News from Wasatch Beach

Collegiate Beach Volleyball post coming soon!

2011-07-27T17:44:00.000-06:00

Linda Byington reports from The Motherlode

2010-09-11T09:39:00.003-06:00

Brenda Whicker and I traveled to Aspen to play in The Motherlode on Labor Day weekend. We were seeded 26th out of 34 teams in Women's Open, even with our AVP Next points earned this year at Wasatch Beach. As a result, our first match was with the 7th seed. It was a close match but we lost 22-20 in the second game. That put us in the contender's bracket where we won several matches to earn 9th place and $300.

This was the strongest pool of teams I've seen at The Motherlode. One of the girls who won it last year (and who trains full time with her partner) placed 13th. Before the AVP cancelled the remainder of the season, The Motherlode was positioned as an AVP Qualifier, and the guaranteed prize money was much better than in previous years. After the AVP's decision, additional teams registered because this became one of the premier events remaining this year. The result of all this was a huge draw for all divisions. Credit to Paul Mitchell for stepping up to underwrite the prize money that had previously been promised by the AVP.

The weekened in Aspen at The Motherlode was really fun in part because of all the other players who were there from Wasatch Beach. Jenny and Andrea played A - they came out of their pool and placed well. Brad Collins and Matt Gordon played Open. Diane Gordon played with a girl from Chicago who was in the Barefoot Wine National Championships at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee. Speaking of the Barefoot tourney, there were a ton of teams in The Motherlode who had also played Barefoot. Shane and another Men's B player played. Casey Patterson played Open with Ty Loomis and Joe Hillman came down just for the party. We all supported each other and cheered each other on whenever we weren't playing.

The Motherlode drew a lot of fans as well as teams. In fact, we played in front of several hundred fans for most of our matches. All in all, The Motherlode was a great Labor Day Weekend event and trip.

Great day at Bradford Beach for the Barefoot finals

2010-09-07T09:39:00.002-06:00

It was a picture-perfect day at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee for the 2010 Barefoot Wine National Championships. This tourney brought together women's and men's teams from 24 local Barefoot leagues and tourneys. Teams traveled from as far as Hawaii to compete.

Check the gallery on wasatchbeachvolleyball.com for some pics from the event that will give you a sense of the environment at this great tourney. As you will see, it was very much a family affair for the Utah teams.

WBV was well-represented by Brenda and Nina and Jared and Matt. Brenda and Nina improved on their 2009 Barefoot Finals by winning their first match before falling to the number one seed from San Diego, the eventual winners on the women's side. Jared and Matt lost their first round match in two long games. While Jared and Matt didn't win the event (I know, I promised I would tell everyone that you did), Jared's hilarious trash talk established them as fan favorites.

All of the players were left wanting to play more. It would be great to see Barefoot modify the format to create a Contender's bracket so that teams would be guaranteed at least two matches.

WBV alum Mike Nelson, and his partner Lucas Black, went into the tourney seeded 4th. They advanced to the semis where they lost to the top seeds, again from San Diego, who went on to lose to the team from Austin, Texas.

Oh yeah, then there was the opportunity to watch the teams of Kerri Walsh and Rachel Wacholder and Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers. This was Kerri's first tourney appearance since the birth of their second child. Phil and Todd basically put on an exhibition in their match with the men's winners.

All the players were impressed with the sand, the setting, facilities and operations at Bradford Beach. Kudos to Todd and Joel at Bradford who stepped up in a big way to host this event after the cancellation of the Chicago AVP Tour Stop.

Meet the WBV Teams headed to the Barefoot Finals

2010-08-26T08:57:00.008-06:00

The teams from Wasatch Beach are traveling to Chicago today (Thursday, August 26) to compete in the Barefoot Wine National Championships on Saturday at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee. The teams will be competing for prize money and the right to play against AVP Pros at the end of the day on Saturday. If you haven't heard, the winning women's team will play Kerri Walsh and Rachel Wacholder and the winning men's team will play Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser. This should be fun!

We wish our teams great success in representing WBV - have a great time on the Midwest Coast!

Our women's team - Brenda Whicker and Nina Mortensen

Our men's team - Jared Starling and Matt Gordon

I will be on the beach in Milwaukee on Saturday to support our teams, snap some pics and report the results.

Looking forward to the Barefoot Wine National Championships

2010-08-16T11:22:00.005-06:00

On Thursday, August 26, teams from more than 20 sites around the country will converge on Chicago for a weekend of celebrating, sightseeing and volleyball competition ... in Milwaukee.

