Idaho Falls Roundnet record attempt falls just short

IDAHO FALLS (KIFI) - A world record attempt for the largest non-tournament Roundnet gathering fell just short Thursday evening.

Roundnet, also known as Spikeball after the sport’s biggest equipment maker, is a sport booming in popularity. Idaho Falls Roundnet director Alex Hart is glad the record attempt was even feasible.

“We started with five guys in the backyard,” he explained.

Four years after that initial gathering, Hart is thinking bigger. The world record of 200 players was set in San Diego on Tuesday - a far cry from the Harts’ backyard.

“I got involved so I could be with my kids,” Hart said. “We all play. We travel to tournaments. We go all over the country.”

Hart became the oldest semi-pro player in the world last year.

"And then a month later, my middle son, Jack, went to Seattle, and he became the youngest-ever Premier player at the age of 14 years old,” he beamed.

Roundnet is a two-on-two sport with similar rules to volleyball.

“Same concept,” Hart explained, “but instead of it going over the net, you have to spike it onto a three-foot circular net.”

It’s a very social game due to its small (but growing) community and the lack of separation between opposing teams. All it took was some free hot dogs, a few text messages, and the record was within reach.

“This is better than I thought it was gonna be!” Hart exclaimed at the event. “People have really showed up. We are super excited. We think we have what it takes to pull off the record tonight.”

Local News 8 asked attendees if they thought the record would be broken.

“Heck yeah,” one asserted. “There’s so many people!”

“I sure hope so,” said another.

“I really hope so,” added a third. “And, you know, with all these people, I think we’ve got a shot.”

Local News 8 asked Hart if he felt the effort and the organizing was worth it.

“Oh yeah, 100 percent,” he said. “Everyone’s playing what, in my opinion, is the world’s greatest sport right now. This is awesome.”

However, nothing ever goes perfectly to plan - especially when it comes to world record attempts.

“Four people play on a net,” Hart said before the event, “so we’re gonna need at least 50 nets to even attempt to break this record. We’ve got people from Pocatello bringing nets. We’ve got people from Rexburg bringing nets.”

Hart brought around 30 of his own nets, but all the extra help nearly wasn’t enough. Several attendees forgot to bring theirs, threatening to torpedo the record attempt.

Eventually, Hart found enough nets - but did not find enough people. The final attendance count was 180.

While the attempt was unsuccessful, it was only 20 people short. San Diego’s 1.4 million people were nearly equaled by the comparatively paltry 70,000 residents of Idaho Falls.

“I want people to know that Idaho Falls plays Roundnet,” Hart said. “And that when they play against a player here, they’re like, ‘Ooh, Idaho.’ So that’s the goal. That’s the vision.”