San Diego Roundnet has started the first Spikeball league in Pacific Beach.

The organization, which has been holding a weekly event called Tuesday Night Spike for the past three years, has grown exponentially since it first stuck its nets in the sand.

“Two years before we started it, my wife and I moved to San Diego and we didn’t have anyone to play with – we were so stoked to just have four people,” said SD Roundnet co-founder Jason Bird. “Then at one point we had three nets, and then four nets and we were like, ‘Can you believe what we did here?’ Then, eventually, when Erik and I partnered up, it just took off. Now, we have 60 to 80 nets at a time and it’s unreal.”
In response to the enthusiastic response to their weekly free and casual games, Bird and Erik Geffken decided to introduce a more competitive element to the local Spikeball community.

Starting in late July, those who registered on the SD Roundnet website sdround.net will come together every Thursday to play under stadium lights on the beach at Pacific Beach Drive. Players will first be evaluated by skill level before being placed on a team that they will then compete alongside for the next two months.

“What we realized is there is nothing worse than playing in a rec league and you’re paying all this money and have these high expectations, then your team is just not competitive. We want everyone to have fun,” said Geffken. “There’s going to be a lot of Spikeball, jumping around, getting sandy on the beach, and building community.”

For a $75 entry fee, players of all skill levels are encouraged to join. Games will be played to 21 in the typical 2v2 format, with teammates cycling through throughout the competitions.

“We want to scale this so that it feels very inclusion-oriented so that people who haven’t played before or experienced a team element in a long time – maybe since they were kids – can enjoy sports again,” said Bird.

SD Roundnet partnered up with San Diego Social Weeks to prepare for the inaugural Spikeball season.

“I’m excited to do something totally different that has never been done here in San Diego before,” said Bird. “We have a very fun, social community here which is great. This is our first chance to introduce people to a more competitive level of Spikeball and introduce them to that team element as well.”