LAFD 15 year member Octavio “Tati” Silveyra will be inducted into the Southern California Handball Hall of Fame on September 21, 2013. The Hall of Fame Tournament and Banquet will be held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Over the course of 30 years he states that he has had hundreds of bloody battles on the court, some good and some bad. He has won a total of 12 National Championships, with the most notable occurring in 1994 and 1997 when he won both Pro Singles and Pro Doubles with partner John Bike Jr. Very few players accomplish this because of how taxing it is on the body. He stated, “It feels like your arms, shoulders and back are going to give out or fall off!”
Silveyra joined the LAFD Fire Explorer Program in 1989 with the help of Ron Munoz and Joe “Mr. Handball” Holguin. With the help of members assigned to Fire Stations 26, 10, 14 and countless individual firefighters, he focused on studying to test to become a Los Angeles City Firefighter. His dream was fulfilled on September 8, 1998.
Although he was in his prime as a handball player, he made becoming a dependable and competent firefighter his top priority. After a few years of hard work and study, he became comfortable enough to resume playing handball again on a regular basis. He is a great ambassador for the sport, and is known for his great attitude and good sportsmanship. There are countless players on the LAFD who “nearly won” a game against Tati.
He has been married to his wife Denise for 17 years, and they have three children: Sara 14, Sam 13, and Savanna 11. He is a dedicated father and coach, which limits his time to play in tournaments due to his “family first” priorities.
His Fire Department handball highlight was playing in the Venice Beach Doubles Tournament with Greg Malais when Malais returned to work after losing his leg. Tati was so impressed with the inner drive that Greg displayed by not letting anything stop him from returning back to full duty. In 2012, Silveyra showed that he still plays at the highest level of Pro Handball by coming out of retirement and winning the U.S. Open of Handball with Naty Alvarado Jr.
Octavio Silveyra is currently assigned to Fire Station 69 “C” where Kevin Egizi, Gary Maga, Billy Barrera, Ron Munoz and Dennis Hain constantly have battles on the court.
Top Station Challenge
Fire Station 92 is still the Top Handball House on the LAFD. Fire Station 66 is the latest victim! After challenging the “Champs,” Fire Station 66 sent their top doubles team consisting of John Garnica and Casey Glynn to challenge the “Tatoo Brothers” Chad Rolish and Joe “Dirty Right” Steiner. After Rolish and Steiner introduced them to the agony of defeat, the rest of their team could not muster up the courage to show up and take their beat-down. Result – Fire Station 92 “Still the Champs!”
Tournament Announcement
The Annual Venice Beach 3-Wall Handball Tournament is Saturday, September 14, 2013.
Handball Ladder
Ryan Chance (82-C) continues to move up the Handball Ladder by defeating Nico Avila to return to the top 20, then he took down Chris Hart for the 15th spot. Start training for the Fall Singles.
By the Commissioner