The Barefoot Wine AVPNext National Championships were originally scheduled for Friday in Chicago prior to the start of the Chicago AVP Tour Stop. However, with the cancellation of the remainder of the AVP Tour, the good folks at Barefoot had to scramble to find a new venue for the tourney itself. Bradford Beach to the rescue!

I've played at Bradford a few times this year. With 24 courts, a classic beach pavillion, tiki hut on the sand, and other amenities, Bradford Beach has become, once again, a great place to play and spend time. Check it out at BradfordBeachJam.com.

I look forward to cheering for the Wasatch Beach teams as they compete in Milwaukee and will report from the scene. In the next post we'll feature the WBV teams. By the way, if you haven't heard, Mike Nelson and his partner, Lucas Black, won the Manhattan Beach Barefoot League and Tourney and will be in the mix, as well.

For more on the AVP's cancellation of the league, check out the two postings on avp.com and stay tuned!

2010-05-17T15:50:00.010-06:00

You may be aware of the awesome season that Mike Nelson had last year at Wasatch Beach, winning every open division tourney he entered, the Steamboat Doubles and both summer leagues. You may or may not know what has happened since. Mike's words follow.

Let me start off by saying thank you to everyone who made the 2009 season possible at Wasatch Beach. From the new courts at The Sports Mall, to the many tournaments, leagues and camps, it was great to see so many people come out and enjoy the sport of sand volleyball.

As some of you know, last November I was diagnosed with stage 1 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, centered on the left side of my neck. Just weeks after our sand season ended here in Utah I was going through aggressive treatment in the form of three rounds of chemotherapy and 18 radiation sessions.

The diagnosis was very unexpected and the treatment was difficult. However, it proved to be a very positive experience for those close to me because it put everything into perspective.

During my cancer treatment I received a lot of support from the volleyball community. I continued to play volleyball throughout my treatments, which I think helped me maintain a positive attitude. A number of you let me know of your concern, and a few of you even shaved your head in my honor. (Thanks to Casey Adams for organizing Team Mikey on facebook.) I even had messages from Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, who let me know that they were pulling for me. My brother Dan had contacted them without my knowledge, and they sent me handwritten letters.

It was awesome to feel all the support. Thank you!

During my treatments I wondered if I would ever get back into top volleyball form. My family and I had made the decision to move to California in November to pursue volleyball on the professional level. The news that I had cancer came the day before we were to sign a lease in Huntington Beach.

Feeling alright through the course of my treatments, and strengthened by a positive prognosis, we decided we would still give it a shot for the 2010 season. I gained additional momentum when Maui Jim accepted my sponsorship request. Within a few weeks of my last radiation session and chemotherapy I was playing in the Fort Lauderdale AVP Qualifier with Casey Adams. Two weeks ago I competed in the AVP Qualifier in Santa Barbara and am looking ahead to the next Qualifier in our new hometown of Huntington Beach during the first week of June.

I look forward to what this season will bring. It has been a crazy couple of months for me, but I am happy to still be around, with the people I love, playing the sport that I love.

See you at the beach!

Mike hitting around a block during the Santa Barbara AVP Qualifier.

WBV Women Shine at the Motherlode

2009-09-10T15:10:00.017-06:00

A number of teams made the trip to Aspen for the annual Motherlode Volleyball Classic during Labor Day weekend. We're pleased to provide local perspective on the event, thanks to Linda Byington, WBV Women's Player Representative, and Helen Farr.

Linda teams with Jane Gibb

I played the Motherlode this year with Jane Gibb, Jake's wife. Years ago, when Jane lived in Utah, we played together. We won on Saturday which kept us in the winner's bracket, and ended up finishing 9th in the tournament. We were really happy to tie the best previous finish by a Utah team.

We went out with a bunch of other players and enjoyed the restaurants and night life of Aspen. It's a great town and they put on an amazing tournament, drawing more than 300 teams, including a number of other teams from Wasatch Beach: Helen and Traci, Diane Gordon playing with a partner from Denver, Derran Cannon and Brad Collins, Matt Gordon and Daniel Delanhese, Tobin Reynolds and Dave Tally.

We hung out and supported each other. It was fun having several Utahans in the tourney, and we made friends with a lot of players and fans from across the country.

Helen and Traci - now it really is their favorite!

Traci and I loaded up Linda's Corolla on the friday of Labor Day weekend to head for our favorite volleyball tournament of the year in Aspen, Colorado.

We've been to the Motherlode a couple of times and really love the beautiful scenery around Aspen and the town full of volleyball athletes and fans. There were 34 teams in the Women's Open division this year.

