Fifty years ago, Mike Bright and Mike O’Hara stood on the sand adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Pier surrounded by friends and family, sand chairs, beach towels and coolers. Staring through a net at Mike Higer and Gene Selznick, the duo was one point away from winning the first official beach volleyball tournament held in Manhattan Beach.
When Bright and O’Hara tallied their final point, they had no way of imagining the history they had made. Not only did the victory mark the team’s first of five consecutive wins at the event, but it inaugurated a tournament that would become known as the crown jewel of the sport.
Last year, the National Football League recognized the 50th anniversary of the AFL with teams and officials donning uniforms from the era. The Manhattan Beach Open celebrates its 50th year tomorrow through Sunday with a throw-back look also – but not by choice. The center-court stadium, surrounding bleachers and uniformed dancers will be replaced by folding chairs, beach towels.
The event’s Golden Anniversary celebration appeared tarnished only six days before qualifying rounds were to begin today for the AVP NIVEA Tour Manhattan Beach Open presented by Bud Light Lime when the Association of Volleyball Professionals cancelled the remaining five events of its 2010 tour due to funding difficulties.
Fortunately for the tight-knit beach volleyball community, the City of Manhattan Beach and the California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) stepped up to keep the Manhattan Beach Open tradition alive. According the CBVA president Chris Brown, the tournament will be held Friday through Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. each day with no admission charge. The tournament will be run by J. Parker Saikley and the CBVA.
“We’re confident it will be a great tournament with many of the best players from the AVP competing,” Brown said. “We expect a large field with potentially 128 men’s and women’s teams competing. It will be a fun, old-school type of tournament.”
Classic, white leather Wilson balls will be used in each match, which will consist of one game to 15 points and played on classic long courts with side-out scoring. Players are asked to be prepared to referee when not competing.
AVP and CBVA rankings will be used for seeding purposes. Single-elimination qualifying rounds will be held Friday with the top teams from the qualifier joining the top 48 (the highest ranked AVP teams plus three pre-qualified wildcards) for a total of 64 teams in the main draw. Main draw play will be double elimination and held Saturday and Sunday.
AVP Commissioner, Manhattan Beach native and legendary player Mike Dodd expressed mixed feelings about this year’s Manhattan Beach Open.
“I like to see the players pay homage to the Manhattan Beach Open,” Dodd said. “Ultimately, many AVP players will play in the tournament, but I was hoping it would be symbolic of the best players who compete in the Olympic-style format. The Manhattan Beach Open is supposed to reflect the best of the sport.” (AVP rules were changed in 2002 to conform with the international game, which is played on a shorter court, allows net serves and uses rally scoring.)
At least one Manhattan Beach Open has been held each year since 1960 with the exception of 1997-98 when the annual tournament was canceled due to legal issues and a lawsuit brought against the City of Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County, and the AVP by a small local interest group.
Brown said that qualifying spots earned at previous AVP events would be honored and that the tradition of plaques bearing the winner’s names, embedded on the pier would be continued. Prize money will be determined by the amount of sponsorship that can be secured.
“In no way does the CBVA aspire to become the AVP,” Brown stated. “We have a great partnership with the AVP and serve as a type of feeder tour for them. I have every reason to believe there will be an AVP tour next year.”
Fabled history
The Manhattan Beach Open has been the site of countless beach volleyball milestones. In 2001 Sinjin Smith played the final match of his impressive career, a 21-19 and 24-22 loss with George Roumain to Dax Holdren and Todd Rogers in the fourth round of the contender’s bracket. Smith retired as the leader in tournaments played with 416, 2nd in all-time victories with 139, and 4th in all-time winnings with over $1.6 million earned.
Three years later the women’s semi-finals, Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis snapped the 89-match winning streak of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh by the score of 21-19 and 21-19. The last time Misty and Kerri had been defeated was July 5, 2003 by Ana Paula Connelly and Sandra Pires in the finals of the Norway Open. The loss also snapped the May/Walsh winning streak of 15 consecutive tournaments and 13 straight domestic.
In 2004, Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs defeat Johnson Jordan and Davis 21-19, 16-21, and 15-12 in 76 minutes to give McPeak her 68th victory, moving her ahead of Karolyn Kirby as the all-time leader in women’s victories.
