Junior Beach Volleyball hits the Triangle in 2006
Thank you for coming out to our Beach Volleyball 101 clinic. The 2006 outdoor season will
offer several exciting opportunities for Juniors looking to continue to hone their volleyball skills
while learning a quickly growing sport and taking advantage of our beautiful North Carolina
weather.
This year represents a great opportunity to compete in a national junior beach volleyball
tournament with the AAU Junior Olympics including beach volleyball as part of the games at the
beachfront in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
There are many variations of the game, but when we refer to “beach volleyball”, we are referring
to the 2 on 2 game played in the sand. For many in this part of the country, opportunities to play
and/or watch beach volleyball have been few and far between. We at vh1vball.com hope with the
start of this season that this will no longer be the case. In fact, a professional domestic tour for
beach volleyball called the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) along with dozens of
local/regional tournament series across the country allow the best players to compete regularly.
Please visit http://www.avp.com for more info about events and TV coverage.
To help those who are new to beach volleyball, please view the following articles included in
this information packet:
Rules of Beach Volleyball
History of Beach Volleyball
Junior Beach Volleyball Across the USA
Beach Volleyball Pros
As a Junior or a parent of a Junior boy or girl, you might be asking yourself the questions, "Why
play beach volleyball?" and “How old should a player be before learning beach volleyball?”
Well, many of the best indoor volleyball players, including Karch Kiraly and Misty May,
actually first learned the game through beach volleyball. Both Karch and Misty learned before
they were 10 years old while watching their parents play. It’s really not a question of how old but
whether the potential player has interest in giving beach volleyball a try. The sport obviously can
seem challenging at first but players who get over that initial hurdle typically fall in love with the
sport. Proven benefits of playing volleyball outside on the sand and/or grass include:
Quick all-around skill development as you must use all the basic skills of volleyball on
almost every point
Improved movement and jumping, as your leg muscles get extensive training while
running in the sand
Improved reaction time, as you and your partner must cover a larger area of the court
Learn a game that can be easily played for the rest of your life with friends. All you need
is a court, a ball, and 4 people to play!
Check out the 2006 season preview below for more information. Each event will be detailed
through vh1vball’s new monthly newsletter as the event time approaches. As with all other
vh1vball volleyball tournaments, online registration will be available and a point system will be
in place where Triangle junior beach volleyball Players of the Year accolades will be on the line.
For the latest information please visit http://www.vh1vball.com/juniors.asp and also join
our new Juniors outdoor volleyball message board at
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/vh1vballjrs
2006 Juniors Events Preview: All events will be detailed in upcoming newsletters.
Dates are tentative. Local events will be held at one of the following locations: Green
Hope Elementary School Park and North Cary Park in Cary, and Jaycee Park in
Raleigh.
• Beach Volleyball 101: May 6-7th, 2006
Do you want to learn more about beach volleyball? Well, you're in luck. Beach Volleyball
101 will be a clinic run by area coaches, trainers, and players who understand the game
of beach volleyball.
• Junior Beach Volleyball Open: May 20th, 2006
This will be the first Juniors beach volleyball event for the year! Players from all over the
region are invited to participate. Likely divisions to be offered will be U18, U16, and U14
for both boys and girls depending on interest. The event will serve as a qualification
tournament for the AAU Junior Olympics.
• Junior Beach Volleyball Open: July 15th, 2006
This will be the second Juniors beach volleyball event for the year! The event will serve
as a qualification tournament for the AAU Junior Olympics.
• AAU Junior Olympics: July 31st - August 2nd
A national beach volleyball tournament for Juniors to be held in Virginia Beach.
• Junior Beach Volleyball Championships: August 5th, 2006
This will be the season-ending tournament for the 2006 juniors beach volleyball season.
• Regional Tournaments
As part of the AAU Beach Volleyball program, there will be opportunities to participate in
regional events at Virginia Beach, VA. Juniors are also welcome to compete in all adult
tournaments hosted by vh1vball.com, both sand and grass.
• Outdoor Leagues
We are currently discussing possibilities with Raleigh Parks and Recreation about
starting juniors’ leagues this summer or setting up informal practice times for interested
players to meet up and play. If you have interest in either of these, please fill out the
signup sheet provided at the registration table for the clinic or send an email to Mark
Nalevanko at mark@vh1vball.com.
RULES OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL
With the introduction of Junior tournaments this year, we would like to make participants and
parents aware of the rules which will be used. Most of these rules were mentioned in the
February newsletter as well.
