Super-Spike is back and killing it

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This article was published 17/07/2025 (254 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Western Canada’s largest outdoor volleyball tournament, Super-Spike, is back for its 22nd year with its highest team count since 2018, featuring 375 teams and just under 3,000 volleyball players in the weekend-long event that combines a music festival atmosphere with sport.

“It’s been many moons since we saw a nice increase like that,” said event general manager Greg Paseshnik. “And it’s just very encouraging for the longevity of this event, and people are really excited.”

The fundraiser tournament, which runs Friday and Saturday at Maple Grove Rugby Park in south Winnipeg, is welcoming Virginia to Vegas and Preston Pablo as headliners in their first ever appearance at Super-Spike.

Paseshnik says the rise in numbers is thanks to new participants being “blown away” by the experience, along with the event’s continued affordability.

“(Volleyball’s) the foundation of the event,” said Paseshnik. “But there’s so much more going on. The music we take pride in, programming a great lineup of artists every year, the amount of food trucks that come out, the festival vibe that we take pride in putting on, and we also take pride in keeping the event affordable.”

Various Manitoba acts will also be performing, including Encore, Jérémie & The Delicious Hounds, Daniel Desorcy, Always Dale and multiple DJs throughout the weekend.

This year, the event will raise funds for the Winnipeg Humane Society. While Volleyball Manitoba remains Super-Spike’s core partner, the organization selects a secondary charity to support each year.

“One of the greatest things about Super-Spike is that every dollar we raise goes back to supporting our community,” said Paseshnik. “We’re a not-for-profit charitable event, and we’ve raised one and a half million dollars to date for groups in the community.”

For the volleyball community in Manitoba, Super-Spike has become a “staple event,” according to Paseshnik, though many non-volleyball players also take part.

“With those 3,000 people playing volleyball this weekend, we do a lot of market research and only half of them, in all honesty, are part of that volleyball community,” said Paseshnik. “They’re really out here having fun. They’re here for the atmosphere.”

Both competitive and recreational games will take place over the weekend.

“I can confirm, since Super-Spike’s been around, the numbers in the beach volleyball leagues have skyrocketed,” said Paseshnik. “People forget how much fun it is to play beach volleyball.”

Paseshnik hopes for better weather than last year, which brought lightning, hail and heavy rain, and is also prepared to take precautions against wildfire smoke, which has caused delays and cancellations of sporting events across Manitoba.

“We’re hoping things are going to be fine, but at the same time, we are preparing some contingencies and making sure that people are aware to come prepared and to know their own limits,” he said.

Weekend passes for non-tournament participants are available for $39 and can be purchased at superspike.ca.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca