CivicCouch

Body Glove hosted the first annual Beach Fest 4 man Volleyball  “King of the Streets” tournament on Saturday, June 12^th in Manhattan Beach.  The “King of the Streets” format pitted teams from not only the beach cities, but as far south as San Diego in a challenge to see which local area could claim both bragging rights and a $3000 check.

  “I wanted to have the local groups from all over Southern California to represent their hang out –  playing for bragging rights.  It is so people can enjoy the water the sun the sand, and watch some amazing volleyball and say ‘my beach is the best’.  The turnout was great, we had quality teams, former Olympians, national team players, AVP champions and grass roots guys to represent their spots.  Doug Partie (Olympic Gold Medalist – playing on the Moonlight Beach, Encinitias team), Jimmy Nichols (AVP Champion also on Moonlight), Dave McKenzie (professional player in Dubai playing for 21^th Street Hermosa Beach team), David Swatik (former AVP King of the Beach and Manhattan Beach Open Champion)- an amazing level of talent, the list went on and on,” said tournament founder Mark Paaluhi, now working for Body Glove International. 

With all teams featuring some notable past heavyweights in the sport, it was Hermosa Beach’s 33^rd St. team that took the honors, beating Moonlight’s big names in the final. 

“I thought the event was great. There are very few 4 man tournaments where you get to choose your own team. The prize money and playing for your local street made for some very high quality competitive volleyball.   Our strategy was for Scotty and Nick to take care of the net play (blocking and putting the ball away) and Ty and myself would take care of the back row. We all played real well and this made for a real comfortable flow on the court,”  said Terry Nolan, from the winning 33^rd st. squad. 

Beach Fest’s format sets it apart from the other 4 man events of the year, and players responded enthusiastically to the area team concept.    “Hopefully, this will become an annual event because there aren't really any other 4 man tournaments with this quality of volleyball.” Nolan continued. 

Another nod to tradition was the return of the “Body Glove Girl” Bikini Contest sponsored by GoBeach Fest with 20 year old Long Beach State indoor standout and aspiring AVP player Chelesea Rashoff winning the $1000 first prize.  Rashoff and her partner Kayce Matthess entered the contest together, against competition that included a former “Deal or No Deal” spokesmodel.  Rashoff has been modeling locally and Rockstar just signed a sponsorship deal for the duo.  It was a natural fit for the GoBeach Fest look – owned by AVP champ Albert Hannenmann.   Manhattan Beach Sharkeez was packed to the hilt for the contest – which also featured Body Glove prizes and celebrity judges such as NHL Star George Parros. 

 “The event was a huge success, we were grassroots, it what I always wanted an event to be.  The player party went well – it was fun, energetic and the tournament had some excellent volleyball – it was a very exciting final,” concluded Paaluhi. 

33^rd St Hermosa Beach – Winner 2010 Beach Fest

Kevin Burgess

Scott Lane
Ty Lum
Terry Nolan

Nick Palmer

Moonlight Beach, Encinitas – 2^nd Place 2010 Beach Fest

Jim Nichols

Kevin O’Conner

Doug Partie

Andy Tomkinson

“It was an very exciting final”

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