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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
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