Instead of being on a Saturday – its traditional huge day when 20,000 people would show up to party – and Sunday, it is, for the second year in a row, on a Friday and Saturday. The 2022 dates are Aug. 5 &6 at the Manhattan Beach Pier
Here’s everything you need to know about this fun event.
WHAT: A unique beach volleyball tournament in which 6-person teams – male and female – compete in a two-day elimination event. Think indoor volleyball on the sand. Some players are Olympic games competitors and collegiate All-Americans. Others are local recreational players who care more about boozing than losing. Teams dress up in themed costumes. In 2018, look for the return of Team Magnum, Team Fletch (from the movie, dressed up as LA Lakers) and the WWF Hulk Hogan pro wrestlers, complete with the ring around the court and Tropic Thunder, also from a movie.
WHEN: Friday and Saturday, Aug. 5 & 6, all day.
WHERE: South side of the Manhattan Beach Pier.
SPECTATOR COST: Free
NUMBER OF TEAMS: 75 total, 35 in Men’s Open (in the tournament’s heyday, there were 80 Men’s Open teams).
ALCOHOL CHECKPOINT(S): Security will be checking backpacks and purses for alcohol and there are limited entrance points on the beach. There will not be barricades on the sand; they will be on the Strand bike path to make sure people walk their bikes at the pier.
THE SOCIAL & PARTY SCENE: Kind of remains to be seen. The party used to be insane on the beach and at house parties but the MBPD’s chief at the time pretty successful squashed that scene by influencing the move of the tournament to during the week. A lot of locals have been talking for weeks about how “the 6-man is back on a Saturday,” but the majority of the teams will be eliminated by that day and the party (and thus social) scene is likely to be good tho hardly in the class of the past. There is one certainty: Shellback Tavern will be packed all day Friday and Saturday, with girls in bikinis, guys in board shorts and people wearing costumes.
WHERE’S TO FIND THE PARTY: There’s a possibility that on Saturday that there will be a few house parties along The Strand (to get invited you need to know someone or be a good-looking girl with a good attitude, preferably in a bikini) but the party HQ on both Friday and Saturday is Shellback Tavern. There will be big lines Friday late afternoon and throughout the day on Saturday, so stand there and be patient, as people (often players) will be going in and out and back to the beach.
WHO IS CHARLIE SAIKLEY? He is founder of this event. As thousands of lifeguards from around the world were coming to Hermosa and Manhattan Beach for their competitions, Saikley decided it would be good to showcase a sport very much a part of the South Bay culture. So he introduced the 6-man tournament. One day, one of the teams showed up in a costume and the next year a few other teams did as well, and Saikley has not just created a tournament, but a legendary one, as well.
PARKING: Little to none. Most locals will ride a bike. Or take Uber/Lyft.
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#ManhattanBeach
#beachvolleyball
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