It’s beach party time in Spokane
While snow in the area slowly melts, you’re invited to a beach party in February.
That’s right – sand, shirtless men in board shorts and women in bikinis. Oh, and intense athletic competition.
Some of professional beach volleyball’s finest will swing through Spokane on Wednesday night when the AVP Crocs Hot Winter Nights tour visits the Arena. For the unique event, in its first year, Spokane is the 16th of 19 stops.
“Its uniqueness is really for two reasons,” said Josh Furlow, the event’s tour operator with AEG Worldwide. “Number one, we’re cranking up the heat indoors in parts of the country where it is freezing right now with top Olympic athletes. We’re bringing the sand inside and making the athletes accessible to everyone.”
That’s 250 tons of sand, approximately, which will be carted onto the Arena floor beginning around 6 a.m. Wednesday to construct the 60-foot by 85-foot sandbox.
The Arena floor will be transformed into two parts – the volleyball court and a sponsorship village, where athletes will be available for spectators to get autographs and hang out during intermissions.
“Everyone really anticipated this (tour), and you don’t know how people will receive it until it does actually happen,” Furlow said. “We kicked off in Oklahoma City (Jan. 10) and there was an immediate reaction.
“You get to hang out, talk with the players, and it’s one of the only events that involves pro athletes that are 100 percent accessible. It’s a ticketed event but anyone is able to come down for a couple different intermissions.”
The athletes participating vary from city to city. Confirmed women’s participants for Spokane are Jen Boss, Annett Davis, April Ross and Dianne DeNecochea. Men’s players include Brad Keenan, Mike Lambert, Stein Metzger and Casey Jennings, who is married to Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh.
Walsh, who had shoulder surgery three months ago and is preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics with partner Misty May-Treanor, may be in town hanging out and watching Jennings play.
“It’s winter, it’s freezing wherever we go, but inside it’s hot and it’s a true beach volleyball event,” Walsh said.
The event will feature a round-robin format to determine individual women’s and men’s champions. Four men and four women participate in each event with three matches in a pool. Each player will play together at least once in a game set to 15 (they have to win by two points) with the final game to 21. Individuals with the best record then move on to the final.
Players collect points for competing, which create the standings compiled throughout the season. The top finishers with the most cumulative points move on to a season-ending event in Las Vegas.
“It’s a little less stressful,” Walsh said of the format. “But there is money on the line, and everyone wants to put on a good show for the fans.
“The whole atmosphere is really special.”