06/23/2026
THE FATE OF TORNADO ALLEY CO****LE
Good morning Tornado Family!
I know we haven't made any formal announcements about what's going on and that's really because we're not entirely sure. I'm struggling with what to do and my mind goes back and forth. The one thing I know is we're taking the summer off for multiple reasons, number 1 is for us, we need a break for multiple reasons! 2) is because numbers are way down and summertime has historically been down numbers, 3) is because the venue A/C is terrible and the building has no insulation, it's just hot! After that once fall commences and temperatures start to drop what is going to happen? Well at this point we just aren't sure...
When we started Tornado Alley Co****le it was because we wanted to play more than once a week locally without driving 45 mins or more but we just weren't sure if anyone else felt the same way and how attendance was going to be but once we made the decision to pull together boards from multiple players and give it a go the community blew our socks off starting with the very first tournament when 33 people showed up with 3 hours notice and we were off and rolling like a tornado tearing it up and increasing numbers until we had no choice but to find a larger venue as weekly numbers were 50-70 players on just 5 sets of boards. Many of you surely recall this as you were there with us until 1-2am and continued to support us from the begining and many of you came later as you discovered the sport and started coming to the alley. Even at the larger venue we were still limited to 8 sets of boards but we had more amenities allowing for us to have more room and thank goodness for bathrooms! A concession came later due to high demand and even through a few small speed bumps arose we preserved as direcetos and players we made the best of every situation and continued to grow! My passion was always fueled by the fun and competitiveness of the sport but you all were the jet fuel that made Tornado Alley Co****le soar beyond my dreams into reality! We always strived to have the best equipment, jerseys & swag, but most of all the best atmosphere and family we could ask for! It was because of this great sport we met many of you who became awesome friends and some even turned into family we never knew we had. Through it all the average of 55 players a week was something I always bragged about and was proud of often times in the peak season reaching 65-70 plus players weekly. But unfortunately that has not sustained as the downturn of the sport of co****le started and people began finding other ways to spend their time and money the attendance has dropped, as you all know I was huge in the world of co****le outside of Oklahoma and have had many conversations that it wasn't just us, many of you know from playing other places it's happening everywhere. My biggest issue because I've always tried to be honest and real about everything is it has zapped my passion and taken some of the fun out of it. From the begining I was hesitant to start a club and become a director because I didn't want to feel like it was a job, I just wanted to enjoy it and have fun and like many things it started out perfect and for two years I had a blast it was all I looked forward to every week! But in the last year with venue issues the attendance drop it started feeling more like a job/obligation than a hobby I was enjoying and I never wanted it to be that way. So that is my biggest struggle with the fate of the alley, it's something that deeply saddens me to think about and as I'm typing this my eyes are glazeing over because it truly brought me great joy and pride to have started something so many enjoyed, it never felt like work because I wholeheartedly enjoyed watching and feeling everyone having such a great time at Tornado Alley Co****le week in and week out!
I've been wanting to make some sort of announcement sooner than I have but I just didn't know what to say because I don't know what's to come. But after several inquiries in person I felt I owe to all of you to make some sort of formal announcement so here it is. But no matter what is to come into the future I want to leave you with this... thank you, THANK YOU so much for all of your support since the start it's truly meant a lot to me and my family and all of the other directors & supporters of of our great club. Thank you for the sponsors, thank you to directors, thank you to anyone and everyone that always lended a helping hand it was because of you that it was so successful and it'll always be chapter in life I'll remember and be proud of no matter the outcome!! Hopefully we see you all again soon, until them keep those bags flying flat and in the hole!
To end with some positivity leave comments of stories and pictures of your time with us.