Two years ago we faced a tough team that eliminated us from the tournament, giving us a 9th place finish. This year that same team, Colleen Hunter and Meghan House of St. Louis, won the Barefoot Wine AVPNext Championship Cup and played in the San Francisco AVP main event. We were so happy to beat them in the second round this year in Aspen! Pics of action from that match follow.

Winning that match set us up against the number one seeded team - Paige Davis and Janelle Ruen. The team plays professionally in the AVP and won the Motherlode last year. We played great and beat them in two straight sets! That match earned us a lot of crowd support.

On Monday (Labor Day), we played a tough team from Texas, but beat them pretty easily in two sets. Because of the cross over format, we then played Paige and Janelle again in the semi-finals. They played much better and pulled out the first set 25-23, then won the second 21-14. We played our hearts out and had a great time on the court and off.

We were thrilled to finish the tournament tied for third. We won some money and we were the only team in the top four that was not made up of professionals.

Congratulations to Linda and Jane for matching the previous best Utah team finish, to Traci and Helen for putting the Pros on notice with an awesome third place finish and to the other players and teams from Wasatch Beach who played in the 2009 Motherlode.

Reflections on the Barefoot finals in San Francisco

2009-08-26T10:01:00.003-06:00

On August 13, Nina Mortensen and Brenda Whicker represented Wasatch Beach Volleyball in the Barefoot Wine AVPNext Championship Finals in San Francisco. In this post, Nina reflects on the experience.

I loved my volleyball experience in San Fransisco, courtesy of Barefoot Wine. I think I initially underestimated the value of the tournament; but once I got there, I could see the great opportunities it presented to us as players. It was neat to meet players from all over the country who were as excited as we were to be there.

I think the spokesman for the AVP had it right when he said that we were probably all there to get one step closer to our dream of playing in the AVP. To be able to see the San Francisco AVP tour event that same weekend was a great experience. It was insightful to watch the pros play and see just what it takes to get to that elite level. I had a great experience, inspiring me to continue working hard at my outdoor beach game so that I can participate again next year.

Thank you Barefoot Wine!

Thanks, Nina, for the post and for representing with Brenda so well in San Francisco. See pics of Nina and Brenda, and of Casey Adams and Mike Nelson, in action in San Francisco in the Gallery on WasatchBeachVolleyball.com.

California Dreaming

2009-08-03T14:08:00.006-06:00

Mark's friend Toni Morgan, who lives just up from the sand in Manhattan Beach with her husband Tom, sent the following pics of volleyball during the Surf Festival (images one and two) and the AVP Manhattan Beach Open (images three through six). Enjoy the scene!

Thanks Toni!

Serving notice at the Steamboat Doubles

2009-07-27T07:16:00.009-06:00

Our thanks to Mike Nelson for this post on the highly successful road trip to the Steamboat Doubles Tournament.

The Steamboat Doubles is a very popular and respected tourney in Colorado. This year was reportedly the largest since the event began in 1981, with roughly 400 teams dispersed throughout the various divisions. The host town, Steamboat Springs, is located roughly 5 ½ hours east of Salt Lake along Highway 40. Steamboat is a fun little ski town that looks and feels a lot like Park City.

Joe Hillman and I were one of 24 teams in the Men’s Open Division and one of two teams from Wasatch Beach – the other being Derran Cannon and Matt Gordon. The Division also drew teams from Colorado, New Mexico and California. Joe and I arrived with a reputation among the Colorado crowd because of Joe’s 2nd place finish last year at Steamboat and my 9th place finish at the 2008 Motherlode Tourney in Aspen. As a result, we were seeded second and had a first round bye, giving us some time to relax and enjoy Steamboat Springs before we began play.

Matt, Derran, Mike and Joe at the Steamboat Doubles

We played our first match at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Saturday against Renny Werner and Brain Koistinen. We won in two games. Our second match was against Jake Paul and Jonny Chan; we also won that match in two straight. Interestingly, we played both of our matches on Saturday in the rain. We were pleased to know that it doesn’t rain just in Utah during volleyball season. We were also happy to have had experience in rain-volleyball to draw on, having played as many as 15 matches in the rain during Wasatch Beach tournaments this year.

Our first match on Sunday started at 11:30 a.m. against Dave Maitlen and Jon Stalls - the top Colorado team. Dave and Jon are very skilled defensive players; they didn’t let a ball drop without making a play on it. We were not used to their defense and had a tough time siding out. Nonetheless, we won game 1. Dave and Jon won game 2, and then we battled it out in the third game, ultimately winning 15-13. Our defensive play and fitness proved to be the deciding factors in this match. We had numerous rallies that were ultimately decided by great defensive play on either side of the net. Dave and Jon gave us our toughest match of the tourney and toughest match of the year. By the end, I was exhausted, sandy, and ready for a breather.

