South Bay headlines as a worldwide beach volleyball Mecca
Whitney Pavlik keeps a rally alive with a dig to partner Jenny Kropp. The duo have won all four Cuervo Pro Series tournaments this season. Photo by Pete Henze
A new era of beach volleyball has begun. Fans of the sport are having their thirst for watching high-caliber action while celebrating the beach lifestyle of sand, sun and partying quenched by a variety of tournaments held in the South Bay.
New players, new formats and new tournament dates make for an interesting – and groundbreaking – season of beach volleyball this summer.
The biggest change is on the professional level. After financial difficulties forced the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) to disband shortly before the 2010 Manhattan Beach Open, veteran and up-and-coming players were in a quandary. Not only did they wonder where they could continue to play competitively, but questioned the future of pro beach volleyball in the United States.
Founded in 1983, the AVP had become a staple in the beach volleyball community with annual tournaments held in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara, providing fans in Southern California ample opportunities to watch the best players in the game up close and personal.
Earlier this year, Wide Open Beach Volleyball was forced to cancel its annual tournaments in Hermosa and Manhattan after losing its title sponsor, Corona Light, leaving locals with two fewer chances to enjoy professional beach volleyball.
“It’s kind of sad that in this day and age, most kids don’t know who the top beach volleyball players are unless they are Olympians. I’d like to see that change,” said Bill Sigler, Director of the annual Smackfest 4-man tournament that will take place Saturday in Hermosa Beach and include many present and former pro players.
Fortunately for the hundreds of players and thousands of fans who come to rely on local professional tournaments, IMG Worldwide, Inc. joined forces with USA Volleyball in 2011 hosting the three-event Jose Cuervo Series.
In 1979, Cuervo became beach volleyball’s first major sponsor leading to televised coverage of numerous tournaments, which was influential in beach volleyball becoming an Olympic sport in 1996. Its return to the sport has helped the Cuervo tour increase to seven events this year, including three in Southern California, beginning with the Hermosa Beach Open last weekend.
While the South Bay continues to be the Mecca for beach volleyball, its future is even more promising. Now in its second season, the National Volleyball League has expanded to seven events. Owner and Hermosa Beach resident Albert Hannemann is working on details to bring an event to the South Bay in 2013.
Even the AVP is back in the domestic picture under the new ownership of Donald Sun. The organization is taking baby steps by scheduling only two tournaments later year with hopes of alluring members of the U.S. Olympic teams who have returned from London. The Cincinnati Open will be held over Labor Day weekend and the AVP Championship will take place in Santa Barbara Sept. 7-9.
Given the ups and downs of the sport’s recent past, players and fans alike hope that its recent upsurge sustains. Beach volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1996, and both the Beijing games in 2008 and the upcoming London games cast a bigger spotlight on the sport and its stars.
“The sport is in a fragile state and a transitional time,” said Matt Fuerbringer, a pro beach volleyball veteran who narrowly missed qualifying for this year’s Olympics. “We are searching for our place in the sports world right now, but we have a lot of great sponsors and business people involved fighting every day to grow our sport. Hopefully the Olympics will be the catapult we need to grow our fan base and show the world what amazing athletes play our sport.”
[scrollGallery id =431]Talking Smack
Many of the top pro players who competed in the Hermosa Beach Open will return to the city on Saturday as participants in the Smackfest Pro 4’s Exhibition presented by Bud Light and Smack Sportswear.
Celebrating its 19th year, Smackfest has grown to become one of the largest co-ed beach volleyball tournaments in the nation and is held in partnership with the National Volleyball League and sanctioned by USA Beach Volleyball.
The tournament is a true celebration of the beach lifestyle with players competing in theme-based costumes and taking advantage of local watering holes in between matches
Along with the novice tournament and Pro 4’s exhibition, this year’s event will feature a fashion show produced by Sharkeez FIN night and music provided by Red Bull. The pros will be competing for $10,000 in cash and prizes with the semifinals and finals being streamed on www.Smacksportswear.com.
“This is a first-time ever event,” Director Bill Sigler said. “The Pro 4’s exhibition was supposed to be on June 9 but we merged it with the Smackfest tournament. We’re excited to have Bud Light on board. I believe they haven’t sponsored a four-man tournament since the 1980s and early ‘90s.”
The Pro 4’s competition will consist of eight teams comprised of three men and one woman. Last week, team captains Anjihno Bacil, Albert Hanneman, Mike Lambert, Lee LeGrande, Jose Loiola, Mark Kerins, Stein Metzger and Mark Williams met on the patio of the USA Beach Volleyball offices in Hermosa Beach to conduct their draft.
“It was a reunion for many of the players,” Sigler said. “It was a fun evening, watching the strategy of the captains as they decided if they needed another big man or a setter. Each captain drafted two men, one woman and was allowed to pick a wild-card player not listed on the draft board making a maximum of five players per team.”
The list of draft choices included Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena, who narrowly missed representing the United States in London as the second men’s beach volleyball team. They are ranked fourth on the FIBV World Tour this season.
The field of women is equally impressive, headed by legendary beach volleyball star and Manhattan Beach native Holly McPeak.
Competing in Pool 1 will be Team Bud Light (Hannemann, Fuerbringer, Adam Roberts, Brooke Sweat), Team Red Bull (Kerins, Ryan Doherty, Tim May, Christal Morrison), Team VB Superstore (Lambert, Casey Patterson, Paul Baxter, Britt Hochevar) and Team Jet Blue (Williams, Mike Diehl, Ty Loomis, Angie Akers).
Pool 2 teams include Team Smack (Anjihno, Fred Souza, Austin Rester, McPeak), Team Bud Lime (Metzger, Lucena, Avery Drost, Tyra Turner), Team Gearfoot (Loiola, Ty Tramblie, Evan Engle, Jenny Kropp) and Team Sharkeez (LeGrande, Bill Strickland, Jesse Rambis, Jess Gysin).
Sigler, who obtained an AAA rating as a player, is passionate about the game of beach volleyball and believes Saturday’s event is something the rest of the country would like see. For years, proceeds from the Smackfest tournaments have benefited the So Cal Foundation for Children (SCFC) which raises funds for scholarships, education, guidance and athletic opportunity to underprivileged youth.
Sigler hopes to expand the event to Dallas, Chicago and the East Coast where each tournament can benefit local charities.
“I hope it grows nationwide and continues to feature old heroes and young guns like it will this weekend,” Sigler said.
Sigler feels the four-man game is the ideal format for beach volleyball.
“Personally, I think the two-man game is a little boring,” Sigler explained. “It’s pass, set, hit. But in the four-man game, the rallies are longer, there are multiple hitters and lots of defense. It’s an exciting game that produces camaraderie and people love to play and watch it.”
Read Questions to be answered on page 2