Arts & Life, Events

ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball returns to Long Beach

An epic week of fun has begun, and no, I’m not talking about the first week of fall classes.

The ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball begins today at 700 Shoreline Drive in downtown Long Beach, and will continue until Sunday.

As the Olympics come to an end in Rio, the competition remains fierce in the realm of beach volleyball.  Long Beach will host its fourth-annual WSOBV, a competition that draws the best beach volleyball player from around the world.

The WSOBV is the Federation Internationale De Volleyball (FIDV) world tour season finale, where athletes will compete for the top prize of $57,000. FIDV is giving away $800,000 in total to the winning teams.

American Olympians Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena will be competing in the men’s tournament. The duo was defeated in the quarterfinals by Brazil’s Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt, who went on to win the gold. Cerutti and Schmidt are also participating in the WSOBV as well as Rio’s bronze medalists from the Netherlands.

The women’s tournament will feature three-time Olympic gold medal winner Kerri Walsh-Jennings — former partner to Cal State Long Beach Alumni Misty May-Treanor — with her new partner April Ross. The two are just coming off a bronze medal victory in Rio. They will face up again with the Brazilian team they beat out for third, as well as the German team that won the gold.

It is a televised event airing on NBC and NBC Sports Network, including live broadcasts on Saturday at noon for the women’s semifinals, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. for men’s semifinals, and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. for the women’s finals.

The event kicks off at different times each day, so to get a detailed look at the tournament schedule go to wsobv.com.

The website also offers tickets to reserve a seat in the first three rows for a fee, but the rest of the seats are free, filling up on a first come, first serve basis.

Those who don’t get seats can still hang around the beach to catch some music. This year’s events will have live DJ sets by Thomas Jack, Branchez, Jillionaire, Team EZY and Filthy Gorgeous.

There’s also an amatuer adult competition for people who’d rather be in the action than watch. Teams can register a six-man or six-woman team online for $400. The first place men’s and women’s teams each receive a $1,000 prize. There is also a coed four-person team competition where registration costs $200 for a chance at a $500 prize.

There will be a “first serve celebration and movie night community event” on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Long Beach Terrace Theater Plaza in the Convention & Entertainment Center. Mayor Robert Garcia and Councilmember Jeannine Pearce will be welcoming in the event, with the company of world-class athletes, food trucks and a screening of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

So at any point this week, if your schedule permits it, get on down to the beach, enjoy this lively event and try to catch some air time.

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