During our match with Dave and Jon on the bottom side of the bracket, Derran and Matt were battling it out with Jamey Martin and Mykolai Zerebeckyj on the top side of the bracket. Jamey and Mykolai were another of the strongest teams from Colorado and played very well. Derran and Matt beat them in a three-game thriller, a result of Matt’s blocking and Derran’s craftiness.

At the cross-over round of the tourney, Wasatch Beach was incredibly well represented with two of the four remaining teams. I heard many of the Colorado fans comment on how well the Utah teams played. The other two teams in the cross-over were Dave Maitlen & Jon Stolls and Vince Robbins & Adam Cabbage. We would have loved to have had an all-Utah final, but it didn’t work out that way. As the two sides of the bracket crossed over, we were matched against Derran and Matt in one semi-final.

Derran and Matt played tough against us, but we prevailed in two games. Dave and Jon beat Vince and Adam on the other side of the cross-over in a great three-game match. So, we were lined up in a rematch against Dave and Jon in the finals. We approached this match very differently from our first match, focusing on being aggressive. We served tougher, swung at a lot of balls and played really tough on defense. Joe was a blocking machine, forcing Dave and Jon into shooting instead of swinging. We worked hard to deny them any easy points. We won the first game and then got off to a great start in game two. We continued to play tough defense, and ended up winning the title in two games. It was really fun to match up against these guys not once but twice because they played such great ball.

Overall, the Steamboat Doubles tourney was an awesome experience and I look forward to playing again next year. The tournament was very well-run, which helped to make the experience fun both on and off the court. The Colorado players and fans were very respectful. They really appreciated the fact that the Wasatch Beach teams made the trip to the tournament. And winning it all certainly made the drive home seem a lot shorter.

Barefoot Cup End-of-League Tourney

2009-06-23T08:25:00.016-06:00

This week marks the start of the league-ending tournament for the Barefoot Wine AVPNext Championship Cup at Wasatch Beach. The women's tourney starts tonight (Tuesday) and the men's tourney on Thursday night. Next week, the women's and men's finals will be played on Thursday night, July 2nd.

There is a lot on the line for the teams in the Open divisions. The winners earn the highest cash payout ($500 per team) in the history of Wasatch Beach (okay, it is a short history but still a great payout). As if that weren't enough, the Open division winners also earn a trip to the national Cup finals in San Francisco, all expenses paid. In San Francisco, they will compete against winning teams from 15 other Cup locations around the country. Should they win there, more cash awaits plus a berth in the San Francisco AVP Tour Stop. So this is huge.

Ten women's Open teams have played each other during the course of the past five weeks. Going into the tourney, the top seeds are:

Helen Farr and Traci Walsh
Jada Scott and Lindsey Metcalf
Nina Mortensen and Brenda Whicker

Going into the men's Open tourney, the top 2 of the 14 men's Open teams are:

Derran Cannon and Taylor Evans
Joe Hillman and Mike Burke

Six men's A teams will also be in action, playing for product prizes. The top seeds in men's A are:

Ben Goodro and Ryion Butcher
Bobby Webb and Matt Heidrich

You can see the brackets and the schedule for this week and next on the WBV site. In addition, many of these players have bios on our Community page. Finally, check out the Barefoot Cup page on avp.com.

Next Thursday night (July 2), Barefoot Wines will be at the beach, hosting a Barefoot Beach Party during the finals (6:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.). There will be beverages, games and activities and the best beach volleyball action you may ever see. More info is available on our Welcome page.

So, bring your bare feet to the Beach and join the fun!

Mike Nelson and Jared Starling compete in Huntington Beach AVP Qualifier

2009-05-28T13:58:00.006-06:00

Mike Nelson (pictured at right at the Qualifier) has enjoyed great success so far this year at Wasatch Beach, winning all of the Men's Open events held to date. Last week, Mike partnered with Jared Starling to compete in the AVP Qualifier in Huntington Beach. I asked Mike to share his thoughts about their experience.

My interest in playing in an AVP Qualifier increased during the last couple of years as I observed the success that other Utah players were having on the AVP Tour. After solving some logistical challenges, Jared Starling (pictured below at the Qualifier) and I decided to play in the Huntington Beach Qualifier on Thursday, May 21, 2009.

We traveled to Southern California on Tuesday to make sure that we were able to play a few games before the qualifier. We played at Huntington Beach on Tuesday evening against a team that was also competing in the qualifier. The wind was ridiculously strong, so we all received a crash course in wind volleyball. Although the conditions were rough, it was fun to get out, hit a few balls, and hang out with our families on the beach. It was also fun because Jake Gibb, who was at the beach watching his wife play, came down and gave us a few pointers.

