Even on a beach volleyball court, it’s impossible for Hermosans to stick their heads in the sand.
After a lengthy meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Advisory Commission earlier this month, varying proposals regarding courts and nets in the area surrounding the pier remain stuck in disagreement. The proposals represent approaches to space in the commercial zone, defined as the the stretch of sand between 10th and 15th streets, and touch on familiar Hermosa issues like tourism, alcohol and density.
Among the proposals being considered was one from USA Volleyball to increase the number of courts on the portion of the commercial zone south of the pier. There are currently 16 courts on the pier’s north side, but only seven to the south.
Mark Paaluhi, the organization’s Junior Beach Tour coordinator, said USAV’s “ideal” would be 16 courts clustered south of the pier. (The organization has yet to consult a city engineer on the project, but plans to do so soon.)
No action was taken, and it is likely that the proposal will be decided by the City Council. But some commissioners were visibly skeptical of the proposal during the meeting.
“We have 71 courts in Hermosa. We are very blessed to have 71,” said Commissioner Maureen Lewis, referring to the number of courts on city beaches. “I have a really hard time looking at proposals building out a mini-city on the south side.”
In an interview after the meeting, Paaluhi said he was “disappointed” with the direction of the discussion, arguing that some commissioners missed or ignored the issues he raised.
During the week, pros and Olympic hopefuls take up positions early in the morning at courts in residential areas. According to Paaluhi, this would be less likely to occur if more courts were provided in the commercial area, as USAV would instruct its affiliates to focus on these courts, while deferring to the “challenge” rule if others wanted to use them.
And during the summer, when tournaments are held at the courts around the pier almost every weekend, recreational players who typically seek courts in the area are pushed into other parts of the city.
“We do have a high volume of use when it comes to the weekend events and the tournaments,” he said. “That’s when the problem is created.”
In a subsequent interview, Lewis described these arguments as a “scare tactic.” The problem, she said, is that a disproportionate number of people want to play near the pier. Even on impacted summer weekends, she said, empty courts can be fairly easily found.
“The North side of the pier is like Park Avenue. Everybody wants to play there, to be seen,” Lewis said. “If it’s really about the game, then any of the 71 nets should be enough.”
The commission has been studying this issue through one of its subcommittees for over a year now, but firm data on crowding was not available. And as Commissioner Jani Lange pointed out, short of stationing a video camera on the pier and counting people in the sand, evidence is likely to remain more anecdotal than numeric.
In addition to USAV’s court expansion plan, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) seeks to replace the nets in the commercial zone. Anheuser Busch sponsors the nets, which bear “Bud Light” insignia. Representatives from the AAU, which runs exclusively youth tournaments, said that when they stage tournaments in Hermosa, they temporarily remove the nets and put up new ones.
“We have to pull down the Bud Light nets and put up our own,” Denny Lennon, the AAU tour director and the former head of USAV beach volleyball, said after the meeting. “If we don’t, the pictures are no good once we get them.”
Lennon said that beach volleyball has become very popular among youths nationwide in recent years. Lennon recalled growing up playing beach volleyball with few youth tournaments. By contrast, for the upcoming West Coast Junior Olympic games, taking place at the Hermosa Pier this weekend, there will be some 300 teams from over 30 states.
AAU will replace the existing nets with ones bearing its own insignia and that of Hermosa Beach. According to an AAU representative, 50 nets costs about $11,000, not including installation and maintenance.
But the “rebranding” proposal also does not enjoy universal support. Chris Brown, head of California Beach Volleyball, has helped the city maintain the nets in the commercial zone for years. He said in an interview that it is unwise to dislodge Bud Light as a sponsor.
During the meeting, he pointed to the the County of Los Angeles, which owns the beaches and volleyball courts in neighboring Manhattan Beach, and ended a deal with the beer company years ago in favor of Arrowhead. The water company, Brown said, ended the agreement after a few years, sticking the county with the cost of maintaining and replacing the nets.
“I don’t think anybody is going to be able to provide the same level of service as Bud Light. And I don’t think they’re going to be around as long,” Brown said. “The worst function of government is to take something that’s working really well and change it.”
Following the disagreement, some commissioners urged CBVA, AAU and USAV to get together and present a joint plan. Other commissioners, as well as members of the organizations, have said that this is extremely unlikely to occur.
Despite the disagreements, the city is likely to move forward on at least some court expansion plan. The commission directed staff to examine adding three more beach tennis courts to the existing ones near 15th Street. And in order to create more space for volleyball courts on the south side — although not necessarily the 16 USAV seeks — the commission asked staff to examine moving the swing set on 10th Street to the sand near the Tim Kelly statue, where children already congregate. That would leave room for two more courts on the south side.
Commissioner Lange said that in a closely packed town like Hermosa, some compromise is going to be necessary. The city, he said, has to maximize enjoyment of its resources.
“Either way, we’re providing more space, more gameplay, more opportunities for people to be outside and be healthy,” Lange said. “If I could go to the council and ask for more waves, I would.”
