The past few months have been a busy and exciting time for the Ballard campus. During that time, we’ve started a new sermon series, added a service in the U-District, been baptizing people during each service, and kicked off Midweek for the Fall Quarter. Needless to say, the Ballard staff and I were ready for a day of recreation.

So we loaded up the ol’ Mars Hill shuttle bus and headed to Edmonds for an afternoon of WhirlyBall. “What’s WhirlyBall?” you ask. Well, it’s “the world’s only totally mechanized team sport,” which combines basketball, hockey, and jai-alai with the reckless abandon of bumper cars. In short, WhirlyBall equals wackiness.

Two teams of five maneuver around the court with a jai-alai style plastic scoop in one hand and a steering crank in the other. The object is to toss a softball-sized whiffle ball into a fifteen-inch hole cut out of a nine to ten foot high backboard. Behind the hole is a buzzer which notifies the referee when a score is made. The referee sits in an elevated booth above the court and gives the play-by-play, while keeping score and assessing any penalties.

We were able to play about a dozen fifteen-minute games. As the afternoon progressed, we each honed our skills and strategies (and even broke a sweat). Highlights included a five-point half court shot from Pastor Mike Wilkerson, a collision in the corner that sent Brandon Anderson’s car airborne, and the no-nonsense defense of Danielle Montemayor.

To make things even more interesting, at the end of the day, we also gave awards for best WhirlyBall uniform, as voted on by the players not in uniform. Kyle Firstenberg (far right), Haden Sutton (second from left), and Cliff Ellis (center) took the top three spots—quite the honor, as you can see.

We recapped the day on our ride home and even started throwing out ideas for our next staff outing. Paintball perhaps?


I appreciate the Ballard staff, the work they do, and the way God is working in and through them. But I also enjoy the times we’re able to let loose and have some fun. Praise God for friendships, laughter, and well…WhirlyBall.