Topic Outdoor Rule
USAV/AAU Outdoor Age U20 - Year Born: 1986-1987 (FIVB Junior)
Divisions U18 - Year Born: 1988-1989 (FIVB Youth/Junior Olympic)
U16 - Year Born: 1990-1991 (Junior Olympic)
U14 - Year Born: 1992-1993 (Junior Olympic)
U12 - Year Born: 1994-1995
U10 - Year Born: 1996-1997
Junior Olympic A team MUST WIN an approved qualification tournament in
Qualification order to compete at the Junior Olympics in Virginia Beach.
vh1vball will host two approved qualification tournaments on
May 20th and July 15th. Other national/regional tournaments
also offer opportunities to qualify (See Beach Volleyball
Across the USAV for more info). Berths are available at the
U18, U16, and U14 age divisions for BOTH boys and girls. If a
qualified team wins another qualifying tournament, the
runner-ups earn a qualifying berth.
Scoring Teams will be grouped into pools with a round robin format. A
team that is not currently playing will be responsible for keeping
score and referee. Rally Scoring: 2 games to 21, or 1 game to 25
depending on pool size. Top teams from each pool will advance
to a single elimination playoff.
Side changes On multiples of seven (7)
Court size smaller AVP courts - 16 m x 8 m (52'6" x 26'3")
Net height 8' - Boys U16, U18, U20
7'4” -Boys U14 and Girls U14, U16, U18, U20
7' - Boys U12, U10 and Girls U12, U10
Does the block count as a Yes
contact?
Are open hand dinks No
allowed?
Are net serves allowed? Yes
Can you set the serve? No
Setting over the net Players handling the ball must set the ball in direction they are
facing or directly behind them (shoulders squared) when returning
the ball over the net.
How many tosses are you Only one
permitted on the serve?
HISTORY OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Name: Beach Volleyball
Born: 1920s
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California
Characteristic: Played barefoot with a ball, net and two teams of two players
Habitat: Any sand court divided by a net
Greatest Achievement: Olympic Sport since 1996
Family: Over 218 National Volleyball Federations with Beach Volleyball activities, 5
Confederations and over 2000 professional players world-wide.
Future events: Olympic Games 2008
Beach Volleyball gained Olympic Status at Atlanta in 1996 and continued its success at the
Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 and the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 by being one of the
most popular and sought after competitions at each of the games. The “Swatch-FIVB World
Tour” is the official international circuit recognized by the FIVB for Olympic Qualification
status. The “AVP” is the professional domestic tour in the US.
Let’s take a look at how Beach Volleyball has grown with its most important achievements from
its most recent milestones back to its beginnings in the 1920s:
2006: USAV establishes a National Junior Beach Volleyball Tour
2005: Swatch-FIVB World Championship's Prize Money totals an amazing US $1,000,000. The
event was held in downtown Berlin on June 21st-26th.
2004: Beach Volleyball is played at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
2002: FIVB Beach Volleyball ratifies a new rally point system and a smaller court (16m x 8m or
52’6” x 26’3”) for use in all competitions. The traditional side-out scoring system and court size
(18m x 8m or 59’ x 29’6”) are no longer used.
2001: First Junior Beach Volleyball under-21 World Championships is held in Le Lavandou,
France.
2000: Beach Volleyball is played at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia
1996: Beach Volleyball debuts at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA. All sessions sell out
with over 100,000 spectators during the week long competition.
Men - Olympic Beach Volleyball medalists :
Gold: Kiraly & Steffes (USA)
Silver: Dodd & Whitmarsh (USA)
Bronze: Child & Heese (CAN)
Women - Olympic Beach Volleyball medalists :
Gold: Jackie Silva & Sandra Pires (BRA)
Silver: Mônica & Adriana Samuel (BRA)
Bronze: Cook & Pottharst (AUS)
1994: AAU establishes beach volleyball as part of its Juniors multi-sport program. First event
held in California.
1986: First international Beach Volleyball exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with 5,000
spectators.
1983: On July 21, the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) is formed in the USA to
protect players' interests and to preserve the integrity of beach volleyball.
1980: First sponsored professional beach volleyball tour in the USA with 7 events in the
calendar and 52,000 US$ Prize Money.
1976: Inaugural Championships of Beach Volleyball are staged at State Beach, Pacific Palisades
(CA) with 5,000 US$ Prize Money. Menges & Lee win the tournament in front of 30,000
spectators.
