How to Run a Willies Outdoor Volleyball Grass Tournament with Color Powder
🌈 The Willies with Hippie Powder
Everyone knows them. Nobody wants one. A willies grass volleyball tournament is a great way to have fun or run a volleyball fundraiser for your high school or club team.Â
A Willie is an obvious unforced error:
- Missed serve
- Serve into the net
- Attack out with no touch
- Net violation
- Lift/carry
- Foot fault
- Any other clear mental mistake
When someone gets a Willie...
The Walk of Shame... Through Color Powder
As soon as the rally ends:
- The player steps off the court.
- Their teammates (and even spectators if you want) quickly form two lines.
- The player jogs through the "Color Tunnel."
- Everyone throws one handful of hippie powder as they run through.
- The player loops around to the back of the team's rotation and play continues.
The entire thing takes about 10–15 seconds and becomes hilarious instead of frustrating.
Make It a Tradition
The announcer can get everyone involved.
"WE'VE GOT A WILLIE!"
The music starts.
Everyone grabs a handful.
The player starts running.
Crowd counts them down.
By the third tournament, everyone will know exactly what's about to happen.
Why it Works
Instead of teammates getting upset after mistakes...
They laugh.
The player laughs.
The crowd laughs.
The mistake is over.
Volleyball is emotional. This instantly resets everyone's mood.
The Best Part
As the day goes on...
Players slowly become more colorful.
The people making the fewest mistakes stay mostly clean.
The people having rough games become walking rainbows.
By championship time, everyone can almost tell who had the wildest day just by looking at them.
Your next tournament can be bigger money maker by ordering color run powder and making it memorable. We suggest getting a 5lb bag for each participant so everyone can throw a lot of handfuls of color throughout the tournament.Â
"Don't Get Willie'd"
You'll start hearing players say things like:
"Don't get Willie'd!"
"One more Willie and you're purple!"
"You're running!"
This is the kind of event that people will remember years later. Utah grass volleyball tournaments have tried this and it has been a huge success. You can also add it into utah beach volleyball lessons.Â