That same season, Karch Kiraly extended his record number of victories to 145 by winning the Manhattan Beach Open with Mike Lambert over Matt Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings, 21-15 and 21-18 in only 45 minutes. The victory was the first for Lambert, who became the 13th partner to win with Kiraly, who also added to his records as being the oldest player to win, at 43 years, 7 months, and 3 days, and winning in his 23rd different season.
A cloud over the tournament
The AVP’s decision to shut down the tour – while not unexpected – is a crushing blow to tour players. Many players relied on the tournaments for their income and, with the exception of the few teams competing internationally in the FIVB SWATCH World Tour, it provided a source of competition at the highest level.
Only five months into his job as AVP commissioner, Dodd related his disappointment at being forced to cancel the tour in a message posted on the AVP website.
“Through the course of this investor search we have encountered individuals and groups with intelligence, common sense and a passion for the game of beach volleyball,” Dodd said. “Unfortunately, the time constraints were such that pulling the trigger on the amount of money necessary to salvage this season were too great. Ironically this sad news comes as we approach the 50th anniversary of the Manhattan Open, our sport’s crown jewel and the one event that showed us all we could dream big. The Open has seen its ups and downs over the years and always persevered. I’m sure our sport will do the same.”
Dodd and partner Tim Hovland were five-time winners at Manhattan Beach, including the first AVP event 1984.
“In the end, everyone wants to be remembered,” Dodd said. “I won a ton of Chicago Opens and Belmar Opens but who knows that? But people can walk down the Manhattan pier and see the names. The Olympics and the Manhattan Beach Open are the two things that if you win, you’re part of history. You are part of a family or group that did something unique that no one will ever take away.”
“On behalf of AVP staff we want to express our sincere gratitude to fans, players, partners and sponsors,” AVP CEO Jason Hodell stated on the organization’s website. “Words cannot express our profound disappointment.”
Battling a tough economy and in between Olympic years when fan support ebbs, the AVP experienced difficulty recovering from a loss of approximately $8 million dollars at the end of the 2008 season when Cuervo, McDonald’s, Nautica, Banana Boat and Hilton ended their sponsorships.
Longtime announcer and Hermosa Beach resident Chris “Geeter” McGee, “the Voice of the AVP” despite enjoying a successful broadcasting career in a variety of sports, said he was deeply saddened by the news of the AVP.
“For the last 13 years I have been a part of an amazing journey with so many great people that I consider friends… from players, to fans, to referees, to sponsors and last but not least the staff, who worked so hard behind the scenes for no glory,” McGee said. “It has been an identification of sorts for me and something I can always count on. It was part of me and who I am. Volleyball is a unique and tight community and it saddens me that so many will be affected by what has happened. It still, to be honest, is a shock… like a bad dream, and I keep hoping I will wake up and be on the stage at the Manhattan Open doing my thing with all my friends playing.
“I’ll miss Sundays… they are what made it for me. The stakes were high, the best of the best were playing and the energy was at an all-time high. There is nothing like introducing players before a final with a packed house goin’ nuts.”
Many players and organizers believe there will be a tour in 2011. They feel that the decision by the AVP could be a one-step back, two-steps forward situation, with new investors and re-grouping making the AVP stronger in the long run. Most agree that whatever the outcome, it will a have a definite impact on the sport, including the possibility of an override vote to eliminate sand volleyball as a women’s sport in the NCAA. Selection of U.S. beach volleyball teams for the 2012 Olympics is also in question. The AVP was to have partnered with USA volleyball in running the qualifying tournaments.
“The athletes are amazing and this game is just too good to go away,” McGee said. There are so many people who love this game that I believe and will remain optimistic that there will be some version of the tour next year. I do know that beach volleyball in the USA has to have a strong domestic tour… that is what has enabled us to win four Olympic gold medals in the sport of beach volleyball.”
Thanks for the memories
A number of players related their feelings on a blog posted on the AVP website.
