You can find all the results HERE.

When we called this year’s Battle a “Mini” Battle, apparently we weren’t kidding, because this is only our second battle results update, and it’s already our last update (before the final results)!  I guess this means we’ll have to make it a good one.  Grab a chair and a drink.  Here we go! 

Sand volleyball y’all…  First of all, could the weather have been more perfect?  Keep in mind, it could have been 90 and sunny, or raining, but yeah no, your friendly Battle Board figured you’d enjoy a cool 75 degrees… You’re welcome! If anyone has a wedding or other big event coming up, just let us know the weather you’d like, and we’ll get it ordered! 

Before we talk about sand volleyball results – first of all, how did you guys like sand compared to indoor?  We’d love to hear your feedback, please feel free to reply and let us know.  Second, did you see some of the amazing things that happened at Setters?  For instance, teams cheering for each other, and how close some of those games were!  Almost every playoff game needed a third set to determine the winner.  Also, possibly the craziest thing of all, I’ve been playing volleyball for almost 15 years and have never seen a game go to 32-30.  Way to go LexisNexis and Reynolds – Team 3, you set a record for the longest game many of us have ever seen.  We may have to add a cap of 25 for next year! 

Alright, how’s that for an intro?  Need another drink?  I’ll wait…  Good?  Okay… Here we go…  Sand volleyball results!!!  *DRUM* *ROLL* *PLEASE*…  After a hard-fought battle in pool play, we ended up with eight teams qualifying into the playoffs (two teams from each of the four pools).  They were (sorted by seed 1-8) 

Ellipse, Winsupply, Skyward, Reynolds – Team 3, CareSource, LexisNexis, Vivial Black and Reynolds – Team 4.  Then, everyone enjoyed a burger, beer, and the quarterfinals, which brought us to our final four:  Ellipse, Reynolds – Team 3, Winsupply and LexisNexis.  The semi-finals did not disappoint at all – I remember watching Ellipse vs. Reynolds – Team 3 on their third set with the score 10-10 thinking, this is literally anybody’s game.  All four teams were incredibly evenly matched.

After an awesome day on the beach (or as close as we can get to a beach in Dayton, Ohio), Winsupply ended up getting the title of 2021 Sand Volleyball Champion. Congratulations, Winsupply!  Our runner-up, in second place, Ellipse, was soooo close.  They won the first set against Winsupply, but lost sets two and three.  Great job on a strong finish Ellipse!  The third vs. fourth place match was just as impressive to watch.  LexisNexis ended up edging out Reynolds – Team 3, but not by much, folks.  Both teams had some great swings on the ball.  LexisNexis got bronze and Reynolds – Team 3 ended the sand volleyball tournament in 4^th place.  Great job to all teams and thank you to all players who participated or simply joined us and cheered, we enjoyed having you and seeing you!

Okay, last but not least, overall results through Saturday, July 31 – Taylor holding on to 1^st place with 372 points.  Reynolds & Reynolds – Team 1 in 2^nd place with 350 points.  Now this part is interesting, Reynolds & Reynolds – Team 3 is in 3^rd place with 336 points (they must really like the number 3), BUT, get this, there are six teams within 18 points of 3^rd place.  So, it’s really still anybody’s game!  And you know how it’ll get determined?  Mini-golf!!!  It’s all happening tomorrow at “The Trails”.  Hole-in-one, or six?  Ace, or bunker?  In the hole, or in the river?  Get some sleep, eat your Wheaties, and come show us your putt-putt talent tomorrow (or just come hang out and cheer for your friends).

Oh, and don’t forget, we will be presenting awards tomorrow after mini-golf (as soon as we get them ready).  So, after you’re done golfing, stick around for a bit, don’t leave, and enjoy a conversation or two while we prepare the results.  Weather should be great once again.  Skyward & Kettering Police/Fire will be selling donuts.  Make it a challenge, see if you can finish all the donuts before we can finish the results!

