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The Fan's Best Spectator Sport
For Access to Action, it's Beach Volleyball
Close to the action, fans sit on the sand and enjoy the show of the pros.
It's a beach party, a weekend in the
sand with some of the top athletes in the world.
You can walk right up to a match and stand just a few feet away from the stars of the tour.
Olympic Gold Medallist Kerry Walsh signs autographs for fans.
The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) events determine
who are Kings of the Beach on any given weekend. And, with the women's
tour now part of the festivities, Queens of the Beach, as well.
Two female fans sit inches from the court where Holly McPeak hits.
This is one sport where the spectators can sit courtside, just inches
from the action. The outside courts offer this opportunity throughout
the first two days. Imagine having Jack Nicholson's seat at a Lakers
game or being on the team bench at a Major League Baseball game. Not even Wrigley Field, with its old-style seats that puts fans seemingly at arm's length from the players, can boat this proximity.
AVP fans can get up close and personal with the players.
Plus,
this is on the beach and, in most cases, it's all free. (For landlocked
locations, the AVP trucks in sand; just add volleyball players and it's
an instant beach.)
Sit on the beach
or in stands those here in Huntington Beach.
The ultimate of these events is the very place where the sport was created – Manhattan Beach, CA. The annual Manhattan Open is known as "the Wimbledon of beach volleyball." Here, fans are knowledgeable because they play the game. Sprinkled among the crowd lining the courts are locals who teach the game in weekly classes or organize their own tournaments.
Even on outer courts, fans are treated to amazing athletic action.
With tournaments taking place close to bars and restaurants, it's common
for fans to wander in and out of these establishments throughout the
day. And, once they've finished for the day or been eliminated, the
players themselves go in for a few cold ones.
For the weekend's semifinals and finals matches, people pack into grandstands,
which are constructed right on the sand. It's loud, lively and full
of enthusiastic energy.
 PubClub.com
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