On the day of the qualifier, we arrived at the beach at 7:00 am to register and warm up for our match, which started promptly at 8:00 am. Our court was located right next to the tournament bracket and registration booth, so we quickly had a large crowd surrounding the court, including a number of Utah fans and players.

We were matched against Esteban Escobar and Sean Mackin. We got out to a quick lead in game 1 with some ace serves and defensive plays. We won game one 21-9. Game two was more of a battle. Esteban and Sean came out strong and made some great defensive plays, which proved to be the difference. We lost game two 18-21. In game 3 they made some great defensive plays once again and we were not able to get enough “real” points to make up the difference. We lost game three 12-15. Although we didn’t do as well as we had hoped, Jared and I had a lot of fun playing in the qualifier and competing against players who we had not played against before.

The remainder of the qualifier and main draw was also a lot of fun to experience. We watched a number of matches in which former Utah open players competed, including Jake Gibb, Casey Patterson, Ed Lunnon, Daniel Dalanhese, and Brian Stewart. We saw several of Jake Gibb’s matches over the course of the weekend and watched Phil Dalhauser and Todd Rogers play against Ty Loomis and Casey Patterson (former Utah open player) on center court in the winner’s semifinal match.

The environment around the entire event was electric. Even some of my family members who were there commented on how they had never experienced such an engaging atmosphere.

Overall, I'm really glad we decided to go down to Huntington Beach and I look forward to playing in many more AVP events.

Congrats to Jared and Mike on their play in the Qualifier - nicely done guys. Thanks to Mike, Men's Player Representative at Wasatch Beach, for the post, including the update on other Utah AVP players.

Catching up on happenings at the Beach

2009-05-06T14:21:00.003-06:00

My apologies for getting behind with regard to posting on the Wasatch Beach Volleyball blog of late - lots to do around the Beach as well as away from the Beach. First, a quick look back:

Weather contributed to a couple of soggy courts for the Season Opener, yielded water falling from the sky during the afternoon portion of the King and Queen of Wasatch Beach, and caused the cancellation of the Tune it Up and Serve it Up Spring Clinic and Tourney. We really appreciate the understanding and great attitudes that were displayed by both participants and fans. Congrats to everyone who played in the initial events. The results are posted on the Tournament page and we've started a Gallery for event images. If you have pics to share from any event, please email them to me: Mark at wasatchbeachvolleyball.com.

This weekend we have an event for women's and men's A and Open Players that celebrates the season sponsorship at Wasatch Beach by Bajio Mexican Grill. The weather looks promising so come out and enjoy the beach whether you are playing or not.

You've probably noticed not only the Bajio logos on our site and around the Beach, but also those of our beverage sponsor. General Distributing handles Bud Light and Bud Light Lime, both AVP national tour sponsors. In addition, General Distributing's NA Division provides non-alcohol beverages, four of which are featured at the Beach: 180 Energy Drink, Mix1, xingtea, and ActivWater. These beverages have already been featured as event prizes and will continue to be sold at the Beach throughout the season. Thanks to General Distributing NA for being our Associate Season Title Sponsor and for providing beverages for every taste at the Beach.

Next week marks the start of the Barefoot Wine AVPNext Championship Cup. If you haven't already heard, we are one of 16 sites around the US chosen to host this league. Winners in the women's and men's open divisions at Wasatch Beach will earn cash prizes and a trip to San Francisco in August to play in the national Cup tourney against the winners from the other 15 sites.

The national Cup tourney is played on the AVP Tour stop courts set up on the Embarcadero. The winners of the national Cup earn cash and get to stick around and play on those same courts in the AVP's San Francisco Tour Stop. Thanks to Barefoot Wine for sponsoring this league and creating these playing opportunities. By the way, if you are a wine drinker, Barefoot will be hosting tastings at Wasatch Beach on three occasions during the league. A division of Gallo, they are known for producing and selling award-winning value-priced wine.

So, come out to the Beach on Tuesday and Wednesday nights to cheer for your favorite team, and this weekend for the Bajio Open.

Kicking off the 2009 season

2009-04-14T20:06:00.006-06:00

The outdoor volleyball season starts in earnest this weekend, April 17 and 18. The inaugural Season Opener at Wasatch Beach begins on Friday at 6:00 P.M. with A Divison pool play. On Saturday, Open Division play begins at 8:00 A.M. We're keeping an eye on Friday's weather so watch the Welcome page of the Web site for our latest message in that regard.