You can find all the results HERE.

Battle Teams:

I know everyone is excited to talk about the results.  But before we do that, I’d like to start with a new record we set this weekend.  776.  Who wants to guess what this is?  Okay, fine, I’ll tell you – the number of days since our last Battle together.  It’s so good to be back.  On behalf of the Battle Board of Directors, I’d like to say that we missed every single one of you and are very happy to see some new companies and new faces for the 2021 “Mini” Battle.

Okay, here we go, results – our top story and news headline is not about any of our usual top-ranking teams (WHAAAT?!!).  It’s about a team that does not typically has the highest points, however, it’s a very popular team that everyone cheers for.  Did someone say, “The Special Olympics Team”?  Yep, those guys!  Get this, not only did The Special Olympics team get THIRD OVERALL in bowling (which is amazing by the way), something even more amazing happened – the highest individual score (for all three games) goes to *DRUM ROLL* Special Olympics’ star Kevin with 623 pins!!!  How awesome for Kevin and the Special Olympics team?

Continuing with bowling results, Reynolds & Reynolds – Team 1 got gold and were the only team to break 2000 pins, with a striking total of 2058 (average of 172 per player per game).  Taylor was very close behind Reynolds, in 2^nd place, with total 1969 pins.  And finally, as I had mentioned above (I am telling you, I was not joking), Special Olympics came in 3^rd place with 1594 pins, beating Vivial – Black by 9 pins (total for all 3 games) and R&R – Team 3 by 16.  Wow, what close games!

After leaving bowling on Saturday, everyone thought “wow, bowling was fun, there’s no way we can have more fun than this!”.  Well, think again. Our awesome Battle teams went back to Beaver Vu for a second day of friendly yet fierce competition.  Cornhole Ladder was different, right?  That 50’ board was super easy, wasn’t it?  Okay, maybe not this year, but with some practice over the summer with BBQ and beer, it’ll be “easier” next year.  Someone did come very close to making it in today.  That said, the team that’s good at sinking bags is also the team that’s good at making bikes – HUFFY!  A new team this year, hit the ground running (or biking) with a total team score of 94, putting them in 1^st place in Cornhole Ladder.  Taylor also got 2^nd place here (they must really like silver medals) with 89 points.  Reynolds Team 1 was only three points behind Taylor with 86 points!

Our final event (relax, final event “for the weekend”) was another new event – Trivia!  Here’s a trivia question for you – Guess who finally made gold instead of silver?  Taylor, with a total team score of 49!  Way to go, guys.  In 2^nd place, five points behind Taylor, we have Winsupply (I remember those guys being really good at volleyball two years ago, so keep an eye on them for next weekend!).  Finally, in 3^rd place, Skyward (a returning team from 2013)!  They outsmarted Reynolds & Reynolds – Team 2 by a mere one point and took bronze.  Way to go, Skyward!

Yes, it’s a long email, but this is the last paragraph, and I haven’t sent one of these emails in over two years, so that makes it okay!  Alright, overall results (through Sunday, July 25) – If anyone is looking for a catch, swipe right y’all, Taylor apparently has the full package… They are athletic AND smart!  Between Bowling, Cornhole Ladder and Trivia, they have 1^st place (for now) with a combined total of 292 team points!  Reynolds & Reynolds – Team 1 is in 2^nd place with 276 points.  Are they going to catch up to Taylor?  Now get this, CareSource was NOT on the podium for any of the three individual events, however, they did well enough in all three to make the podium of the overall results with 250 points, how cool is that?!!  Can those teams hold on to the top three spots though?  Reynolds – Team 3, Skyward and Oerlikon are only within 10 points of the podium.  Anything can happen and everything can change next weekend.  Who’s excited?  Who’s ready?  Who has a time machine to fast forward the workweek to Friday (and can do that every week)? 

See you at our next event, Sand Volleyball, on Saturday, July 31^st at 10am at Setters.