“I feel like one of the fortunate ones who got into the FIVB at the right time,” Redondo Beach resident Angie Akers said. “To think that so many great players will most likely hang it up and move on to a new phase of life is sad. So much talent with no place to go. It is devastating to even think about. For the last nine years the AVP has been my life. I have lived and breathed it. I have been bored out of my mind in the off-season and then once January rolls around, I feel excitement like I am a kid starting something new again. I only imagine it is the same for most players. There is something special about playing on your home turf. You appreciate it even more after spending so much time abroad. There are so many loyal fans that have become part of the AVP family and to think we may never hear their cheers again is a tragedy. The AVP has been the catalyst to me discovering my dreams and finding a way to make them come true. I owe a debt of gratitude for the opportunities that the AVP has set before me for the last nine years.”
Former Bay League MVP at Redondo Union High School, 28-year-old Aaron Wachtfogel found the news about the AVP hard to swallow.
“I can’t come to terms with the end of the AVP,” the Hermosa Beach resident said. “I’ve put everything I’ve had into becoming as good at volleyball as I can over the last seven years and as long as I can remember before that. Now that I can feel the improvement, growth and maturity elevating my game I have nowhere to go. I’ve put off more lucrative careers because I have love and respect for the game and want to make my mark. Be a part of the great history I grew up loving.”
Anthony Medel, a 32-year-old player living in Redondo Beach, reflected on the good times.
“I can’t even put into words what a tremendous amount of sadness I’m feeling at this very moment,” Medel said. “I don’t really want to dwell on that, but rather share a few of my fondest memories of a sport that has given me what few people get to experience – the rush of the crowd in a huge stadium, thousands deep; beating the 2008 gold medalists to reach my first AVP final; playing the sport I love and supporting myself doing just that…with each endless summer running seamlessly into the next. The AVP, and volleyball in general, have been my life ever since I was 13 years old. I fell in love with this sport years ago and always wanted to play on the AVP Tour someday. I wanted to be just like Karch (Kiraly). Did I mention I got to compete against him 7 or 8 times? What an honor and a privilege. I really did get to live out my dream even if it was cut a bit short. I got to play in 3 professional finals, 2 on the AVP, and one live on NBC. I won back-to-back-to-back 6-Man championships in true Magnum fashion with some of the best gentlemen/volleyers in the world. Volleyball has taken me all over the world and introduced me to some amazing and genuine people – people I have met on Volleyball Vacations at ClubMeds, Hot Winter Nights, and private tournaments on a little island owned by a fashion mogul. This is such a unique sport, a sport that can take you anywhere and everywhere. It has been my passion and my life for many years. I hope that the next generation of players can have the opportunity to strive to be the next great beach volleyball players of the future, and be able to experience the wonderful world of competitive beach volleyball like I have.”
Hermosa Beach resident Paige Jensen is an up-and-coming AVP player who, amid rumors of the dismal financial situation of the AVP, re-entered the workforce.
“We kinda knew it might be happening but now that it’s official, it’s such a bummer,” Jensen said. “I had started working this season again anyway. With the low number of tour stops and drop in prize money at the start of the season, it was time to get something else to supplement the income. I had plans to get my insurance license in the offseason anyway so I guess that will now be happening much sooner.”
Jensen said that the AVP has been a major part of her life but will continue to compete wherever she has the opportunity.
“It has been not only the professional tour that I’ve competed on for the last four years but also a lifestyle,” Jensen reflected. “The AVP was a standing symbol nationwide for anyone who knew, wanted to know, or had anything to do with beach volleyball. If you didn’t play on the AVP or in qualifiers to make the AVP Main Draw, then you were playing in other tournaments to get better in hopes that one day you could play on the AVP Tour. It really set the standard for beach volleyball in regards to level of play, ranking, tour stops, etc. I only moved out to California six years ago and after a couple of surgeries and trying out qualifiers, I consistently began competing on the main draw tour in 2007 so it has been a influential part of my life over the past few years. As I said, it’s a lifestyle, breeding not only competition but business, friendships, networking, volleyball vacation trips, so much more. It is basically and indirectly how I met my husband, (AVP player) Dane Jensen.
“There are always the local tours on the east and west coast. The Corona Wide Open Tour is really growing and doing well. I had the chance to play in one of the tour stops last year, taking a 3rd and it was a blast! The way the CWO tour is run reminds me of the AVP Tour about 5 years ago when I first came on the scene. It could end up being our new “nationwide tour” or maybe just a model to form others after. Who knows? There are always tournaments to play though, and there still is international competition as well: FIVB, FIVB Satellite Challengers, etc. ER