We've extended early registration through Friday to accommodate everyone who wants to play. You can fax your registration form to us if you are out of the area, or drop it off at the front desk at The Sports Mall. Details in the Tournaments area of our Web site.

Over at the Cottonwood Complex, UOVA kicks off the grass season on Saturday. We teamed with UOVA not only to create the combined opener but a coordinated season of great volleyball. Players now have the option of playing grass or sand at great facilities throughout the season. UOVA members benefit from discounted registrations for events at Wasatch Beach.

We couldn't present the schedule of events that we are offering without the support of our facility partner, The Sports Mall. Check my earlier post on The Sports Mall.

Mike and I had lunch awhile back at the Bajio Mexican Grill location directly across the street from Wasatch Beach. The food was really great, made-to-order Mexican food in the Bajio tradition. (Try the shrimp tacos if you haven't already.) A day or two after our lunch, Mike connected with Brad Woodward, the owner, who immediately saw the great synergy of Bajio's food and the Wasatch Beach lifestyle. So, if you see Brad or his son Sanford at the Beach this summer, please make a point to say thanks for their support for beach volleyball.

We'll have more news on the sponsor front in the next week or so. Also coming up - the King and Queen of Wasatch Beach tournament on April 24 and 25. You'll find more about this event in the Tournament section of the Web site.

See you on the sand!

Wild Weather Abbreviates Panama City Beach AVP Tour Opener

2009-04-06T11:16:00.008-06:00

Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything about the weather in my earlier post about the AVP Tour stop at Panama City Beach. Wind, rain and thunder prevailed, forcing the cancellation of play on Saturday and the use of a single elimination format on Sunday.

Here's how they finished on the women's side along with prize money and points earned:

1st - Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs ($24,000 and 750 points)
2nd - Jennifer Kessy and April Ross ($18,000 and 640 points)
3rd - Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan ($10,200 and 540 points)
3rd - Angie Akers and Tyra Turner ($10,200 and 540 points)

Three of the top four women played at the Hot Winter Nights stop in Salt Lake in February.

On the men's side, Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser kept up their winning ways, besting Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal in the finals:

1st - Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser ($24,000 and 750 points)
2nd - Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal ($18,000 and 640 points)
3rd - Brad Keenan and Nick Lucena ($10,200 and 540 points)
3rd - Matt Olson and Kevin Wong ($10,200 and 540 points)

Once again, three of the top four men were in Salt Lake for Hot Winter Nights. How lucky were we?

For the complete wrap on the first Tour stop of the season, go to http://www.avp.com/News/2009/03/PCB-Sunday.aspx

New this year, and used for the first time at Panama City Beach, the AVP is streaming both live video and audio directly from Tour stops. It is available on AVP TV at AVP.com.

Next up on the Tour is Riverside, California April 17-19. I'm sure the weather will be beautiful!

Spring Break, Panama City Beach, the AVP

2009-03-12T13:52:00.012-06:00

The AVP has announced the lineup for the 2009 beach tour. The first event of the season (March 27-29) will be held during Spring Break at Panama City Beach in the panhandle of Florida.

I think the timing and location are brilliant choices on the part of the AVP. While the weather and water temp along what is called "the Emerald Coast" can still be cool in late March, the built-in audience of college students and other vacationers who flock to the area each spring should accrue to the event. AVP beach tour sponsors, led by Crocs, should realize substantial exposure to a major segment of the overall AVP fan base.

For more than 15 springs, members of my family (and lucky friends) have gathered for a week in Grayton Beach, to the west of Panama City Beach. In the early years, I would wander off looking for v-ball courts on the beach. While club and resort courts could be found on Panama City Beach, the best action was well to the west at Pensacola Beach. I'm not sure if that has changed during the past few years.

The sand along the Emerald Coast is about as white as it gets, scrunching under foot as you might imagine baking powder would. It won't take much for the Pros to get used to the phenomenal sand. On the other hand, the sun setting down the beach rather than perpendicular to it might be a little disorienting for those from the West Coast.

There is a link to the 2009 Crocs Beach Tour schedule on our Web site. You'll see lots of familiar stops on the tour and a couple of surprises. The site for the San Diego stop, May 1-3, surprised me the most. I lived at the beach in San Diego for many years, learned to play v-ball there, and saw my first AVP event there. This year the San Diego event will be held in Valley Center, 62 miles north of downtown San Diego and well inland, just south of the Riverside County line. The location attraction is Harrah's Rincon Casino. It will be interesting to see what attendance looks like at this venue, particularly because there is a separate stop in Riverside (73 miles up the road) two weeks earlier.

Check out the schedule and stay tuned for a listing of the tour stops that will be televised. Here's hoping that your travels will allow you to attend one of the AVP beach tour stops in person during the 2009 season.