Also, if you have any feedback about our new events from this past weekend, but only if it’s good feedback (just kidding), please send it along. 

Have a great week, try to actually work and not think about Battle too much, and see you Saturday! 

The Battle Is Back!

It is a new year and hopefully everyone is healthy and ready to have some FUN!  We are planning an abbreviated FUN BATTLE for 2021 that will allow us to safely gather, enjoy some friendly competition, and hopefully raise some money for our local Special Olympics.

When: The weekends of July 24-25 and July 31-August 1

Events: Bowling, Corn Hole Ladder, Trivia, Volleyball (sand), and Miniature Golf

Teams: All events will be four-person co-ed teams (2 guys & 2 girls)

Registration Cost: $300

Registration Deadline: June 18, 2021

We will be practicing social distancing and require masks when not in competition. Team sizes are reduced as is the entry fee.  We will not be issuing new Battle shirts this year – teams are encouraged to wear “retro” shirts with their company’s logo or are free to design something unique for their team.  The attached Coach’s Manual has event and registration details.

Truly – this is meant to be a FUN event.  A chance to get together again – we’ve missed you!  There will be some competition, of course, and winners with bragging rights (and some recognition) – but mainly we just want to gather the Battle family back together. 

We hope to see you at the 2021 Battle!

The Battle Board and Special Olympics of Greater Dayton

Sunrise – As event organizers, we can’t control the weather… Although if we could control the weather, we would’ve had it EXACTLY how it turned out to be for Saturday… Cloudy with a chance of perfection (and competition)!

7:00am – The board of directors arrive… Coaches and teams started rolling in shortly after… We saw teams networking with each other, discussing strategies, and sharing tips & tricks… That’s the battle spirit (before the real battle begins ????).

8:45am – The road starts here with Obstacle Course and everyone hears instructions for the mystery event… Did the clues help? ???? Three teams “rolled” through the course like an exercise ball… Reynolds & Reynolds Army army-crawled to 1st place with an incredible performance of 2:05.65. Reynolds & Reynolds Gold took silver (2nd place) with 2:12.97, while Eastway came in 3rd at 2:18.56. Fun fact: Four teams were within one second of each other, all came in at 2:42:xx. Every milli-second counts! ????

9:45am – Wanna guess who won Wind Sprint Relay without looking at the results? Hint: Their name has “speed” in it! ???? Looking at you Speedway! You couldn’t really see them running, you just saw a cloud of dust. They took 1st place with an astonishing 52.23 (average of 13 seconds per runner per 100 yards). Reynolds & Reynolds Army took 2nd with 53.33 seconds while Eastway came in 3rd at 54.87. What’s nuts – teams that came in 4th, 5th and 6th were within 0.22 seconds of Eastway… How crazy is that?!!

10:45am – Punt, Pass & Place Kick “kicks off”. Once again, teams were able to use a “mulligan” with a $10 donation to Special Olympics. “No, sir, you can’t buy or use 12 mulligans, they are one per team”. Yes, this conversation actually happened. ???? One team literally went above and beyond, with every punt pass and place kick. This team was the only team with a total distance of over 600 feet, at 624 feet, average of 104 feet per person per punt/pass/kick. Wanna guess who? They have the word “Ball” right there in their name. ???? In 1st place, Ball Aerospace!!! Then, American Cutting Edge took 2nd place with a total distance of 599 feet (come on guys, couldn’t someone get one extra foot? ???? J/K – solid performance!), while Oerlikon came in 3rd place with 541 feet.

12:00pm – CEO Water Balloon Toss. Hopefully some of you got to laugh at your bosses while they got splashed. Although please note you are NOT allowed to take water balloons into the office on Monday and throw them at your boss (if you do, please send us a YouTube link ????). Fun event but crazy result this year, three teams tied for first place! Congrats to Aerotek, CareSource – Vitality and Mont Co Job & Family Services on their 10 points. Everyone else who participated got 5 points.

