By Macy Rice-
For the past two years the Iowa High School Girl’s Volleyball Association has been holding the state tournament at the Ice Arena, the home of the Rough Riders hockey team. The U.S Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids has been the venue for the past several years, but currently is going through a major over haul and unable to host the event.
his year was Mount Vernon’s first time to experience state in the Rough Riders atmosphere. The drive there is easy and it’s close from Mount Vernon. It was an easy thirty minute commute for our student body to support our girls at state.
Parking was not an issue at the ice arena. They had plenty of parking and it was all free, no parking meters or worrying about your car getting towed.
The stands were so close to the court, it felt like the fans were part of the action. It was also nice that we could see both of the teams playing from the same side, instead of having one court in front of us, as it is in the U.S Cellular Center. The seats were so close to the floor, we could actually see the facial expressions for the opposing fans while we were cheering across the court. The atmosphere at the arena was ecstatic; when a team got a spike or a long rally, the stands would erupt to the point where we could hardly hear the announcer speaking during the game.
Exchanging from one game to another for the fans went very smoothly. The staff had us exit from one side of the seats, and the incoming school filled in the seats behind us as we left. We were able to exit out of double door on the side of the building instead of going all the way back from where we entered the arena. As we were leaving the building the parking lot was right in front, no need to walk far. No hassle with traffic lights or waiting for pedestrians to cross.
The Rough Riders Ice Arena felt like State to the girls, not just a normal tournament. The tournament ran very smoothly throughout the week, thanks to the extra hours put in by the volunteers, referees and the employees for the Cedars Rapids Rough Riders.