1974: First commercially sponsored tournament takes place in San Diego (CA)
1950s & 60s: Beach Volleyball becomes part of the California lifestyle, much like surfing. The
sport is associated with the beach, the sun and modern music. Manhatten Beach, California
becomes one of the first annual tournament sites and to this day is the longest running beach
volleyball tournament in the world!
1948: The first tournament held at State Beach, California rewarded the best teams with a crate
of Pepsi!
1930s: The first two-man beach volleyball game is played in Santa Monica, California.
1920s: There are unconfirmed whispers of men’s teams playing on the beach in Hawaii, but most
accounts place the sport's origin in Santa Monica, California where the first Volleyball courts are
put up on the beach at the Playground
JUNIORS BEACH VOLLEYBALL ACROSS THE USA
The sport of beach volleyball is being introduced to Juniors all over the USA. Below is a sample of some of the
various groups across the country offering beach volleyball programs for Juniors.
FLORIDA
JUNIORS
We again are looking to the future of beach
volleyball. The sport’s popularity has exploded
since becoming an Olympic sport. ESM has
again teamed up with the USA Volleyball
Florida Region offering both clinics and their
own tournament division. Indoor club volleyball
is at an all time high in Florida. Our feedback indicates these young
players want to learn the game of beach volleyball. The young
athletes will play in the same tournaments along some of the country’s
best beach volleyball players.
ABOUT JUNIORS | CLINICS | WIN TRIP TO CA. |
Youngsters Take To The Sand
Parents will often play the lead role for their kid’s developmental years
by signing them up for an activity through the local park district or
elementary school. You can see early on the excitement sport activities
can bring into a kid’s life. Some are dedicated and lucky enough to
progress to high school, collegiate, and athletics beyond. But too many
kids are now focusing on one sport at an earlier age which results in a
loss of developing an array of athletic skills. Athletic skills from one
sport may not be directly related to another sport, but the characteristics
of skilled movements are without a doubt carried over. Philosophies that
focus on a single sport, especially for kids developing through
adolescence, doesn’t gain support from exercise scientists. Successful
high school athletes are now quite reluctant to play multiple sports.
Parents, coaches, and those involved with athletics should be aware
of the benefits of encouraging developing youngsters to compete on
multiple athletic stages.
The sport of indoor volleyball is overwhelmingly
popular and continues to grow. Club teams are a
rapidly growing medium which allow developing stars
to have an opportunity to continuing playing
throughout the year while their school’s team is no
longer in season. Here at ESM, we are adding our own
spin to this positive trend. The Hess Express Pro-Am
Beach volleyball Series, Presented by Zephyrhills™
Natural Spring Water has jumped at an opportunity
to draw new participants and spectators to beach
volleyball: Junior’s League Clinics & Competition.
Young athletes may be hesitant to pick up another
sport, but ESM invites athletes of all disciplines and
especially young volleyball fanatics to try taking the
game to the sand.
This season represents the first year for a juniors
division. Two divisions have been created for both the young men and
women. There is a 15 and under division along with an 18 and under
division. A clinic will be offered each Saturday to offer new and young
players alike to get acquainted with playing on the sand. The divisions
will play on Sunday alongside the co-ed divisions. Qualified coaches
from the Florida region of USA Volleyball will run the clinics. A main
topic of the Saturday clinic will be to distinguish the differences between
indoor play and beach volleyball. The clinics will have a series of drills
to include serving, passing, setting, hitting, blocking, and game
strategies. The clinic will provide great opportunities for tomorrows elite
players to meet other volleyball players their age who are not only
interested in playing on sand, but may also be looking for a partner to
play in the juniors division on Sunday. The intentions are to create a
widely popular juniors division so bring all your volleyball friends to
help build the juniors division into a dynamic day at the beach.
Indoor volleyball players and coaches have expressed the positive
impacts of playing on sand. With only two on a team, each player must
be able to play multiple roles on the court. Each offensive and defensive
aspect of the game must be executed to be successful. You may play a
single position indoor, but outside you play them all. Young athletes now
have another opportunity to develop sport specific skills through this
new medium.
Exclusive Sports Marketing provides the best in recreation and sports
entertainment for elite, competitive, and recreational athletes alike.
Lifetime fitness, competition, athletic development fuels each athlete’s
desire to participate, ESM will continue to provide and expand the
horizons for our 5-star service to athletes of all ages and skill levels.
By Dave Swanson: Email Dave
JUNIOR'S CLINICS will be offered at 4 events this summer. These
clinics will be taught by certified USAV coaches and are designed to
introduce indoor players to the game played outdoors on sand. Key
differences and game strategies will be discussed and have a series of
drills to introduce/reinforce beach volleyball skills. We will be capping
the clinics at 20 athletes to ensure a productive session for everyone
participating. To register, please send an email to
davidswanson@exclusivesports.com. You may show up on site to
register, but we will be taking athletes on a first come first serve basis.
