2011 Beach Junior Tour Bigger than Ever

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 24, 2011) – The 2011 edition of the USA Beach Junior Tour will be the biggest ever with 25 events in 18 USA Volleyball regions and 17 states.

Starting in May with the U.S. Border Open in Brownsville, Texas, the tour for boys’ and girls’ beach volleyball teams (no co-ed teams) ages 10-18 will travel the country over 11 weekends, culminating with the USA Beach Junior Tour Championships that will be held this year in Chicago, Ill.

“I am pleased with the number of USA Volleyball regions that are interested in getting involved in our beach volleyball programs,” USAV CEO Doug Beal said. “This tour is a great way to engage the regions and the young players in those regions.”

New events for 2011 are the Carolina Open (Raleigh, N.C./Carolina Region), the San Diego Open (Chula Vista, Calif./Southern California Region), the Heart of America Open (Kansas City, Kan./Heart of America Region), and the East Coast Open (Isle of Palms, Charleston, S.C./Palmetto Region).

“The growth of the USA Beach Junior Tour is an indication of the increasing demand for quality beach programming at the youth level. The Beach Junior Tour is the best way for young beach athletes to get their start, whether their goal is the NCAA, the Olympics, or just a fun day at the beach,” said Ali Wood Lamberson, USA Volleyball’s director of beach programs. “We want to see everyone out there.”

“We are glad to be able to continue to expand the number of tour qualifying events in 2011 and look forward to awarding championship bid invitations – that include free entry fees – to the top three placing teams in each age division for the USA Beach Junior Tour Open Championships in Chicago,” said Rick Schanz, the tour director from the Elevation Group.

“We had a great response to the Championship bids in 2010 with players from 16 different states represented at our finale in Fort Lauderdale. With the tour expanding into three new states we anticipate even greater representation and tougher competition in 2011.”

The Tour Championship location in Chicago provides a central location for traveling teams and will be the first freshwater beach championship in the history of the tour.

The 2010 Tour had 22 events in 17 regions with 3,124 participants which represents a 40 percent increase in total participation over 2009. An average of 71 teams competed per event. The Tour began in 2006 with 12 events.

The USA Beach Junior Tour focuses on competition and fun in a healthy environment. Players officiate their own matches and the events foster a friendly environment amongst competitors.

The tour is sponsored by Spalding King of the Beach volleyballs, and sanctioned by USA Volleyball. It is produced and operated by USA Volleyball in cooperation with the Elevation Group of Companies.

Event registration will be open on March 15 and posted at www.usabeach.org.

2011 Events Schedule (Click on event name for results)*

Updated 4/14/11	DATE5	NAME	LOCATION	REGION
1	May 7	US Border Open - (evening)	Brownsville, Texas	Lone Star
2	May 14	Sorrento Beach Tourney	Santa Monica, Calif.	Southern California
3	May 14 (rain date 15)	Carolina Open	Raleigh, N.C.	Carolina
4	May 22 (Sunday)	East Coast Open	Isle of Palms, Charleston, S.C.	Palmetto
5	May 28 (AM/PM)	Desert Open - (evening)	Phoenix (Glendale), Ariz.	Arizona
6	May 28-29	San Diego Open	US OTC, Chula Vista, Calif.	Southern California
7	June 4 (AM/PM)	Mid-South Open	Dallas, Texas	North Texas
8	June 4-5	Great Plains Open	Omaha, Neb.	Great Plains
9	June 11	Heart of America Open	S. Kansas City, Kan.	Heart of America
10	June 11	NoCal Open	Santa Cruz, Calif.	Northern California
11	June 11	Crossroads of the West Open	Salt Lake City, Utah	Intermountain
12	June 18	Santa Barbara Tourney	Santa Barbara, Calif.	Southern California
13	June 18	North Coast Open	Chicago, Ill.	Great Lakes
14	June 19 (Sunday)	Central Open	Milwaukee, Wis.	Badger
14	June 26	Gulf Coast Open	Clearwater,  Fla.	Florida
15	July 10	Western Open	Seattle, Wash.	Puget Sound
16	July 10	Dockweiler King of the Court (KOC)	Playa del Rey – (Non-qualifier)	Southern California
17	July  14 (Thursday)	SoCal Open	Hermosa, Calif.	Southern California
18	July 16-17	Ohio Valley Open	Cincinnati, Ohio	Ohio Valley
19	July 16	Hawkeye Open	Des Moines, Iowa	Iowa
20	July 16	Texas Open	Galveston, Texas	Lone Star
21	July 17 (Sunday)	Great Lakes Open	Rochester, N.Y.	Western Empire
22	July 23	USA Beach Junior Tour Championship	Chicago, Ill.	Great Lakes
23	Aug. 13-14	Pacific Record Challenge	Seaside, Ore.	Columbia Empire

*Dates & locations subject to change. Please check the USA Volleyball web site or www.usabeach.org for updates.

Tags: Ali Wood Lamberson, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Doug Beal, junior, Junior Beach, USA Beach Junior Tour