Fun at Hot Winter Nights

2009-02-17T12:30:00.010-07:00

More than 1,000 beach volleyball fans watched the 8 visiting AVP Pros mix it up on the sand at The E Center on Saturday night. Prior to the event, the Pros provided a clinic for guests from the Boys and Girls Club and demonstrated their Guitar Hero skills. Based on conversations with some of the Pros, I couldn't help but be impressed by their approachability, genuine appreciation for what the sport has brought to them, and desire to grow the sport. It was great to listen to Jake Gibb as he articulated how much his development as a player here in Utah meant to him.

The crowd got noisy and obviously enjoyed the great play in both the women's and men's round robin and in the culminating mixed fours. Lots of folks stuck around afterward to meet the Pros and get an autograph and picture.

Jen Kessy Boss was the women's winner and Todd Rogers won the men's side. As importantly, the fans were treated to great shot-making, hitting, and exciting rallies. Hard to believe that the players are in such good playing form in February - but then, they are Pros. During breaks in the action, lucky fans participated in hilarious on-court competitions.

Thanks to the emcee for the evening for repeatedly drawing attention to Wasatch Beach Volleyball. We distributed lots of cards and Bump. Set. Chill. tee shirts during the event. There seems to be a growing awareness of what we are planning for the season at Wasatch Beach, and pent-up interest in seeing winter turn to spring and sand between our toes.

Thanks to the AVP and the Hot Winter Nights sponsors who helped make this tour stop possible: Johnsonville Sausages, Barefoot Wines, Crocs, Paul Mitchell. Thanks, as well, to Bajio Grill for the Friday night event.

After the event, all 250 tons of sand that were used to form the Hot Winter Nights court were trucked to Wasatch Beach, as pictured above and on the Web site. The HWN sand will be mixed with the sand from the original court which includes small amounts of sand from more than 20 beaches around the world.

Post P.S. Many thanks to Matthew who alerted me to an error that I had made in the original post. As we say on the beach, "My bad!" Also, check out the terrific comment below from Heidi. Speaking of comments, Todd Rogers posted on his winning experience in Salt Lake on his blog.

Rogers, Rosenthal and Jennings round out the field at Hot Winter Nights

2009-02-02T19:28:00.018-07:00

Todd Rogers and Sean Rosenthal

Casey Jennings

In previous posts, I featured Jake Gibb on the men's side and the terrific AVP women pros who will compete at Hot Winter Nights on February 14th at the E Center. The rest of this event's great lineup includes Todd Rogers, Sean Rosenthal and Casey Jennings. Not bad to have three of the four 2008 US men's Olympians at this tour stop - and Casey is no slouch either.

Recall that Jake and Sean played together throughout the season and took fifth at the Olympics. Sean is known on the tour as "the Son of Jor-El" for his ability to leap tall buildings. Todd Rogers ("the Professor") and his partner Phil Dalhausser won gold in Beijing and 12 AVP Crocs Tour Titles in 2008. Todd was named Best Defensive Player on the tour 5 years in a row.

Casey "the Kid" Jennings and long-time partner Matt Fuerbringer won in San Diego in 2008. Casey has the longest active winning streak on the tour, having won at least one event in five straight seasons. Casey, a BYU grad, has at least one more claim to fame as husband of Kerri Walsh. Kerri and Casey recently announced that they are expecting their first child.

So, congratulations all around for success on and off the court. Should be fun watching them in action at the E Center on Valentine's Day.

AVP Women at Hot Winter Nights

2009-01-28T13:54:00.019-07:00

The AVP's Johnsonville Hot Winter Nights stop at The E Center in West Valley City is rapidly approaching. The event features four female and four male AVP Pros in a best-of-the-beach format.

The AVP women who will compete in Salt Lake on February 14th are Nicole Branagh, Lauren Fendick, Jen Boss and April Ross. The Pros are pictured here in the order listed.

One of the interesting story lines on the women's side has to do with the fact that Jen Boss and April Ross played as a team throughout the 2008 Crocs Tour. You will get to see them play both as a team and on opposite sides of the net given the Hot Winter Nights format.

I'm hoping that we'll see lots of parents and their high school-aged daughters at Hot Winter Nights. Why? In part, because more than one-third of those who play beach volleyball regularly are women.

As importantly, with the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics recommendation that sand volleyball (women's 2's) be recognized as one of the emerging NCAA sports, young women should be looking forward to opportunities to play beach volleyball at the collegiate level. That, in turn, should prompt parents to consider this new sports option and local high schools to prepare their athletes for these opportunities.