12:30pm – Soccer Dribble also “kicks off”. Aren’t we supposed to wait 30 minutes after eating lunch before playing soccer? Or is that only for swimming? Well, this team must have carb-loaded well, because they rocked it (and rolled it ????)! Once again, they have the word “ball” in their name, and now we all know why ????… Ball Aerospace smoked it in 1st place at 2:18.25. Cargill took 2nd place with 2:38.18. Speedy Speedway finished one second behind Cargill, at 2:39.75. Although these teams had an amazing display of skills, lots of cheering from these teams and others was directed towards the Special Olympics team, who also had a great display of skills. We appreciate all of you cheering for our Special Olympics friends!

1:15pm – All good things must come to an end… So we end an amazing day and incredible display of performance, skill and fun with our last event, Sack Race. Hopping up and down (with the occasional dive and roll at the finish), the following three teams hopped like the Energizer bunny! Reynolds Army came in 1st place with 48.68 seconds, Ball Aerospace took 2nd with 51.39, while Taylor Communications was only 0.08 seconds behind, in 3rd at 51.47. Way to leap into victory, guys and girls! And same here, the Special Olympics team had an excellent sack race with lots of cheering from nearly every team.

2:00pm – Events end and rain starts! ???? So how cool was it that it rained between the field day events and the after party, but not during either one? Maybe we do control the weather ????… Have an event coming up? I’ll get you good weather for a $20 donation to Special Olympics! ????

Alright, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Overall results!!! In case you missed the party, or won the booze barrel and forget the results we announced, let’s go over them more one time…

Starting with our top story, Reynolds & Reynolds Army claims the title of 2019 grand champion with 1127 total team points. Congratulations guys! #reyreylife ????

In Division I – Reynolds & Reynolds Navy came in 1st place with 956 points. Speedway , participating in their first ever Battle, came in 2nd with 919 points and LexisNexis in 3rd with 873 points.

In Division II – Ball Aerospace won 1st place with exactly 1000 points on the dot (I would watch out for this team next year). Cargill came in 2nd with 850 points, while Coldwell Banker took 3rd with 737.

In Division III – WilmerHale was in the lead all week, but Eastway had an amazing field day and came back to win division 3 by 17 points with 914 points. Vivial – Prime came in 2nd place with 776 points, while Oerlikon took 3rd with 709 points.

Here we go, Division IV – the division that’s always the closest. ???? American Cutting Edge came in 1st place with 856 points, CAVU had 775 points, claiming 2nd place. And wait for it, Ellipse & Aerotek tied for 3rd place, but both only one tiny point behind CAVU with 774 points. BANANAS!!!

Category winners: Reynolds & Reynolds Gold claimed the winner title for Computer Companies with 924 points. Synchrony came in 1st among Financial Institutions at 821 points. Mont Co Job & Family Services won the Government category with 702 points. Premier Health Team 1 came in 1st in Healthcare with 918 points. In Manufacturing/Retail, Taylor Communications claimed the title with 950 points. Finally, WilmerHale became the winner of the Professional Services category with 897 points!

Whether it’s to keep the title they won, or get their revenge and reclaim a title they had, we know many teams are counting days until the 2020 Battle of the Businesses. As the board of directors, we are just as excited as you are, and love seeing the healthy competition between our Dayton area businesses. As you all know, there’s more to Battle of the Businesses than the competition piece. While every team demonstrated great spirit during Battle week, three companies went above and beyond, taking the Spirit Award in 2019. They are Kettering Police Department, Oerlikon and Synchrony. Technically, it was a tie between Kettering Police and Kettering Fire… But the police dept gives out speeding tickets and the fire dept does not ????.

