Railinc's culture of wellness is strong, and there are many ways to keep active here, from running on the greenway to on-site boot camps to yoga. Some people swim or cycle, and others get together for team sports like softball, ultimate and cricket.
For the last five or six years, a group of Railinc employees has made the short trek to the sand volleyball courts at North Cary Park every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to play at lunchtime. It’s popular, sometimes attracting enough employees to have two games going simultaneously. And it has spawned a team—the Railspikers—that regularly participates in (and wins) local volleyball tournaments.
“We started playing at lunch for fun,” said Murali Bobba, a senior database administrator who organized the Railspikers team. “We’ve had a lot of people join us, some who play in leagues. We thought starting the team would give us the opportunity to play in games that were more focused on competition.”
The other members of the Railspikers are Raj Mallarapu, Srikanth Maddukuri, Sandeep Pailla, Vishnu Kandi and Nagi Guntaka.
On September 24, the Railspikers, along with a few players from outside the company, won the 2016 Sewa International charity six-on-six tournament, beating out 26 other teams. It’s just their most recent trophy. By participating, the Railspikers helped raise money for Sewa’s “Sponsor a Child” program and a Mumbai foundation that helps children who live on the streets.
You can see photos from the Sewa tournament on Facebook.
And two weeks before that, the Railspikers, won the Triangle Area Telugu Association six-on-six tournament. In June, they outplayed eight other teams to win the inaugural YHC Sand Volleyball Tournament. Proceeds from that tournament went to the nonprofit YourHelpCounts Foundation, which used the funds to donate 100 solar study lights to rural schools in India.
Last year, they won six-on-six sand volleyball tournaments in Cary held by Sewa, the Triangle Area Telugu Association and the Greater Carolina Kerala Association.
The Railspikers also participate in the Town of Cary’s adult indoor volleyball league.
The team’s success has inspired a second group of Railinc employees to start a team—RailHulk—and to compete in the same indoor volleyball league as the Railspikers. RailHulk team members are Ramesh Veerappan, Ganesh Subramanian, Jeff Yusiewicz, Chip Summey, Brian Childs, Murali Bobba, Murali Muthyam and Nanda Navarathnam.
“With the heavy demands of work, sometimes we don’t have the opportunity to build the rapport and camaraderie that can benefit teams,” said Raj Mallarapu, a senior software engineer and member of the Railspikers. “Meeting outside of work like this provides the opportunity, helping us and the company.”
—Railinc Corporate Communications