With the largest prize purse in the U.S. on the line, many of the top Olympians will head from Rio to Long Beach to compete in an FIVB Grand Slam tournament next week – the main event at the 4th annual ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball.
Brazil will look to defend both men’s and women’s titles after defeating American teams in last year’s finals. The FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam features 128 of the top players in the world representing more than 25 countries and is the last of four Grand Slam events this year.
Scheduled to compete are all eight U.S. Olympians including Kerri Walsh-Jennings, April Ross, Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena.
Walsh-Jennings (Manhattan Beach) and Ross with be joined by fellow Olympians and Hermosa Beach resident Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat in the women’s competition. Other U.S. teams include Lane Carico (Manhattan Beach)/Summer Ross, Irene Hester (Hermosa Beach)/Emily Day (Hermosa Beach). Jennifer Kessy/Jennifer Fopma, Kendra Vanzwieten/Kim DiCello, Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes and Kelley Larsen/Betsi Flint.
On the men’s side, the Olympic teams of Dalhausser/Lucena and Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson are slated to compete along with John Hyden/Tri Bourne (Redondo Beach), Ryan Doherty Hermosa Beach)/John Mayer, Jeremy Casebeer/Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach), Mark Burik (Hermosa Beach)/Stafford Slick (Hermosa Beach) and the Crabb brothers, Taylor and Trevor, who reside in Redondo Beach.
General admission is free and Premium tickets are available for purchase to guarantee a spot in the first three rows of Stadium Court. The WSOBV is held at Alamitos Beach, 386 E Shoreline Dr. in Long Beach.
Competition at the six-day WSOBV begins Tuesday with FIVB Qualifying matches followed by FIVB pool play and the USA Volleyball (USAV) Jr. West Coast Championships on Wednesday.
Thursday will include FIVB pool play, Kid’s Day and USAV Jr. West Coast Championships. FIVB pool play, women’s quarterfinals and the USAV Youth Tournament will take place Friday.
Saturday’s action features past and present pros along with hundreds weekend warriors. While the FIVB men’s quarterfinals, semifinals and women’s semifinals are being held in the stadium, outside courts will resemble the South Bay’s Charlie Saikley 6-man and Smackfest tournaments with costume-clad players competing prizes and bragging rights in Coed 4 and 6-man Open Tournaments.
Sunday’s FIVB medal matches will sandwich the “Battle on the Beach” celebrity charity match hosted by Josh Hutcherson, star of “The Hunger Games” film series, and NFL great Terrell Owens. The two stars will each recruit their own celebrity teams that will face off in an exhibition game at 12:15 p.m.
The match will benefit Straight But Not Narrow (SBNN), an organization the focuses on straight youth and young adults striving to positively influence the perception of, and behavior toward their LGBT peers.
The WSOBV is more than just volleyball tournaments but a celebration of the beach lifestyle. Some of today’s hottest names in electronic dance music will hit the sand on Saturday. Aug. 27, for the SPiKED concert series presented by FIAT. The all ages beach bash is free and features headliner and globetrotting DJ, producer Thomas Jack, with Jillionaire, Branchez, Team Ezy and Filthy Gorgeous providing the ultimate summer soundtrack.
For the fourth consecutive year, NBC will provide hours of live beach volleyball coverage on its fully integrated network of television and online channels.
For more information and to register for the 4 or 6-man tournaments, visit wsobv.com.