We love supporting the Special Olympics, along with all of you. This year, we announced at the after-party, that we raised over $70,200 for the Special Olympics of Greater Dayton (then the dancing started and everything became a blur ????). With all of your fundraisers, contribution and support, we hope to raise even more next year. If you helped raise $1 for the Special Olympics this year, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. A special thank you to those companies that reached their division goal: Aerotek, American Cutting Edge, Cargill, CAVU, Ellipse, LexisNexis, Mont Co Jobs & Family, Oerlikon, Reynolds & Reynolds, Southpaw, Synchrony, Taylor Communications and Verso. We hope to see this list grow in 2020!

Alright, time to rest, catch up on one week’s worth of sleep, think of fundraising ideas, and practice for next year. Only 355 days till the 2020 Battle of the Businesses, but who’s counting, right? ????

Volleyball Final Four:

Should we tell you what happened? Or do you have the final four games on DVR? If you do, get ready to watch some of the best volleyball you’ve ever seen. It all started with two incredible semi-final matches, both as competitive as can be. On one side, American Cutting Edge took down Ball Aerospace for a trip (one court over) to the final match. While on the other side, after nearly 100 thrilling points, LexisNexis won a very intense match against Reynolds & Reynolds Army. All four teams showed us some amazing plays, but they weren’t done yet, neither was the audience.

Once again this year, we held a match to determine 3rd place. With all the cheering from their siblings Navy and Gold, Reynolds & Reynolds Army took 3rd place after winning a very close second set (25-23) against Ball Aerospace. Now let’s talk about the electrifying final match. Have you ever seen a set go all the way to 30 points? Yep, American Cutting Edge won the second set 30-28, but lost the third set 12-15. And with that, LexisNexis took the title as the 2019 Battle of the Businesses volleyball champion. Congratulations LexisNexis!!!

Overall Results (Through Today):

So once again, we tallied the overall results, and here’s where we stand… DRUM ROLL………… Reynolds & Reynolds Army is in the lead with 384 points. Ball Aerospace has 2nd place with 338 points. CareSource Vitality is only 1 single point behind, in 3rd place, with 337 points. In the battle for division championships, WilmerHale is currently leading division 3 with 320 points, while Verso is leading division 4 with 277 points. But it’s still anyone’s game!

Join us at Thomas Cloud Park on Tuesday at 6:30pm for Team Ski and Tug-of-War. Bring your family & friends to cheer you on, and don’t forget to cheer for our mutual BFFs, the Special Olympics team! ???? Now stop thinking about Battle and try to get some work done. ???? See you in a few hours!

Some see the glass half empty, some see the glass half full, very few see the same glass 100% full (50% water, 50% air) ????. The forecast for Saturday showed 90% chance of thunderstorms, which meant 10% chance of beautiful weather… And that it was! A bit warm, or perhaps the right amount of heat to fuel an exciting Battle field day.

8:00am – Teams setting up canopy tents while discussing strategies, veterans sharing tips & tricks with rookies, but our favorite part, teams networking with other teams, getting to know one other, and borrowing hula-hoops to practice “skin the snake”.

8:45am – We start calling teams for Obstacle Course. After awkwardly positioning exercise balls in places they’ve never been placed, three teams “blazed” through the entire course in under three minutes. Get the hint? Reynolds & Reynolds BLAZE came in 1st place with a blazing 2:36.53. LexisNexis took 2nd place with 2:51.00, which Montgomery Country Job & Family Services came in 3rd, less than one second behind LexisNexis, at 2:51.92.

10am – Wind Sprint Relay is next. Just like in the cartoons, some runners were so fast, you didn’t see them running, you just saw a cloud of dust. Referring to you, Reynolds & Reynolds Inferno. They took 1st place with an astonishing 48.83 (average of 12.2 seconds per runner per 100 yards). In other news, how can you win Tug-of-war and also be super-fast? I feel like it should be one or the other, not both. But somehow, superheroes Synchrony took 2nd place here with a very fast 52.27 seconds. Reynolds & Reynolds Blaze was less than one second behind at 53.26 seconds.

