Speak up for Kids CASA 5K (Oct. 8th)

Speak up for Kids CASA 5K

Saturday, October 8th, 2011

Bowers Stadium parking lot

Sam Houston State University
500 Bowers Boulevard
Huntsville, Texas 77340

This Saturday, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) will be hosting a 5K race that will start in the Bowers Stadium Parking lot on Saturday morning.

Speak Up For Kids CASA 5K events across the state raise funds and friends for CASA programs--whose volunteers speak up for abused and neglected children in the court and the foster care system. ALL of the proceeds from each event benefit this program and aid in efforts to recruit and train CASA volunteers.

It is NOT too late to register.

Registration Information and Pricing:

5K Run Registration (Single Participant)          $20.00
5K Run Registration (Family Participants)        $25.00
1 Mile Fun Run (Single Participant)                  $20.00
1 Mile Fun Run (Family Participants)                $25.00

Registration is $20 and is open until Thursday, October 6th. All participants who register on time will be given an event T-Shirt. Late Registration will be open until right before the event, and participants who register after the deadline will be given a T-Shirt while supplies last.

Schedule:

7:15am --Check-In & Late Registration

8:15am --Start time for 5k at the SHSU Bowers' Stadium

8:25am --Fun Run Start

Program & Awards Ceremony will follow the Fun Run. The 5K run is equivalent to 3.1 miles and the Fun Run is 1 mile. Water Stations will be available at various points along the course. Race numbers will be assigned and times will be recorded. There will be multiple awards given for different age groups, but EVERYONE who enters is a winner.

Good luck to all that enter this race!

Click HERE to see the Official Website for the CASA 5k Race.

Click HERE to see the Official Walker County CASA website to find out how you can become a volunteer or a friend of CASA.

Click HERE to see the Official Website for Seven Hills Running Club (local running club for Huntsville, TX)

Aftermath: Square Dancing Free Family Fun Night

Let it be known! It's hip to be a square dancer on Monday nights! Last Monday was the first of two FREE family fun nights that the Huntsville Promenadors throw each year before beginning their regular Square Dance lessons.



I went with three of my friends and ALL of us had a blast. We were probably the youngest people there, but everyone was very nice and thrilled to have us. Nobody was critical of the fact that we were clueless as to how to square dance, and instead gave helpful tips and words of encouragement. Someone said that that "Square dancers are probably the nicest people you will ever meet," and judging by the group of people we met last week, I can definitely believe that. We are very excited about going back again tonight!



The greatest mistake I made last week had nothing to do with the dance moves, and believe me, I made many. I recently went to an event that I was certain would be filled with yummy free food, but I instead left starving, so I ate a Party Pizza before going to square dance last week. I will NOT be doing that again, because they had AMAZING free food. The majority of the regulars bring a different dish every week. That picture isn't even of half of the table.


One of my favorite things about the night were all of the fancy costumes. We didn't know what to wear last week. One of my friends wore a fancy ball gown that she got for $2.00 from a yard sale, one wore jeans and a T-shirt, I wore a horrible mismatched skirt and shirt, and one friend looked like John Travolta from the Urban Cowboy. Everyone else, was better dressed than my group of misfits. There were several nice costumes, and matching costumes for couples, but I have to say that THIS pair won my vote for best dressed:



If you are interested in checking out Square Dancing, then you should definitely go tonight. Tonight is the other free class, and next week starts the official classes. Classes meet every Monday, and it is only $40.00 person and $20.00 for students. That ends up being only a dollor or two per class. The food alone is worth way more than that, and the dancing is FUN. If you don't believe me, then find out for yourself tonight!

Square Dancing: Two Family Fun Nights

Square Dancing: Two Family Fun Nights

Huntsville Promenaders

Mondays, September 19th and September 26th

7:00pn - 9:30pm

7045 Hwy 75 S

Huntsville, TX 77340

FREE of charge!

Have you ever had the urge to learn how to square dance or already know how and are looking for other people who share your interest? Well, there is a square dancing club in town that fits both of those needs! Even though I have two left feet, I am excited about the possibility of two FREE dance classes!


Judging by the photos, it looks like most of the people who attend the Huntsville Promenaders events are over fifty, but I don't see anywhere on the website that states that is a requirement. It sounds like fun for all ages... especially with these two free classes! AND a great work out to boot (pun intended).

The official dance classes will begin in October and last about fourteen weeks. There is a cost for these dance classes after the two free nights in September, but I did not see that price on the website.

For more information, contact:

President Jerry & Theta Upton at 936-856-5287 or email jerryupton@sbcglobal.net

Sand Volleyball Tournament—June 22nd at The Arbors

SAND VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT

Arbors of Sam Houston

Wednesday, June 22 at 5:30pm!

Sign-up in the main office—deadline by event day!

The Arbors at Sam Houston will be hosting a Volleyball Tournament next Wednesday! Sign-up in the front office TODAY. The deadline to enter is the day of the competition. Teams consist of groups of four. Each member of the winning team will win a gift card of an unknown amount to an unknown place… EXCITING!

While you are in the office, get a cup of lemonade and make a donation to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation that is raising funds to help raise awareness and research funds against childhood cancer.

Water Aerobics Classes

The City of Huntsville's Recreation Services Department (the same nice people that sponsor the free Zumba classes at the high school gym) is holding water aerobics classes from now through October 1st at the Aquatic Center. The classes are not free, but the cost is only $35 for the entire program, and you can attend as many classes as you want. 


The schedule:
Mondays & Wednesdays: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
Tuesdays & Thursdays: 11 a.m. to noon


You must be 18 or older to participate. To register for the class, go to the City of Huntsville Service Center (448 State Hwy 75 North) or register before the first class at the Aquatic Center (912 Avenue N).