Open your eyes to more volleyball and find out where to play beach and
indoors in your area all year.
Junior's Clinics
Siesta Key • May 20
Clearwater Beach • June 24
Ft. Lauderdale • July 15
Bradenton Beach • August 26
Clearwater Beach will have higher stakes for junior players. Both the
girls and boys winners from the 15 and under division will win airfare
to play in the USAV National Beach Open Championship in
Segundo, CA. Each athlete must have competed in one juniors
tournament prior to the Clearwater Beach event to be eligible. Players
will be seeded for the tournament in Clearwater Beach based on their
results in previous 2006 Zephyrhills Beach Volleyball tournaments.
Winners must purchase their own plane tickets but will be reimbursed up
to a maximum of $200 for their airfare.
For more information please contact:
Dave Carstenson
USAV Outdoor Co-Coordinator
888-440-9161
dcars@verizon.net
VIRGINIA
In the spring of 2003 Venesa Walker founded Volleyball 4 Youth, a non-profit volleyball club for juniors in the
Virginia Beach, Virginia area with the idea of building a feeder program for area high schools, colleges, and beach
volleyball programs. Since then she has taught over 300 youth in the tidewater area. Venesa was born and raised in
Southern California where she grew up playing club and beach volleyball. As a junior in high school she began
coaching girls in middle school how to play the game. When injuries kept her from playing volleyball competitively,
she still conditioned her skills by playing beach doubles along the California coastlines. In 1998, Venesa Walker
moved to Virginia Beach with her three children.
2006 marks the 3rd year Venesa will be hosting Juniors beach volleyball events in the Virginia Beach area. It also
marks the introduction of the Junior Atlantic Beach (J.A.B) series, which includes Juniors tournaments up and
down the east coast including stops in the Triangle area on May 20th, July 15th, and August 5th. For more
information about J.A.B., please visit http://www.volleyball4youth.org/JuniorAtlanticBeachVolleyballNews.htm
Included below is a list of events to be held in Virginia Beach. AAU membership is required in order to compete in
any of these events. The premier event of the season for Virginia Beach will be the AAU Junior Olympics.
June 10, AAU Virginia District Championships , U12,U14,U16,U18
June 24 Virginia Beach Open, U12,U14,U16,U18,U21
July 8 Virginia Beach Open, U12,U14,U16,U18
July 22 Virginia Beach Championships, U12,U14,U16,U18
July 31 through August 2, AAU 40th Junior Olympic Games, U14,U16,U18
August 26 and 27th, J.A.B. Atlantic Coast Championships, U12,U14,U16,U18,U21
NATIONAL: AAU Beach Volleyball Tour
Started in 1994 by Denny Lennon, AAU Junior Beach Volleyball Tour has grown from a single 16 team event in
California to a multi-tournament tour with events all across the US drawing hundreds of teams. All tournaments, with
the exception of the AAU Junior Olympic Games and AAU Best of the Beach, are OPEN to all boys and girls two
person teams, ages 9 to 19. AAU membership is required in order to compete in an event. The AAU beach volleyball
program is the largest and most comprehensive in the country. The premier events of the tour are the National
Championships held in California and the Junior Olympics to be held in Virginia Beach, VA in 2006.
The AAU Beach Volleyball Tour has also worked in cooperation with the AVP, BVA and WPVA Professional Beach
Volleyball Tours and was a 2004 and 2005 Sports Travel Magazine nominee for Best Amateur Event Circuit.
The official 2006 schedule follows. For more information, please visit http://www.aaubeach.com.
