Saratoga Springs, Volleyball Mecca
On one day a year, East Side Rec's football field is flooded with athletes from a different sport for what is quickly becoming a signature Saratoga fundraiser.
If you walked by the East Side Rec football field last Saturday and were surprised to see what can only be described as a 300-person volleyball party, you’re not alone. “We get a lot of foot traffic and people coming through that are like, ‘What is this?’” says Dan Graham, one of the masterminds behind The Great Saratoga Block Party, a charity volleyball tournament now in its fourth year. “Just this year we had the owner of a local business walk by, and he was like, ‘This is insane—how do I get involved with this?’”
Block Party, as it’s known by participants who start forming teams months in advance, is the brainchild of Dan, who’s on the board of Saratoga Springs Friends of Recreation, the event’s beneficiary, and Andy Mink, who’s behind ElevateOC, an organization that raises money for community scholarships and grass roots charities across New York State. The pair first started collaborating a few years ago on a “Pups & Pints” event to benefit Lucky Puppy Rescue, and then had the idea to use their shared love of volleyball to create something even bigger.
“A lot of people ask me, ‘Why volleyball?’” says Andy, who regularly puts on ElevateOC fundraising tournaments. “I was a multi-sport athlete and volleyball is the one that stuck. It’s the community feel. When you go to a tournament for basketball—youth, adult, whatever it is—you have a scheduled time and you go and then you leave. But volleyball has the ‘camping’ aspect—people hanging out all day. So you meet people that are similar to you.”
While Andy is a pro at organizing tournaments that connect people, he turns to Dan to help make Block Party live up to its name with a DJ, swag bags, free lunch for players, plenty of sponsors, and an after-party at Bailey’s—all in the middle of Saratoga Springs in the summer. The result? A 66-team tournament that sells out in 48 hours, with players traveling in from as far away as Vermont and Syracuse. Friends of Rec, a volunteer-run organization that supports the Saratoga City Parks Department as well as other youth sports and activity initiatives in town, gets not only a financial boost but also priceless publicity that’s led to further sponsorships and opportunities.
What’s next for an annual tournament that in just four years has become one of the Northeast’s most popular volleyball events? While Andy and Dan don’t want to increase the number of teams (they like having everyone play on one field), they are looking to grow the tournament’s notoriety—and therefore sponsorship dollars—as well as the youth clinic that runs in the morning before the tournament kicks off. This year’s clinic had around 20 kids, despite Saturday morning’s lousy weather, and with the growth of youth volleyball in the area, that number should only go up from there.
“One of the cool things is that those kids have stuck around to watch the tournament,” Dan says about both this and previous years’ clinics. “And seeing the level of play, they’re like, ‘I want to do that.’ I’ve heard from a few parents that their kids are playing volleyball because they were interested in what they saw that day. The volleyball community is pretty close-knit; a lot of people don’t know how big it is in this area until you go to that one event and you’re like, ‘Wow.’”
Check it out for yourself at the 5th annual Great Saratoga Block Party, returning to East Side Rec on June 20, 2026. Spectators are welcome!
—Natalie