Hundreds gather for annual mud volleyball tournament in Jackson

They were flailing, falling and flopping in the mud.

And, in reverence to the holiday, they were having a blast.

The mud volleyball tournament, a mainstay of the annual Jackson Fourth of July celebration, was in full force Saturday, with more than 400 participants on 40 teams vying for the title on a cloudy but rain-free holiday at Jackson City Park.

"There's at least 400 to 500 participants alone," said Jason Mouser, the Jackson Fire Chief who spent the day directing his fellow firemen in watering the courts and providing a fire-hose shower for the muddied participants. "I would imagine there's a couple thousand people here just for the mud volleyball."

Jackson fire chief Jason Mouser prepares a court for the next game Saturday, July 4, 2015 at the mud volleyball tournament in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

And there were. Players and spectators mingled freely throughout the day, each trumpeting the same theme: They were there to have fun.

"It's something to do," said Jessie Green of Jackson, who formed a team of workers -- and a couple ringers -- from co-workers at United Land Title in Jackson. "We put our team together in 20 minutes and turned in our form an hour before the deadline."

Her team, "Kiss My Pass," lost its first game and faced a tough climb to remain in the double-elimination tournament.

JJ Schulz, who lives in Cape Girardeau, didn't face such a daunting gantlet after his team, "This Won't Take Long," won its first match of the day. He said his team employed a basic but effective strategy.

"The key is to return the ball over," he said. "And if you can, make a play. Spike it if you can. But just get the ball over and get your serves in."

And what about dealing with the mud?

"It's easy once you're falling on your face a million times," he grinned.

Players wash up after their game Saturday, July 4, 2015 at the mud volleyball tournament in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

That simple advice proved too difficult for several teams, who nonetheless reveled in taking a day off from life's daily grind to throw caution to the wind and enjoy a holiday in the sun.

"To me, it's one of the best days of the year," said Tori Parry, a Jackson native who will be a fifth-year senior at SIU-Carbondale in the fall. "The whole community comes together. It's a lot of fun, you get muddy, and it's a great time."

Parry was playing in her third tournament. Teammate Clayton Tinsley, a friend from Mt. Vernon, Illinois, was experiencing mud volleyball for the first time.

"I've never really played mud volleyball," he said. "It's different."

The annual tournament serves as a fundraiser for both the City of Jackson and the Jackson high school volleyball team, which provides referees for the matches. They are held on four makeshift courts at the city park, with hay bales servings as court boundaries.

And it has become a family affair, according to Kayla Lawson, who was participating in her fourth mud volleyball tournament but her first as captain of "Team Ramrod," which included several family members.

"This year, we did kind of a family thing," said Lawson, whose grandmother lives adjacent to the park and whose home serves as a gathering place for the family at lunch time. "We all eat there, then we watch the fireworks at night."

The tournament, enjoying its fourth year as part of Jackson's Fourth of July celebration after a long hiatus, is as much fun for spectators as it is the players.

"We just came down here for the Fourth of July," said Ruth Keith, of Ironton, who was seeing her grandson play for the first time after watching her son participate in previous tournaments. "Now there's two generations that have done this!"

John Crosett, of Jackson, was enjoying the festivities with his wife, Sabrina.

"Just seeing some of the kids that were in high school with my kids and watching their competition," Crosett said, noting that he and his wife would also enjoy the other festivities the annual celebration had to offer. "There's lots of entertainment, a lot of things to do."

Hailey Mouser, a former Jackson volleyball player and current Southeast Missouri State student, was finally able to trade in her whistle for the opportunity to play in the mud.

"It's a lot of fun, that's for sure," said a mud-caked Mouser on her way to the fire-hose shower after her team won its first match of the day. "Other towns don't do this."