It’s a Sea Change on Beach
Center court was packed, 3,500 people crowded like sardines into the bleachers and crammed together on the sand, as the tightly wound men’s final at the Hermosa Beach Open went on and on and on Sunday.
It was a sunny day for beach volleyball, perhaps even more so for the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals, which moves to Santa Barbara today and Sunday for its third tournament this season.
The AVP, purchased last year by sports agent Leonard Armato, might have started to clear away the malaise that characterized the tour for several years as dwindling finances and popularity forced it to declare bankruptcy in November 1998.
Using an aggressive marketing campaign that includes a weekly radio show and the televising of two tournaments on NBC in August, word has filtered out about the AVP.
“We’re feeling momentum built every day,” Armato said. “The first two events have exceeded our expectations.”
Armato points to the men’s final at Hermosa, and not so much the jammed center court but the throng of fans who watched on an adjacent big-screen TV because they couldn’t get close enough to see Albert Hannemann and Jeff Nygaard defeat Kevin Wong and Stein Metzger.
“We had literally thousands of people watching the event out on the promenade,” Armato said. “That’s something that’s encouraging. We’re delighted by the support the fans are showing.”
Karch Kiraly, beach volleyball’s all-time victory leader with 142 championships, senses a similar shift in direction for the AVP.
“We haven’t seen crowds like this in a number of years, maybe since 1995-96,” he said. “I think the tour is catching peoples’ attention again.”
It’s a statement that can’t go unnoticed in light of Kiraly’s reluctance to play for the AVP after Armato acquired it.
Kiraly had been adamantly opposed to the AVP adopting international rules of play, including smaller courts and rally-scored games.
But with the AVP in its second year with the new rules, Kiraly, 41, has adapted.
“When [Armato] came around as the white knight, I agonized over whether I wanted to throw my support behind a tour that would change quite a bit,” Kiraly said. “I was reassured in discussions with him that the tour would be built back up, but the rules changes would have meant the disappearance of traditional volleyball.
“I think that it’s wise to comply and not have to worry about political battles and spend our energy to build this tour back up. I think the hard work [by the AVP] is starting to pay off. It’s evident in the first two tournaments.”
Kiraly, who grew up in Santa Barbara and has won six tournaments there, will play with Brent Doble this weekend.
The news isn’t cheery for everybody: Brian Lewis will not play because of a quadriceps injury he suffered Sunday in a semifinal at Hermosa. Lewis’ partner, Scott Ayakatubby, will team with Casey Jennings.
While the men’s tournament has been somewhat unpredictable, the women’s team of Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs won its first two tournaments with ease, winning all 10 of its matches, nine in the minimum two games.
McPeak and Youngs each have something to prove at Santa Barbara after their performance there last year. McPeak, who was with Lisa Arce at the time, lost in a semifinal, as did Youngs, with Barbra Fontana.
“We both had disappointing tournaments,” Youngs said. “This will be a chance to win three tournaments in a row [in a season], and I’ve never done that.”
*
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
*--* The Facts * Who: The Assn. of Volleyball Professionals * What: Santa Barbara Open * When: Main draw, today and Sunday * Where: East Beach, Santa Barbara * Fast fact: Kevin Wong and Stein Metzger won the men’s title last year at Santa Barbara. Dianne DeNecochea and Liz Masakayan won the women’s title
*--*
