CivicCouch

Local Control?

Anyone hearing the recent debate over the 6 man tournament draws the same conclusions. The concerns about crowds now double the city population, fear of a drunken mob rioting, city services overwhelmed from a worried police chief. Residents complaining of a deluge of intoxicated revelers treating their multizillion walkstreet homes and Calterranean Strand Castles like an alley on Bourbon street, at 4 a.m. on the closing days of Mardi Gras. Families with young children exchanging horror stories of vomit spewing underage drinkers whose own parents seem to be blissfully unaware that those jello packages missing from their pantries (along with the vodka) are happily being horked by their angelic honor student, who is in fact, face down located in the gutter between heatstroke and alcohol poisoning, clad in a bikini, wearing a sodden bunny tail at the veteran age of 16 – and that was their eldest son. The Chief has the right to be worried, its bad, and could get worse. While arrests and citations are low, its simply because it wouldn’t be prudent for officers outnumbered 1500-1 to begin issuing open container violations as was the ratio last year. Council members stated the obvious “it’s gotten out of hand”. But they announced it to the wrong group of ears, a handful of organizers, longtime participants, including an Olympian, sitting in the chambers on a Tuesday evening.

Here are the facts- there are around 4000 participants in the tournament who are registered on teams the majority of whom are area residents – many have participated in the tournament for years. The other 56,000 folks… well, uh, they just kinda show up. And drink. A lot. Judging from the fact that Manhattan Beach has a population of around 35,000… most of them actually don’t live in the area. The players are rostered, trackable, and under the dominion of the tournament organizers. That’s where the tracking begins and ends, without the police getting involved.

Proposed changes; banning costumes, reducing teams, allowing teams a single 10 x 10 tent, pulling the proverbial plug on the MacGyver inspired mobile PA units powered by car batteries; target those participants. That is the regulated controllable group, who pays to play. Yeah – spectators show up by the tens of thousands to get treated to some of the top names in volleyball, past and present, playing without paying a dime. And the teams, well, since we know who and where they are, get to shoulder the burden.

“Why not charge spectators?” people blithely ask – and when the answer comes back – that requires California Coastal Commission approval – brows furrow and folks go “uh, so? The AVP does…” While widely unpopular with locals, the yellow – scratch that- Nivea Blue tented professional beach volleyball tour, does in fact charge an entry fee for its events, including it’s Wimbledon, the Manhattan Open. This is debated, complained about, and its been quite awhile since 60,000 folks showed up for that event in a single day – but is really the only way it’s affordable to create anything to the scale that six man has hit, let alone the AVP attendance numbers.

City council members sat up in their chairs at the mention of the Coastal Commission – “that means a loss of local control!” one member quickly said defensively. The process could be long, arduous, take years and involve restrictions with an organization whose mission statement is: “ Protect, conserve, restore, and enhance environmental and human-based resources of the California coast and ocean for environmentally sustainable and prudent use by current and future generations.”

. Their job, in essence is to protect access to the beach – keep it free – and accessible, and their approval is necessary to hold a private controlled, ticketed, paid event on the beach. That being said, the AVP was able to get approval as a for-profit company, so while not easy, its not impossible. This was brought up by CBVA President Chris Brown, who implored the council to pursue that route, rather than resorting on effectively punishing the only group they could find – the athletes – by raising the fees, restricting their costumes/uniforms, sound systems, etc., when the increased costs are coming from the spectators. Many six man athletes include current and past AVP pros, Olympians, Collegiate All-Americans, current NCAA coaches, current NCAA athletes, in addition to weekend warriors thrilled to have been drilled in the face by a childhood icon. The reality is that while the teams have a good time, they are not the issue, organizers know that, they know the teams – and they know who to track down when a team misbehaves – because the 6’6 former AVP Champion, dressed like Chevy Chase, does kinda stand out – even in a crowd. But the faceless, nameless, revelers flying in for a party listed on Maxim magazines website are the ones least impacted. Those same spectators are also the group voted “least likely” to read the City Council meeting notes, visit the official city sponsored website, or the Manhattan Beach Surf Festival Charles Saikley Memorial Six-Man Beach Volleyball Tournament’s website. In fact, when they Google “six man” (since most probably don’t realize there is in fact an entire surf festival actually happening – or know who Charles Saikley was), one of the first listings is from a party oriented blog/travel guide – written by a local resident, www.pubclub.com

However, council members, while aware of his site, did not approach the longtime resident, who would be more than happy to spread the word, and cooperate fully, using his site to promote the changes in cooperation with the city. They were busy debating how many team members can fit under a single tent. The answer, btw is – uh – not enough to realistically grant shade to a team now paying $100 per person to be broasted in the sun. The idea about allowing beach umbrellas instead is – shall we say – asking for trouble- as the remaining members each setting up umbrellas take up far more real estate which is in dire shortage. So – how to save the Saikley? Well, just like Pandora and her proverbial box, the last item to leave is hope – and while the Council didn’t slam the lid shut like our favorite Greek Lindsey Lohan – they could use a good hitter and several blockers on their own team. First, while the City and the Surf Festival operate websites which probably get a good look from many civic minded folks, Maxim and Pub Club, filled with bikini clad babes probably get slightly more traffic… just a guess.

Perhaps a PR company – there are several local – would step up to organize approaching media outlets and website to get the word out. There were several mentions of youtube videos showing the monster six man has become, but no realization of the tool that could be. Rather than overcharging the teams – ask them to create videos in cooperation with tournament organizers outlining proper etiquette, rules and regulations guidelines for spectators, and post them on youtube and facebook . Teams with videos chosen might garner free or reduced entry rather than a bill for the poor behavior of total strangers.

And while local control is a happy fantasy – let’s admit finally that the world, thanks to that kooky invention the world wide web – has gotten a lot smaller, and the secret is out. Form a foundation, benefiting local charities, approach the coastal commission, jump through the hoops and get the approvals needed to shift the burden not to the athletes, or the local residents, but to whoever shows up. Several knowledgeable resources exist in our own backyard within the AVP. This was first suggested by Brown – and so far the most logical and reasonable solution to date. The word is getting out, “the party is over” – but we’ve got to make sure the right ears are listening.