Manhattan Beach, Pros Agree on Volleyball Open

The Manhattan Beach Open, once heralded as the “Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball,” may regain that status after city officials and pro players reached an agreement this week that will bring all the game’s stars back to the event for the first time in four years.

The city’s three-year agreement with the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals mended a rift between the players union and the organizers of the tournament that kept the AVP stars out of last year’s Manhattan Beach Open. In the two years prior, half the pros played in the tournament and the other half attended another AVP-sanctioned event.

But this week’s agreement--unanimously approved Tuesday night by the Manhattan Beach City Council--will result in a Fourth of July weekend event that may be the largest two-man beach volleyball tournament in history, said Ed Montan, the city’s assistant director of recreation and parks.

As many as 150 teams will compete in the event, including pros, international stars and amateurs, Montan said.

“What this means is the event stays at the forefront of beach volleyball events,” he said. “The Manhattan Open is the oldest consecutively running two-man tournament; it’s considered the granddaddy of them all. Now, we’ll be able to continue the tradition. When people think of beach volleyball, we want them to think the Manhattan Open.”

The addition of the event to the AVP schedule is popular among players, who still prefer some history with their $100,000 purses and welcome the chance to play in Southern California instead of flying to a distant beach.

“I’m glad they’re adding it,” said Karch Kiraly, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who has won the last two pro events with partner Brent Frohoff. “If you asked me which was the most important of the old volleyball events, back before there was a pro beach tour, I’d say the Manhattan Open. It was the biggest.”

Approximately 100 teams will be accepted to enter the tournament on a first-come, first-served basis for a chance to play against the top players in the world. According to Montan, the unseeded amateur teams will play July 2 and the top 12 will advance to the second day, joining 48 seeded teams in the quest for a spot in the July 4 final rounds.

So any team, if it’s good enough, might find itself across the net from Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos or Mike Dodd and Tim Hovland.

“That was part of our idea,” Montan said. “Getting a shot to play with these players--the top players in the world--is an exciting thing.”

It was the city’s desire to have a true open event that was one of the stumbling blocks between the event promoter and the AVP, a union representing beach volleyball pros that formed in 1983 when the players desired more control over the sport. Another problem was the fact the city had hired a promoter for the event. The AVP promotes its own events.

“The AVP wanted to promote the event and I don’t blame them,” Montan said. “But they also wanted to make it a requirement that players entering the tournament join the AVP, because they’re trying to increase their membership. And I don’t blame them for that. But the city, being a city, could not force players to join the union.”

The result, according to representatives on both sides, was a compromise that began when the city approached the AVP leadership last March when the contract with its promoter expired. The tournament will be promoted by the AVP, conducted by the city of Manhattan Beach and non-AVP teams will be allowed to play.

“I think it worked out fine for the city and us,” said Leonard Armato, the sports attorney and former top-rated volleyball player who serves as the AVP’s executive director. “I think there’s a chance to build this into a fabulous event, but it’s a little early to say. There’s not a lot of lead time. We’re kind of frantic around here.”

He says the event--which joins the World Championship in Hermosa Beach in August as the only South Bay tournaments--will be televised on Prime Ticket and the AVP is scrambling for sponsors, trying to get the prize money to $100,000. But Armato, who grew up in Manhattan Beach, says the effort is worth it.

“I grew up on the beach and the Manhattan Open was sort of the crown jewel of all events, the biggest and the best,” he said. “But it sort of got left behind. It didn’t change with the nature of the sport. I think (the city) just realized they had to work with the greatest players in the world, they had to work with us, to keep its reputation.”

According to Montan, the Manhattan Beach Open could include some of the top international players in the world, since the national teams of the U.S., the Soviet Union, Brazil and Korea will be in town after finishing the four-city U.S. Cup tour at the Forum on July 1.