleyball, you can enjoy the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival in nearby Snowmass featuring nationally known music acts.
I met my husband at the MotherLode back in 2000. I recognized him and his partner as players from Denver and when I said hello, he said he couldn’t focus on playing volleyball anymore. He had brought his dog, Jasmine, with him and I was instantly in love…with Jasmine. We married in 2002. My cousin from Omaha, NE, proposed to his girlfriend (and my volleyball partner), on their first trip to the MotherLode in 1998. They now have two kids. These weren’t the only stories of love at ‘Lode. A woman on a team I played against invited everyone at the park to her wedding atop Aspen Mountain that Sunday. She and her fiancé decided after they arrived that they wanted to marry in Aspen and called a Justice of the Peace. Because of the impromptu nuptials, they invited everyone at the MotherLode as witnesses. Their service was at sunrise, which was a little too early for this volleyball player, but the thought that she extended my partner and I, complete strangers, an invitation was something I never forgot. According to Fell, there have been many “marriages made in Aspen.” He was glad to have been a part of it.
Registration for 2010 is already open. The dates are Thursday, September 2, through Monday, September 6. Pre-registration for the MotherLode ends Friday, August 27. The fee is $60 ($80 for Open). Late registration is $80 ($100 for Open).
For more MotherLode information, visit http://www.motherlodevolleyball.com/
For lodging information, visit http://www.aspensnowmass.com/
For Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival, visit http://www.jazzaspen.org/
WRITER’S COMMENTS – Original article written in 2003, however, this has been updated with 2010 MotherLode information. I hope Leon remembers I interviewed him for this story back in 2003. The story was turned down by Volleyball Magazine a few weeks later. I was told by the editor that they were sending their own writer to cover the event for that year. In the interest of full disclosure, I have not played in the MotherLode since 2003. However, if anyone needs a B, BB or Master Women’s partner, I’m available. Email me!
*Information obtained from the MotherLode website. Leon gave permission back in 2003 to use that information for the VM article. I hope he remembers that as well. Thanks Leon!
**Rules are always subject to change so be sure to check tournament website, entry forms and/or your division director for full information.
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