Sportscope : Cyclists Will Race for $52,500 in Pro Series National at Ascot

A purse of $52,500 is up for grabs at Ascot Raceway on Sept. 24 in the American Motorcycle Assn. Pro Series National. Bubba Shobert of Carmel Valley, the three-time Grand National champion, will be looking for his first victory on the half-mile oval in Gardena. This is the 30th annual event.

The second Toro Cup women’s soccer tournament will be played Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson. Second-ranked Sonoma State and third-ranked UC Davis are entered. Dominguez Hills is ranked 14th. The Dominguez Hills men’s team plays at fourth-ranked San Diego State on Tuesday.

Cal State Dominguez Hills will play host to its annual women’s volleyball invitational Saturday. Sacramento State, top-ranked and defending national Division II champion, and second-ranked Cal State Northridge are entered.

The U.S. Pro Tour of Surfing and Bodyboarding makes its last stop of the regular season at the Manhattan Beach Pier from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2. The purse for the Manhattan Beach Classic is $17,000. The nation’s top surfer and bodyboarder will be selected Oct. 13 to 16 at the U.S. surfing championships at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach.

Mark Conte of Redondo Beach has been elected chairman of National Masters Diving. Conte will compete in the Masters World Swimming and Diving Championships in Brisbane, Australia, in October. He is also coordinator of the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce annual Super Bowl Sunday 10-K Run.

The Special Olympics will be the topic at the Torrance Soroptimist chapter meeting Tuesday. Guest speakers include Commissioner Hope Witkowsky of the Torrance Human Resources Commission, who is also executive director of the Torrance YWCA. A slide show will be presented on the local Special Olympics, which take place in October.

Two international teams of American-style football players will visit the South Bay in the next two months. The Australian Kookuburras will practice at Cal State Dominguez Hills in early October before a tour of the British Isles. On Oct. 6, the team will play at Harbor College against the Caltech football club. In November, the British Bulldogs will spend a week here before leaving on a tour of Australia. The visits have been coordinated by Dr. Johnny Johnson of Cal State Dominguez Hills, who has written a book on how to play American football and promotes the sport worldwide. Former Raider Coach Tom Flores will handle the offense for the Aussies while Johnson will handle the defense. Johnson will serve alone as the head coach for the Bulldogs.