June 4 – Southern Pacific AAU District Championships (U10/U12/U14/U16/U18/U20 Boys/Girls) – El
Segundo, CA
June 10 – Virginia AAU District Championships – Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Virginia Beach, VA
June 11 – California Regional AAU Championships (U10/U12/U14/U16/U18/U20 Boys & Girls) – El
Segundo, CA
June 18 – Junior Florida Open AAU Regional Champonships (U14/U16/U18 Girls) – Disney’s Grand
Floridian Resort, Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL
June 24-25 – Puerto Rico AAU District/Caribbean Regional Championships – San Juan, PR
July 8-9 – 13th AAU Girls National Championships (U10/U12/U14/U16/U18/U20) – The
Pier, Hermosa Beach, CA
July 16 – 13th AAU Boys National Championships (U10/U12/U14/U16/U18/U20) – The
Pier, Hermosa Beach, CA
July 31 – August 2 – 40th AAU Junior Olympic Games – Virginia Beach Oceanfront,
Virginia Beach, VA (U14/U15/U17 Girls; U15/U17 Boys)
August 20 – AAU Tour Championships (U10/U12/U14/U15/U17/U19 Boys/Girls) – Southern California
August 27 – AAU Best of the Beach (U12 Girls) – Southern California
NATIONAL: USAV Juniors Beach Volleyball Tour
Former director of the AAU Beach program, Denny Lennon, is now the director for beach volleyball development at
USAV. He has launched a USAV Juniors Beach Volleyball Tour in cooperation with AAU Beach Volleyball’s
National Tour. The tour is comprised of Tier I events, which are designated as national events, and Tier II events,
which are more regional/local in nature such as the ones being hosted by vh1vball.com. Here is the 2006 schedule of
Tier I events. With the exception of the AAU Junior Olympics, USAV membership is required to participate in these
events. For more info check out http://www.usavolleyball.org/Juniors/06BeachTour/.
May 21: El Segundo, Calif. (West Zone Championships)
June 3: Fort Myers, Fla. (National Tournament)
June 10: Clearwater, Fla. (South Zone Championships)
June 17: Milwaukee, Wis. (Central Zone Championships)
July 2: Chicago, Ill. (National Tournament))
July 15: Portland, Ore. (National Tournament)
July 18-20: HP Camp West: El Segundo, Calif.
July 21-22: El Segundo, Calif. (USA Junior Open – Triple Crown)
July 28: Santa Cruz, Calif. (National Tournament)
July 27-30: HP Camp East: Virginia Beach, Va.
July 31-Aug. 2: Virginia Beach, Va. (AAU Junior Olympics – Triple Crown)
Aug. 5: Ocean City, Md. (East Zone Championships)
Aug. 19: Grand Haven. Mich. (National Tournament)
Aug. 19: Seal Beach, Calif. (Tour Championships – Triple Crown)
BEACH VOLLEYBALL PROS
vh1vball would like to help make people aware of the professional beach volleyball tour in the USA called the AVP
and some of the top players who in almost all cases were standout players indoors before ultimately deciding to hit the
beach! Here are bios of some of the top male and female players. For more information, visit http://www.avp.com.
MEN WOMEN
Karch Kiraly
Holly McPeak
Birth Date: May 15, 1969 (36 years old)
Birth Date: November 3, 1960 (45 years old)
Home Town: Manhattan Beach, CA
Home Town: Santa Barbara, CA
Height: 5'7"
Height: 6'2"
College: California-Berkeley/UCLA
College: UCLA
Highlights: All-time most tournament wins for female (72), all-time
Highlights: All-time most tournament wins (148), all-time most
most money won for female ($1.3+ million), Olympic bronze medalist
money won ($3+ million), 3 time Olympic Gold medalist (twice
in Beach Volleyball (2004).
indoor volleyball – 1984,1988 and once beach volleyball - 1996)
NOTE: Holly is working with us this year by answering questions
juniors and their parents might have about the sport. She is also
signing posters for us to be in drawings at events. If we’re lucky, she
may be even able to stop by prior to an AVP event.
Mike Lambert
Birth Date: April 14, 1974 (32 years old) Misty May-Treanor
Home Town: Kaneohe, HI Birth Date: July 30, 1977 (28 years old)
Height: 6'6" Home Town: Costa Mesa,
College: Stanford Height: 5'10"
Highlights: Seven time tournament winner. Member of the US College: Long Beach State
Men’s Indoor Volleyball team at the Olympics in 1996 and 2000. Highlights: Has won 54 tournaments. With Kerri Walsh, went on an
AVP Player of the Year in 2004. 89 match winning streak. Won Beach Volleyball Gold medal at 2004
Olympics.
Stein Metzger
Birth Date: November 17, 1972 (33 years old) Kerri Walsh
Home Town: Honolulu, HI Resides Birth Date: August 15, 1978 (27 years old)
Height: 6'3" Home Town: Santa Clara, CA
College: UCLA Height: 6'3"
Highlights: Eight time tournament winner. Three time NCAA College: Stanford
champion at UCLA. Finished 5th at 2004 Olympic Games. Highlights: Has won 50 tournaments. With Misty May, went on an 89
match winning streak. Won Beach Volleyball Gold medal in 2004
Olympics.
*Photos by Holly Stein/AVP