11am – Punt, Pass & Place Kick “kicks off”. New this year, teams were able to use a “mulligan” with a $10 donation to Special Olympics. A few teams asked if they can purchase 60 mulligans. ???? We saw these mulligans get put to good use (most of the time). One team literally went above and beyond, with every punt pass and place kick. This team was the only team with a total distance of over 600 feet, at 619 feet, average of 103 feet per person per punt/pass/kick. In 1st place, Oerlikon!!! Then, Reynolds & Reynolds Inferno took 2nd place with a total distance of 588 feet, while Aerotek came in 3rd place, one tiny foot more than WilmerHale, with a total distance of 577 feet.

12pm – CEO Water Balloon Toss. Hopefully everyone had a good time laughing at their boss while they get splashed, although I’m sure that water explosion felt really good on a warm day like Saturday. Fun aside, Oerlikon must have had a magic balloon, or magic fingers, as their balloon never popped, putting them in 1st place with 20 points. Maybe we should auction their balloon for battle bucks for next year? ???? Aerotek and Ellipse Solutions tied for 2nd place with 7.5 points. Everyone else who participated got 5 points.

12:30pm – Soccer Dribble also “kicks off”. Left, right, left again, right again, teams finding the right balance of going fast, yet not accidentally kicking the ball on the wrong side of a cone. Well, ask these three teams how they did it, because they rocked it! Reynolds Inferno came in 1st place at 2:16. Reynolds Blaze took 2nd place with 2:21. Eastway finished one second behind Reynolds Blaze, at 2:22. Although these teams had an amazing display of skills, lots of cheering from these teams and others was directed towards the Special Olympics team, who also had a great display of skills. We appreciate all of you cheering for our Special Olympics friends.

1:30pm – We figured a three-legged race would be too easy. Why would we add a leg, when we can take a leg out? Instead of a three-legged race, our last event is sack race. Hopping up and down (with the occasional dive and roll at the finish), the following three teams rocked (and rolled) it. ???? Wait for it…… It was the three Reynolds & Reynolds teams!!! Inferno in 1st place, Blaze in 2nd, and Ignite in 3rd!!! Way to leap into victory, Rey Rey!!! And same here, the Special Olympics team had an excellent sack race with lots of cheering from nearly every team.

Okay, show of hands, anyone else took a 20-minute power nap between field day and the awards party? How about an hour rubbing aloe on sun burns? Hey, be proud of those tan lines, they are your battle scars!

Alright, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Overall results!!! In case you missed the party, or all the dancing made you forget the results we announced, let’s go over them more one time… Starting with our top story, Reynolds & Reynolds Inferno claims the title of 2018 grand champion, AND breaks the Battle record for with 1167 total team points, the most ever scored in Battle. Congratulations guys!

In division 1, Reynolds & Reynolds Blaze came in 1st place with 1054 points. Premier Health Blue came in 2nd with 920 points and LexisNexis in 3rd with 897 points.

In division 2, wait for it, Montgomery County Job & Family Services won 1st place, by one tiny little single point, with 875 points. Taylor Communications had 874 points (they won the Manufacturing/Retail category, see below). Cargill came in 2nd place in division 2 with 858 points, while Coldwell Banker took 3rd with 631. If you think one point was the closest battle we had this year, keep reading… ????

In division 3, Eastway had an amazing year, and was finally able to claim the division 3 championship title from WilmerHale, who has kept that title for 3 years (2015, 2016 & 2017). Eastway also took 3rd place overall, with 961 points. Way to go Eastway! Oerlikon came in 2nd place with 721 points, while Winsupply took 3rd with 623 points.

Here we go, division 4, the division that had board members rubbing their eyes, double and triple checking results over and over. The winner of this division claimed the title of division champion by HALF A POINT. That’s right, half! Aerotek came in 1st place with 833.5 points, while ATI & Microtek had 833 points, claiming 2nd place. American Cutting Edge took 3rd place with 811 points.

