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PubClub.com is an inside guide to the world's best parties: Jimmy Buffett concerts, Jazz Fest, Bay to Breakers , the Manhattan Open AVP and more. Check out our fun finds and photos.

Welcome to the Manhattan Open AVP!


The view from the Strand '07 – bring it on!


Home is where the heart is – beach volleyball's birthplace explodes with the AVP.


The sacred sand of Manhattan, THE place the pros want to win.

• Manhattan Beach Bars and Restaurants
• Surfest – Photos & Video

Culture, tradition and socializing come together like waves to the sand at the annual Manhattan Beach Open AVP pro beach volleyball tournament. Talk about a beach party!

AVP stands for the Association of Volleyball Professionals, but this tournament has been around long before there was such an organization. It is such a part of this Southern California surfside city that people turn out by the thousands, sitting on towels, in beach chairs or just on the sand cheering on the pros of the game they play on these same courts the rest of the year. In fact, the sport was born on this very beach.

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.

The 2007 event was held Aug. 9-12 at the Manhattan Beach Pier with Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers defending their men's title and Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh taking the women's title for the third consecutive year.


Eight-time winner Karch Kiraly celebrates hi s '04 title with fans in the bar.

The Manhattan Open is to Manhattan Beach what the Masters is to Augusta, the Rose Bowl is to Pasadena, Wimbledon is to England. It's the sport's premier event, beach volleyball's Super Bowl, its Daytona 500. To win the Manhattan Open defines one as a true player – you haven't arrived in this sport until you've won Manhattan.

And while there's talk about the AVP pulling all its tournaments off the California beaches because it wants to charge admission – something very unlikely to happen on these beaches – thee will always be a Manhattan Open. It may not be the top pros, but this event is bigger than any one player or one sanctioning body. Today, the grandstands are free, though box seats by the sand are $40 each on Saturday and Sunday. However, it's advised to arrive early in the morning to save those seats as some start-of-finals arrivals found they HAD no seat.

In the beginning years of the Manhattan Open, the victors won dinner and a pitcher of beer at a local restaurant. Most importantly, however, they became "Kings of the Beach" for a year. Modern-day winners get a few more dollars but definitely covet being the "Kings" and now "Queens" more than a paycheck. It has become so popular that the AVP needs to add a few more rows of seats to accommodate the fans. Added entertainment, such as testing the speed of one's volleyball, serve and slot-car racing give the event an NFL Experience type of atmosphere. Except, of course, it's on the beach. And it's Manhattan.


On the sand and in the stands, the action is hot at the Manhattan Open.

"This is the biggest tournament we've got," said Kevin Wong, who teamed with Stein Metzger to win in 2001. "It is so special to win here. This is so wonderful!" In 2004, Karch Kiraly spoke for everyone who has ever played this tournament when he said, "You talk to any player and if they were told they could only win one tournament in their whole career, everybody would choose it to be here in Manhattan. There's an extra fire among all the players."

In 2005, Jake Gibb teamed with Metzger to win and couldn't contain his emotions afterward. "This event is so special," Gibb said. "it means to much to the sport. I can't believve it – can't fathom it. This is a sweet one." He added, "Other tournaments, I go in thinking about the volleyball. I came into this one thinking, this is Manhattan!"

2007 AVP Manhattan Open Photos


The beach is alive with action for the AVP.


The PubClubettes prepare to party at the Shellback Tavern. Watch out!


The Bartender, PubClub's roving party columnist, with The PubClubettes.

They know – as do all others who came before them and who will come after them – Manhattan is THE beach volleyball victory.

After matches – and in particularly victory in Manhattan – the players mingle with the fans. In the bas.

More specifically, meet them in Shellback Tavern, the legendary beachside bar.

This, more than anything else, defines this tournament. It's tradition for the winners to go to the bars and party with the fans. The people are probably the most knowledgeable sports fans anywhere and the players like hanging with such cool folks. Imagine Barry Bonds doing this after a Giants game. Or Shaq.

It certainly fits right in with the area. In this part of the world, cocktails and volleyball go together like the beach and bikinis. People park it on the sand and fish cold ones out of coolers while sitting only feet away from star players like Metzger and Kiraly. In between matches, it's off to one of the two beachside bars. Then it's back to the beach, then back to the bar, the beach again, then the bar for good.

The other bar off the beach, Beaches, made an ill-fated decision to actually charge a $5 cover on Saturday afternoon, a move that caused a constant line-up at Shellback, making it even wilder, crazier and more party-packed than usual.

Manhattan is such a cherished event that legendary star Sinjin Smith picked Manhattan to retire after some 25 years of action. Sinjin is a true local hero, and not just because he won Manhattan five times (more than 250 events in all). He and onetime partner Randy Stoklos were the undisputed Kings of every beach, winning an incredible 113 of 225 tournaments. "Smith and Stoklos" were as synonymous with the beach as Montana and Rice were with football.

But it was off the sand where Sinjin made his biggest mark on the sport. Eager to earn more than dinner and beer for winning tournaments, he hired his own PR guy, began to get media attention, and, eventually, sponsors. At first, this alienated the game's traditionalists, who felt volleyball should stay true to its low-key roots. They felt otherwise when, by the early 90s, prize money was in the hundreds of thousands and beach volleyball became an Olympic sport. Sinjin was to beach volleyball what Babe Ruth was to baseball, what Arnold Palmer was to golf.

A few years ago he retired and it was only appropriate that Manhattan was his final tournament. Oddly, it wasn't on center court, where he starred for so many years, but on an outer court as darkness approached and a chilly wind began to blow. Most people who watched him all day were in the bars by this time, unaware of the historical moment that transpired just a block away.

Now, however, the torch has been passed along to players like Metzger and, possibly, Gibb. It must also be pointed out that Kiraly has won Manhattan a record eight times, including an incredible four in a row from 1990-93 and his first with Smith in 1980. And they all keep the long-standing appreciation for what it means to win the Wimbledon of beach volleyball.

Historic AVP Manhattan Open Photos


Team PubClub parties in the beachside bars after the matches.

 


The Bartender hams it up with beach legend Sinjin Smith (center) and friend.


Post-match, the action is found in the bars at the beach.


The 2006 Manhattan Open was full of fans, tents and tense action.


Babes in bikinis and beach volleyball – we dig it.


Watching the finals from the pier Manhattan style.


Best seats in the house!


We'll take two (trays, that is!).


And what's a beach volleyball tournament without the bars!?

Scenes from Manhattan Open 2004


Transportation to the tournament is largely by pedal power.

Ride the Party Bus to Estero Beach Volleyball