Popular volleyball program faces citations

A player works with a volleyball coach on a court in South Hermosa. Photo

VolleyCamp, a private beach volleyball program whose south Hermosa games and lessons have earned it a devoted following, is facing penalties from the city in a dispute that highlights the challenges in Hermosa’s attempts to limit unauthorized coaching in public places.

Dozens of VolleyCamp supporters descended on a meeting of Hermosa’s Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Advisory Board meeting Monday night, sharing stories of how the program had improved their game, made them feel at home in a new town, and even introduced them to spouses. They arrived at the urging of Mark Burk, the co-founder of VolleyCamp, who used social media in recent days to rally supporters of the program, after the program’s operating permit was suspended.

Devotees said that the existing city-offered classes were an inadequate substitute, and that impinging on VolleyCamp’s operations threatened the city’s place in beach volleyball culture.

“You have nothing like what Mark offers in Hermosa Beach. Your programs down at the pier don’t come close to what people can get from Mark. Mark teaches people how to get better at playing tournament volleyball,” said resident Dan Cavanaugh.

Despite the show of in-person and online support — the city received some 280 emails on CampVolley’s behalf in the days leading up to the meeting — commissioners were unable to do much besides listen to pleas from volleyball lovers: The citations received by the program were issued administratively, and any policy change that could come to the program’s rescue would need to agendized with advance notice. Commissioners said staff from the Community Resources Department and the City Attorney’s office were examining the concerns, but did not retreat from the position taken by city staff.

“I do want to remind everybody here that we are talking to someone who is running a business in a noncommercial zone without a permit,” said Commissioner Barbara Ellman. “And that there are rules and laws and we need to follow them.”

In a letter posted to his Instagram page, Burik said he was the victim of an enforcement action that would “arbitrarily and severely limit coaching hours” the implications of which would go beyond his program. 

The dispute is rooted in an ordinance the city passed in 2013, in an attempt to get control over commercial activities taking place in public spaces. That includes not just volleyball on its beaches, but also tennis on its courts, baseball on its fields, and more. According to a statement from the city released Monday, VolleyCamp was issued citations for operating in violation of these policies after the city’s code enforcement department received complaints from residents. When the program failed to correct these issues, its operating permit was suspended.

“With unpermitted classes on Second Street and unpaid citations from said activity, the city has suspended VolleyCamp’s permit for March and denied issuance of Outdoor Fitness Permits to VolleyCamp Hermosa,” the statement read.

Burik said at Monday’s meeting that he had not paid the fines mentioned by the city because he had questions pending to the city about some of the insurance and licensing requirements associated with the permits; in an email, Community Resources Manager Kelly Orta said that Burik’s questions were unrelated to the underlying citations.

Although many speakers described VolleyCamp as their introduction to beach volleyball, the bigger issue is likely with more competitive athletes. Many professional players call Hermosa and the South Bay home. They are drawn by its place in beach volleyball history and tournament play, but also its broad beaches, frequent good weather, and “deep sand,” which makes for ideal training conditions. Professional players rely on coaches, and train far in excess of the four-hours-per-week maximum for a given program specified in the city’s outdoor fitness permit. 

One woman, who identified herself as a player with the Association of Volleyball Professionals, said that professional players working with coaches on the beach is pervasive.

“It’s happening currently from Herondo Street to the north end. You go out tomorrow, you’ll find me and every other pro: were all doing it,” said the woman, who gave only her first name, Tracy.

The comment echoed VolleyCamp’s complaint that it was being “singled out” among many unpermitted beach volleyball coaches because of the number of devotees it had attracted. In a discussion last May about unauthorized coaching on the city’s tennis courts, parks and rec commissioners said that the biggest obstacle to enforcing such laws was the difficulty of proving that a commercial transaction was taking place.

“I liken it to traffic speed limits: The speed limit is 65, everybody is going 80. Maybe because we’ve had so much success and members of my class have become such a family, we were recognized for going 90,” Burik said at the meeting.

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