On Court Two, where non-league players are engaged, cars sit at haphazard angles as players struggle to scoop up the ball. When a successful pass is made, a player under the basket fires wildly and misses the backboard, and the slow-motion scramble starts again. Final score: 4-0.
Regardless of the level of competition, the stakes are always high at West Bloomfield’s Whirly Ball West. Non-league players are vying for bragging rights among their friends, while league competitors are honing their skills and bracing for the big time— the Road To The Nationals competition September 20–22.Players will travel that road in an electric, bumpercar like machine equipped with a steering stick and power pedal, but no brake. “The brakes,” says Tom Benavides, manager of Whirly Ball West, “are the other cars and the walls”. Played with 10 people in bumper cars, Whirly Ball is part jai-alai, part hockey, part basketball, part polo and part mayhem. Each player has a scoop to pass the ball and shoot with, and a backboard similar to a basketball backboard with a large netted hole that players aim for hangs at each end of the court. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
The sport has become as popular in metro Detroit as ice arenas in the winter—with little or no court time available during prime weekend hours. Leagues are growing, husband and wife teams are slugging it out on the weekends, and businesses, churches, graduating classes and families are reserving time for socials and corporate parties.
What’s all the fuss about?
Randy Palinski, captain of the Untouchables team, has been playing for over a year, and was captivated the first time he played. “You get hooked. You just can’t stop,” he says. Martha Little of Farmington Hills has played three or four times and admits that her motives are at times a bit underhanded: “It’s a good way of releasing frustrations, of giving paybacks, of getting revenge,” she says with a smile. “I get very aggressive during the game. If your friend told you that she didn’t like your shirt, you hit her broadside. If your husband didn’t treat you well the night before, your get him back, too.”
Created in Utah by Stan and Kim Mangum, WhirlyBall lore has it that Kim was riding in a golf cart and struck a can with a stick; prompting his father Stan to reply that it would be a good idea for a game. They continued to perfect the idea. Since then, the sport has continued to expand. “WhirlyBall is so universal, that’s the best thing about it,” says Benavides. “I’ve played with girls, I’ve played with huge, mammoth guys and I’ve played with little, scrawny guys. Everyone can play it. Anyone who just takes the time to develop their skills can play well. You’re not born with a body that can play WhirlyBall; anyone can.”
An integral part of the play is the car—run by electricity and controlled by a handle jutting out from the floorboard. One of the hardest aspects of the game is just learning to steer your vehicle. But that’s also half the fun. “Everyone who comes in always says that they remember riding bumper cars at the amusement park. But what they like is that it’s not just bumper cars, there’s actually something that they’re doing. They come here and it looks easy, and then when they go out there they really can’t believe how much fun it is, because it’s actually tough to get the hang of the car,” Benavides says.
A favorite tactic of beginning players is to use the car to ram opponents, a four point penalty in league play. With the speed of the car turned down to prevent whiplash injuries in non-league games, ramming seems to be a big part of the action. “I thinks it’s fun because you can smash into people,” says Justin Ross, 10, of West Bloomfield. He has played four times and can’t wait to get back. “It gets more fun each time because you know how to control the car better. It’s just an all-around fun thing to do. I’ll go anytime.” Jeff Epstein, also 10, shares the enthusiasm. “I like bumping into people, and scoring,” he says. “I like it because it’s a challenge to try to score and drive at the same time.”
Besides family get-togethers and league competition, metro area businesses frequently reserve court time for employees and to entertain clients. “It’s a great entertaining tool,” says WhirlyBall West employee David Mitchell. “There are a lot of businesses entertaining here because it’s a great way to keep your competitive edge.”
Home team Just Kidding rallied in the final two games and won the WhirlyBall West Monday night league championship over the Untouchables, winning the final game with a last second three-point shot.
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