Where Pro Beach Volleyball Is A Big Part Of The Lifestyle
When I first moved to Hermosa Beach, a Southern California city that has as much sand as concrete, the first cultural awaking for me was when the pro beach volleyball tour came to town.
Like most people outside of California, I knew hardly anything about the sport. To me, competitive volleyball was played indoors and the outdoors version was something groups did at summertime outings.
But I soon realized that beach volleyball is a huge part of the Southern California culture, and especially here in Hermosa Beach and in particular neighboring Manhattan Beach. This year, the AVP Hermosa Beach takes place July 27-29 and the AVP Manhattan Beach is Aug. 16-19.
All one has to do in order to get a sense of how big beach volleyball is here is to walk or ride a bike up and down The Strand. Every block for more than the four miles of these two beach cities has a pair of volleyball courts on the sand. Some of those courts are constantly occupied – I call the ones on 2nd Street the busiest in the world – and it raises to another level when there is an AVP tournament.
What’s cool about beach volleyball is that, like tennis, most of the action takes place on outer courts. These courts do not have grandstands so you can walk right up to a game, put down a beach towel and be so close to the players your ears may pop when they smack a serve or hit a spike.
But beach volleyball tournaments here are more than that – they are prime social events. For the Hermosa Beach AVP, for instance, the pier area is buzzing all weekend with thousands of people on the sand, on The Strand and, of course, in the bars.
I vividly recall one of my first AVP Hermosa experiences of being in the Poop Deck (now just called The Deck) slugging down beers in a crazy party scene with friend, newly-met friends and even some of the players.
Last year, I was an embedded reporter with Rosie’s Raiders, the funny and vocal group of local fans who have their own section to root for Sean Rosenthal, who is from nearby Redondo Beach. That was a blast, as well as an education.
So if you’re in Hermosa Beach this weekend, or in Manhattan Beach in the third week of August, check out the AVP. It’s free (for GA seating anyway) and you’ll experience first-hand a true piece of the Southern California lifestyle and culture.
Cheers!
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