It is important to credit the women who have helped build the sport over the years, including the current role models who will compete in Salt Lake. I urge young women and their parents to come out to support these great athletes and, in so doing, demonstrate that the women's beach game is indeed an emerging sport.

Hot Winter Nights Preview - Jake Gibb

2009-01-14T16:32:00.006-07:00

Four female and four male AVP Pros will compete during Hot Winter Nights at the E Center on February 14th. You'll find pictures of the eight Pros and links to their AVP bios on the Hot Winter Nights page on the WBV Web site.

We're really fortunate that Jake Gibb is one of the eight Pros who will be playing in Salt Lake. Jake is well-known to the Utah volleyball community, not only because he is from Bountiful and went to the U, but because he has returned to Utah to play in events on occasion. Jake is also known and respected because of his success on the AVP Tour. Jake and his partner, Sean Rosenthal, represented the USA during the 2008 Olympics, placing fifth.

It should be enough to want to check out of winter and onto the sand for a few hours at Hot Winter Nights. If that isn't enough, come out and cheer for Jake - a local success story who continues to do great things for the sport of beach volleyball both nationally and locally.

Hot Winter Nights Preview

2009-01-11T11:58:00.003-07:00

Last winter I happened to be in Madison, Wisconsin when the AVP's Hot Winter Nights Tour hit town. That night the temp was bitterly cold, but I wasn't about to miss the opportunity. Besides, I was curious to see how many other beach volleyball fanatics were in the area and how the AVP would execute the indoor format.

True to form, the AVP did a great job replicating the look and feel of the stadium court at a beach tour stop, notwithstanding the cavernous environment of the Alliant Energy Center. While the cold kept the numbers down, the crowd got noisy, obviously engaged by the competition and the format.

When Mike and I discovered that the tour would stop in Salt Lake in 2009, we immediately offered our assistance to the AVP. As an Ambassador for the event, WBV is pleased to be able to support and promote the event. We're also offering a couple of special ticket packages for groups. Information about the event and tickets is on the WBV Web site. In subsequent posts, we'll feature the AVP Pros who will compete in Salt Lake, starting with Utah native Jake Gibb.

After the fun in Madison last winter, the 200 tons of sand that had been brought in to create the Hot Winter Nights court wound up at the University of Wisconsin. The UW women's volleyball team cross-trained on the sand in advance of a Spring beach tournament. This year, WBV is working with the AVP to use the sand at Wasatch Beach after Hot Winter Nights.

Where is Wasatch Beach?

2009-01-03T11:20:00.007-07:00

The Sports Mall in Murray has, for many years, maintained one of the best sand volleyball courts around. I started playing there in the early 90’s when, as a member of the club, I discovered a handful of serious players, including other California ex-pats.

The club has always been responsive to requests from the v-ball players to add or churn the sand, or to invest in new lines and net. So it wasn’t out of character for Brent Cook, General Manager of The Sports Mall, to lend a receptive ear when Mike Manczuk approached him about building more courts to support our plans for Wasatch Beach Volleyball. Brent is pictured here playing some obscure sport that involves a racquet, four walls and no sand.

Brent quickly saw the potential and realized that six volleyball courts constituted a far more productive use of the underutilized grassy area inside the running track. Mike worked with Brent and Brian Laird, Head of Maintenance, to develop a plan for the courts – one that would also accommodate active spectators, sponsors, and lots of other fun stuff that we have in mind. You will have to come out and participate in WBV events to see what I mean by that.

Before Wasatch Beach

2008-12-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

Happy but tired after a long day of volleyball, I sat watching the final rounds of the men’s open at the Park City Classic on July 4, 2007 with my friend Mike Manczuk. As we relaxed in the shade with a cool beverage, Mike reflected on the state of beach volleyball in the beehive state. He observed quite accurately that events were not generating the kind of spectator participation and sponsor support that we had seen in the past, particularly at the big tourneys. A few weeks later, Mike and his son Kaden traveled to Manhattan Beach for the AVP tournament. They returned overflowing with enthusiasm about what they had seen and done during the event.

Once again, conversations turned to what might be. Could we find a way to bring the fun and excitement of AVP events to competitive volleyball in Utah? Where would we find the beach volleyball facility where we could make it work?

As we explored the options, we discovered AVPNext, the grassroots program sponsored by the AVP. What happened next was the highly creative process of getting organized as we prepared to submit our application to the AVP. Wasatch Beach Volleyball emerged as the name. Mike suggested Bump. Set. Chill. as our byline - it was the perfect mantra for the passion we have for the sport and the beach volleyball lifestyle.

But, what about the facility? What about Wasatch Beach?