Category winners: Reynolds & Reynolds Ignite claimed the winner title for Computer Companies with 922 points. Synchrony came in 1st among Financial Institutions at 809 points. Kettering Police won the Government category with 714 points. CareSource came in 1st in Healthcare with 943 points. In Manufacturing/Retail, Taylor Communications claimed the title with 874 points. Finally, WilmerHale became the winner of the Professional Services category with 884 points. Will WilmerHale reclaim the division 3 title from Eastway next year? There’s one way to find out… Wait till 2019 or build a time-machine! ????

Rookie awards: Among new businesses that joined us for the first time in 2018, Clark Schaefer Hackett took 1st place with 796 points. Kettering Fire Department came in 2nd with 642 points. Greater Dayton Premier Management came in 3rd with 578 points. We loved having you guys and all new companies. We hope all of you will invite your friends at other Dayton-area businesses to consider joining us in supporting the Special Olympics in 2019.

Whether it’s to keep the title they won, or get their revenge and reclaim a title they had, we know many teams are counting days until the 2019 Battle of the Businesses. As the board of directors, we are just as excited as you are, and love seeing the healthy competition between our Dayton area businesses. As you all know, there’s more to Battle of the Businesses than the competition piece. While every team demonstrated great spirit during Battle week, three companies went above and beyond, taking the Spirit Award in 2018. They are Synchrony, Aerotek and Reynolds.

We love supporting the Special Olympics, along with all of you. This year, we announced at the after-party, that we raised over $68,000 for the Special Olympics of Greater Dayton (then the dancing started). With all of your fundraisers, contribution and support, we hope to raise even more next year. If you helped raise $1 for the Special Olympics this year, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. A special thank you to those companies that reached their division goal: Aerotek, American Cutting Edge, ATI & Microtek, Cargill, Oerlikon, Reynolds & Reynolds, Sogeti, Synchrony, Taylor Communications and Verso. We hope to see this list grow in 2019!

Alright, time to rest, catch up one week’s worth of sleep, think of fundraising ideas, and practice for next year. Only 355 days till the 2019 Battle of the Businesses, but who’s counting, right? ???? Well, it took me half a day to write this email, and it probably took you half a day to read it, so 354 days left now! ????

-Recap by Peter Qumsiyeh

Battle Teams:
If you missed the final four matches last night, you may want to build yourself a time-machine, go back in time, and watch some of the best volleyball you’ve ever seen.

It all started with two incredible semi-final matches, both as competitive and intense as can be. On one side of the UD RecPlex, Vivial – Team 1 took down Premier Health – Blue for a trip to the final match (a trip to the other side of the RecPlex ????). While on the other side, after nearly 100 thrilling points, Sogeti won a very intense match against Reynolds & Reynolds – Inferno. All four teams showed us some amazing plays, but they weren’t done yet, neither was the audience.

New this year, we held a match to determine 3rd place. With all the cheering from their siblings Blaze & Ignite, Reynolds & Reynolds – Inferno took 3rd place after winning a very close second set (26-24) against Premier Health – Blue. And finally, after another electrifying match, Sogeti took the title as the 2018 Battle of the Businesses volleyball champion, after getting their revenge from Vivial – Team 1 (Vivial – Team 1 actually beat Sogeti when they played during pool play on Saturday). What a battle, what an adventure!

With that, we tallied the overall results, and here’s where we stand… DRUM ROLL………… Reynolds & Reynolds – Inferno is in the lead with 392 points. Their slightly younger twin Reynolds & Reynolds – Blaze has 2nd place with 354 points. Premier Health – Blue is only 6 points behind with 348 points.

In the battle for the division 2 championship, Cargill and Taylor Communications are tied for 1st place with 303 points each. For the title of division 3 champion, Eastway is leading the defending division 3 champ WilmerHale by a mere 13 points. For division 4, Aerotek is currently leading at 302 points, only 12 points over American Cutting Edge. But it’s still anyone’s game!

