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Welcome to the 2003 Manhattan Beach Open!
August. 7-10, Manhattan Beach Pier

From the sand to a night on the Towne – all part of the Manhattan Open.

• Manhattan Beach Open Main Page

Pub Club's Collin Smith (top) and Adam Jewell were the talk of the Towne.

Shots heard roudn the bar: @ Sharkeez on Thursday night.

PubClub Bar Crawl
W/Pros Adam Jewell and Collin Smith
What's on tap for 2006???

• Manhattan Beach Bar Guide

It's Wimbledon in August, the Super Bowl on the sand.

The Manhattan Beach Open – a study of culture in this seaside California community – once again lived up to its historical roots on the weekend of August 7-10. The biggest of all the beach volleyball tournaments on the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) Tour was conducted before tens of thousands of fans during the three days, with approximately 5,000 jamming the main grandstands with hundreds more lined up along the Strand and the pier for Sunday's final.

The 2008 AVP Manhatta Open is Sept. 19-21, more than a month later than its usual mid-August date because of the Summer Olympics.

Eric Fonimoana and Kevin Wong – now both two-time Manhattan champions who had their name etched into the pier – won the '03 tournament, which was televised to the nation live on NBC.

PubClub.com's two tour players – Adam Jewell and Collin Smith – both played strong and made it to the Saturday matches. As part of a PubClub promotion, the duo served as Guest Bartenders at Sharkeez in Manhattan Beach and were hosted by the upscale restaurant/bar Towne on Friday. Ballantines hotel in Palm Springs gave away free nights as part of the promotion and EdMacHomes.com, provided further team support to promote it's real estate listings.

On the sand, the knowledgeable fans – many of whom are outstanding recreational players in their own right – cheered good points and jeered some questionable umpire rulings in the championship game. Finalist Jose Lolola was also chastised for frequently "two-overing" the ball, a major violation of beach volleyball etiquette.These people do know the game!

Natalie of LongBeach celebrates winning a FREE NIGHT at the Hollywood-style Ballantine's hotel in Palm Springs with hotel co-owner Gordon Vasquez.

As always, the Manhattan Beach Open was full of festivities. There was aaction all aound the courts, the most intriguing being the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search. Contestants from around the country paraded around the stage on bikinis so volleyball celebrity judges could vote on them being in next year's swimsuit edition. (This happens at all 2003 AVP events.) Quite frankly, it sounds better than it was; the event and contestants didn't come close to comparing with the Miss Indy contests recently held in Toronto and Vancouver as part of the Molson Indy car race.

But it did add a good beach element to the festivities. And when the matches ended each day, everyone peeled off to the various beachside bars. That's because the parties are as much a part of the sport as the game itself. And that's why we sponsor two talented and fun players and do bar crawls around the events.

For while the Manhattan Open champions are truely the King of the Beach for a year, everyone at these events is a winner.

Watch your back – PubClub's temporary tattoos were everywhere.

Look at all those drink glasses; no woner they're having fun at Towne!

Ed McLaughlin of EdMacHomes.com mingles with the Towne babes.

Even the pros sometimes duck after one of Adam's wicked spikes.

More Friday beach action: Adam goes up againt Collin.

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The beach crowd packed the stands all weekend, especially on Sunday.

More from Sharkeez – The Dolls and Guys.

Sharkeez was THE place that grabbed LA' attention on Thursday.

These hot babes – plus one – were part of the hot action at Sharkeez .

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