Radii 150 Fuses Sports and Community

Written by Olivia Barton of placertourism.com

Radii 150 Fuses Sports and Community

(Ray-Dee-Eye) http://radiisports.com/home

It would surprise people to learn that newlywed Personal Social Health Expert Matt Heintz had once struggled with social anxiety; Radii 150's charismatic founder is now a Personal Social Health Expert.  Growing up in the country, Heintz found it somewhat difficult to create and maintain relationships.  "I was always afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing," says Heintz, who had initially turned to alcohol to help him cope with social angst. After joining a local social kickball team seven years ago, he was instantly hooked.  In 2012, Heintz founded Radii 150, a social sports organization that consists of roughly 150 people, with several return players.

The concept of Radii 150 is referent to a study by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, who theorized that 150 is the number of people we maintain stable relationships with.

"I want to provide people with that sense of community you get from a small town, even if they live in a big city; allow them to build a support system to help share the load of life and be healthier," Heintz explains.

And his organization seems to be doing just that--leagues for sports like dodgeball,kickball and cornhole are gaining popularity in the area, but the wide array of unique experiences like 'Word Up' Scrabble Pub Crawls and Brews and Balls are also picking up.  "Our 'Word Up' pub crawl is one of my favorites; think of it like human scrabble. Each person is given a laser cut wooden scrabble tile for the night," Heintz explains. "As you think of words and take pictures [with other players] you are inevitably going to be introduced to new people throughout the night."  Brews and Balls is one of the newest and largest planned Radii 150 events.  The two-day experience is set to take place this fall on September 28th and 29th at the Placer County Fairgrounds.  Music and food trucks will satiate attendees and ballgames and cornhole competitions are planned for both days, followed by a Brew Fest both evenings.  This event is expected to draw participants from as far as Tahoe and San Francisco.

 "I have been blessed to work with Placer Valley Tourism for two years now.  They have really helped open doors to venues and provide ideas for events that would be a hit in the Placer County area."