Learn to Play Quidditch! June 3rd, 2pm

Learn to Play Quidditch!

June 3rd, 2pm

Thomas Henry (Josey) Ball Park
2250 Sam Houston Avenue
Huntsville , TX 77340

The SHSU Quidditch team has been very busy! We saw them last week playing in a Quidditch tournament at Comicpalooza. This week, they will be teaching children the ins and outs of Quidditch as a part of the annual Texas Reading Club. This sounds like a lot of fun for Harry Potter and/or competitive sports fans alike! Grab your brooms and have fun this Friday afternoon!

Zumba: Free Class Tuesdays & Thursdays

Zumba is a Latin-style dance/fitness workout. It's one of the current workout crazes, and it looks like it could be a fun thing to try.

You can try Zumba for free at the Huntsville High School Old Gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 - 6:30 PM. 

For more information on Zumba, check out their website here: www.zumba.com.

Classes run through July 1, so dance your way over before it's too late!

This event is held by the City of Huntsville, so if you need more info, you can contact Kim Barnes at kbarnes@huntsvilletx.gov. 

Something to do any time: Geocaching!

If you're looking for a way to get a little physical activity, one thing you can do is geocache. Geocaching is "a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game." This is an activity that does not cost anything. All you need to do is find out where a cache is located and start searching for it! You can do this by searching on www.geocaching.com or by installing an application on your smartphone.

There are several geocaches to be found in Huntsville. Just type the zip code into the search box on the geocaching website and it will list all of the caches in the area. The search results page will give you everything you need to know about the cache: description, difficulty/terrain, when it was placed, and when it was last found. Most importantly, it gives you the GPS coordinates, which tell you where to locate the cache. Just type the coordinates into your GPS device or into maps.google.com. If you have a smartphone, you can download apps that will allow you to search for caches. I have a BlackBerry Torch and used the app "Geocache Navigator." It worked pretty well. If you do not want to pay for an app, just get the coordinates from geocaching.com and then put them into a map program on your phone or into your GPS.

If none of this is making sense, or if you just want to read more about it, go here for a helpful brochure/guide made by the people of geocaching.com!

If you would like to start out easy, go to geocaching.com, search for caches in zip code 77340, then choose "Forgotten Lovers." It is located in the cemetery on Montgomery Road. There is also a cache in Gibbs Park:

If you take something, try to leave something! Also, try to leave something cool! These caches in Huntsville have a lot of junk in them! Haha. Happy geocaching!

Product: S2H Replay

The S2H Replay is a band that goes on your wrist that tracks your physical activity. You simply put it on, engage in activity, and rack up points. Once you accumulate enough points, you can redeem them for rewards. Some of the rewards include: Gift cards from places like Target and GameStop, music downloads, DVDs, and even Facebook credits.

The S2H Replay only costs $19.99, and they offer replacement bands for $2.99. They have 8 colors to choose from, and the bands come in 3 sizes. Find your size here.

I haven't tried this yet, but I plan to order one in the near future, and I will be sure to give you guys an update!

Check out their website at www.s2h.com. If you end up purchasing one, let us know if you liked it or not! And as always, if you have any fitness-related product reviews or any non-mainstream sporting events you would like for us to cover, email us at info@heyhuntsvilletx.com and we will post your info in our blog!

Photo of the black version (from their website):

SHSU Lady Bearkats NCAA Bowling Shirts on Sale Now!

Hey, bowling fans. If you haven't been paying attention to the lovely ladies of SHSU's Lady Bearkats bowling team, then you don't know that they recently went to Nationals. Shame on you!


The Bearkats finished their inaugural season a couple weeks ago, earning the recognition as the only first year program in NCAA history to advance to the national championship. 


The Ladies are selling a limited number of SHSU Lady Bearkat NCAA Finalist shirts for $20 each with free delivery. 


If you would like a piece of wearable Lady Bearkat history, you can make checks payable to SHSU Bowling and mail to this address:


SHSU Bowling
Attn: Brad Hagen
620 Bowers Blvd Box 2268
Huntsville, TX 77341


Additionally, you can contact Coach Hagen at this email address:  bkh003@shsu.edu


Go Bearkats!

SHSU Muggles Meeting up for Quidditch

Did you know that SHSU has its own Quidditch team?

For those of you who have somehow missed the world wide obsession of all things Harry Potter (final movie coming out on July 12^th! WOOT!), Quidditch is a semi-contact sport that is normally played by wizards and witches on broomsticks but is now being played by real life Muggles. Over 200 colleges are associated with the International Quidditch Association including our very own SHSU team. This version of Quidditch incorporates brooms, dodge balls, and a little bit of wizardly foot action.   

Visit their facebook page to find information about their upcoming meetings. This is a great way to meet some new friends and to also get in shape in a FUN way.

Also, check them out at Comicpalooza the weekend of May 28^th! We will be covering that event in the HuntsvilleGTFO section, but we will also stop by and cheer them on during their match with Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Break a broomstick guys (that means good luck)!

SHSU Quidditch Team

Comicpalooza Event Page

Welcome to Huntsville "Sports-ish!"

Hey, guys. This blog will keep you updated with local sports-related events and things to do that aren't exactly mainstream. I am not a fan of football or anything like that, and you can easily get that information from other sources, so this should be interesting - and perhaps even helpful to all of you people that want to get active without going to the gym.

Follow this blog to read about things like badminton, Quidditch, glow in the dark golf, roller derby, geocaching, video games that help burn calories, etc.  We will also inform you of simple ways to get exercise without joining a sports team or overexerting yourself. If you have any interesting activities you do around town (or nearby), let us know, and we will include your events and ideas.