Beach courts to be dedicated
Editors Note: With rain in the forecast, the dedication for the new Beach Tennis courts in Hermosa Beach has been postponed until April. The St. Patrick’s Day Tournament remains scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 13 & 14.
West Coach Beach Tennis will hold a free clinic Saturday after celebrating the opening of two beach tennis courts in Hermosa Beach.
West Coast Beach Tennis will inaugurate Hermosa Beach’s two permanent courts at 14th Street and The Strand with a ceremony, professional exhibition and free clinic beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday.
On Jan. 26, members of the Hermosa Beach City Council unanimously approved the courts, which will provide space for the up-and-coming sport of beach tennis, without jeopardizing existing volleyball courts. Similar to badminton but faster, beach tennis is played with standard tennis racquets, de-pressurized balls.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony with Hermosa Mayor Michael DiVirgilio will be held at 11 a.m., followed by a Pro Exhibition match at noon. A history of the sport, clinics and open play will follow. The festivities conclude with a raffle at 4 p.m. and a party at Baja Sharkeez in Hermosa Beach.
“We are so excited and thankful to be able to call Hermosa Beach the official home of Beach Tennis in Southern California,” Beach Tennis co-owner Marty Salokas said. “We’ve spent many hours working with the city officials in getting to this point and the great thing is that it is free to play. We’re offering a standard invitation for everyone to come out and play with us and have some fun. It’s a much smaller learning curve than tennis.”
Although Beach Tennis has been an established professional sport in Europe for the past 20 years, it was only introduced in the United States five years ago.
Salokas and his partner, Donny Young, former ATP player and coach, formed an All-Hermosa Beach team that competed in tournaments last year in Ft. Lauderdale, Bermuda, New York, South Carolina, Long Beach, and San Diego. They plan to play in the Pro Exhibit on Saturday.
Salokas said that Beach Tennis will have a kick-off tournament at the new courts March 13-14, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
“We have been blessed to travel around the world playing this sport,” Young said. “We are really pushing the development of the sport in Hermosa and up and down the coast of Southern California.”
Salokas and Young are co-founders of West Coast Beach Tennis Co., an organization helping to build the sport by hosting clinics, forming leagues and tournaments, providing private coaching, and selling equipment. The company has grown to include two women’s pro teams and seven men’s teams from Seattle to San Diego.
For additional information, contact Salokas at 310-614-4869. ER