Manhattan Beach Open Volleyball : It Isn’t All Play . . . Even for Smith and Stoklos

The score was 4-3 and SinginSmith had heard enough. Every time Smith and partner Randy Stoklos tried to serve, they got an earful of insults.

And Smith was tired of it.

He stalked away from his serving position toward the match official seated at midcourt.

Stoklos called for tournament director Charlie Saikley, who was perched in the announcer’s stand.

“Charlie, we gotta get security here,” Stoklos said. “Can’t we get security here?”

Finally, Saikley came down to the court, conferred with the players, then waded into the crowd to lecture the offenders.

It took 15 minutes to get the fans to quiet down in order for play to resume.

As usual, or so it seems, the big news on the professional beach volleyball circuit is not what happens on the court but off it. In Sunday’s case the action was about 10 rows from where Smith was serving.

Even the 27-year-old Manhattan Beach open volleyball tournament, the oldest of such two-man team tournaments in America, is not exempt from such controversy.

Beach volleyball crowds delight in ogling tanned bodies, soaking up suds and sun or wandering off in mid-match for a dip in the Pacific. Then there is the wave, beach-goer style, done without leaving the comfort of one’s beach chair. They simply raise their arms in to the air.

This aside, there still remains a certain etiquette.

And a few, perhaps a little silly from the sun and the beer, among the 10,000 or so fans gathered on the courts adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Pier were guilty of violating tradition.

So, for the record, Smith and Stoklos overcame the hecklers (they had another 15-minute delay late in the match) and Andrew Smith and Jon Stevenson, 16-14, to split the $5,000 first prize.

It was Smith’s 63rd career tournament victory, leaving him only two victories behind Ron Von Hagen. For Smith and Stoklos, it was their 11th win in the 13 tournaments sanctioned by the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals this summer.

Still, those accomplishments appear to be outweighed by a general lack of organization between players and tournament directors.

There is, indeed, trouble in paradise.

It was about two years ago that the players went on strike. Well, at least for the top players. Some of the lesser-known players kept on playing, much to the chagrin of the stars.

That has been patched up, but new problems seem to be cropping up.

First, there was the TV deal that went sour. ABC had agreed to televise the Manhattan Open on “Wide World of Sports” but pulled out, citing scheduling difficulties. ABC did air the Zuma Beach Open on Saturday’s program.

“What I know about it is this,” said Saikley. “The players’ association met with (Manhattan Open promoter) Terry Spragg once it was announced that it would be on TV. They asked for all sorts of things like a percentage of the TV money and a sanctioning fee. Spragg told them he wasn’t in a position to grant their demands.

“I think the players went back to Group Dynamics (another volleyball promoting outfit) and they must have called ABC and told them all the best players wouldn’t be here.”

They weren’t and neither was ABC.

Among the players who competed in a tournament in Boston this weekend were Tim Hovland, Mike Dodd and Karch Kiraly.

Hovland and Kiraly are the best players on the tour, next to Stoklos and Smith.

Said Stoklos: “Monday morning we (the AVP) had a lottery and paired the top 10 teams off. Five of the top 10 teams had to go back East.”

Stoklos, 25, a former U.S. National team member, thinks that hurts the tour’s appeal.

“At this time we have too few good players not to stay together,” he said.