As you can see, the competition is getting fierce. Join us at Thomas Cloud Park Tonight at 6:30pm for Team Ski and Tug-of-War. Bring your family & friends to cheer you on and don’t forget to cheer for our mutual BFFs, the Special Olympics team! ???? See you tonight!

-Recap by Peter Qumsiyeh

Battle Teams:

Volleyball:
It’s the mostttt, wonderful tiiiiime, of the yeeeeear… Nope, not Christmas, Battle week!!! And volleyball is always a great way to kick things off. Competition was so intense on Saturday, and some teams were so evenly matched, that we had to dig into the rule-book to resolve 3-way ties, including ties in wins, losses AND total point differential… What are the odds!

At the end of the day, this was a year of surprises, because three of the final four teams are different in 2018 vs. 2017. Sogeti surprised everyone this year with an awesome team, taking the first final four spot. Vivial was another surprise this year, barely edging out Reynolds & Reynolds Blaze for a spot in the final four. Reynolds & Reynolds Inferno had both siblings, Blaze and Ignite, cheering them on as they took the third final four spot. Finally, after Taylor Communications won a very close game against WinSupply, they fell just short in their next game, giving the last final four spot to Premier Health Blue. What a battle!!!

Join us at UD RecPlex on Monday, June 4 at 6pm to cheer on the final four, and find out who will be the 2018 volleyball champion. Sogeti will play Reynolds & Reynolds Inferno while Vivial will take on Premier Health Blue. New this year, we will have a match to determine 3rd vs. 4th place. No need to cut your fingernails, because we expect every game on Monday to be a nail-biter! ????

Miniature Golf:
Even though the initial forecast for Sunday morning showed a chance of thunderstorms, the only thunder we heard came from the echo of all the holes-in-one. Competition was fierce, yet members from four different teams played together on each hole as if they were one team. That’s our favorite part about battle!!!

And while we were all distracted with team spirit, good sportsmanship and all the colorful shirts and golf balls, BOOM, these three teams snuck in and claimed the top three spots: Reynolds & Reynolds Inferno came in 1st place with an amazing 169 combined score. Their twin Reynolds & Reynolds Blaze took 2nd with 176 and (no, not the third Reynolds team), Aerotek came in 3rd with a team score of 177 (yep, only one tiny point difference).

Swimming & Inner Tube Relays:
After a cup of coffee on Sunday afternoon (or 17 cups of coffee, depending on how much sleep you had between volleyball and mini golf ????), Battle of the Businesses continued with Swimming and Inner Tube. Our favorite part of the evening was seeing all the battle teams, put their intense competition aside for a minute, to loudly cheer for their new best friends, the Special Olympics team. After that minute was over, the battle continued.

Reynolds & Reynolds Inferno was certainly on fire, claiming 1st place in both swimming and inner tube, with a flaming fast 1:16.51 swim (six seconds from the 1:10.47 record set by Wright State in 2003) and 2:13.57 inner tube (only three seconds from the 2:10.53 record, set by Reynolds themselves in 2011). Then, you know how they say “every second counts”? Well, in this case, every 0.01 second counts… LexisNexis swam their way into 2nd place at 1:27.25, while Premier Health Blue took third with a time of 1:27.28… A difference of 0.03 seconds!!! Kettering Health Network – A came in 2nd place in inner tube at 2:19.19, while Reynolds & Reynolds Ignite was not far behind, taking 3rd place with a total time of 2:26.29.

With that, we end a wonderful and eventful Battle weekend. If you think the fun is over, think again, the forecast is heating up, and so is the competition. The Battle is always more intense when we start seeing scores. Come join us and cheer on your favorite team, (or cheer for all of them so you can’t lose!!!). Either way, see you then! ????

-Recap by Peter Qumsiyeh