The WAKA Kansas City (KC) kickball division began last night. My team, Team Fingerbang, opened the season with a 6-4 (called 6-5 for whatever reason) victory over Shenanigans.

This division is nothing like Studio or even Junction, for that matter. The difference isn't a bad thing, it's just new to someone like myself who has played in more than one division and has participated in multiple national WAKA tournaments. First of all, KC doesn't concern itself with "rules." Those are merely suggestions by which you can play if you choose. My old division Studio (and to some extent, Junction) were very much the opposite of this; we knew the rules and followed them the best we could and disputes were resolved through yelling and fighting (I'm only halfway kidding here). My addition to the division board as the newly founded Rules Chair was marginally effective best. I ran the rules clinics both last week and yesterday, but I am quickly realizing that everyone's eyes glaze over and no one pays attention when they have to learn the rules. I didn't expect the Rules Chair to go over well at first, but already I'm getting the feeling I'm not going to be able to change anything.

I think the biggest problem everyone has is that they think I'm going to make it more serious and competitive, which really isn't my intention. I just want everyone to understand the rules so that no one is screwed when the umpires make a bad call. Of course, if everyone knows the rules the umpires are going to make less bad calls, so it really is a win-win situation for the division. I had some good questions last week and yesterday regarding situations that don't normally come up which shows that at least some people are thinking about this stuff. Hopefully the majority of those who don't care will eventually realize that knowing the rules is important and won't make it any more serious than it already is(n't)

The other huge difference is that everyone does their drinking at the field rather than at the bar. We were legally obligated to not drink in Studio and with cops roaming the fields all the time, we really didn't want to risk losing the division's permit. I've heard that it's against city law in KC as well, but apparently the cops don't care since no one causes any trouble, so everyone parties at the field. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with this at all. I couldn't care less if everyone wants to get smashed, it's just different for me since we couldn't do it in Studio. What's disappointing is that no one goes to the bar at the end of the night because they did all of their drinking at the field. One of the biggest draws about Studio is that everyone goes to the bar, win or lose. Hanging out with other teams is the best way to meet people and form relationships with everyone in the division. I think it created a sense of comradery in Studio which really helped to break down rivalries between teams. Hopefully last night wasn't normal and more people really do go to the bar.

Again, I don't want anyone to think that I'm criticizing KC. I've met some really great people and I did have fun last night. These are just some things that I have noticed are really different from Studio, for better or for worse. I would love for everyone to know the rules and actually follow them correctly rather than making shit up on the fly but I'll settle for "acknowledgement that they exist" for now.