In what has become an annual family outing for fans of all ages, AVP has spiked itself into the Midwest (Chicago and Cincinnati stops on the tour). Though most of the players and events are on coastal beach locations, contenders like Bartosz Bachorski (Streamwood, IL), Mike Dauernheim (Aurora, IL), Erin Byrd (Chicago, IL) and Jeannette Simenson (Chicago, IL) are starting to fill out the ranks in competitive Beach Volley Ball. Chicago came out to support these hometown players in this growing sports craze with the number of 3,600 fans per day.
Getting in on the competition Chicagoans were invited to participate in a Buffalo Wing eating championship. This along with haircuts, hair removal, herbal remedies a village of sponsors made sure that there was plenty to do in-between championship matches, though the real excitement was in the center court.
In the men's competition the top three teams were defeated by the 4th and 5th ranking teams. When all the sand settled it was the 5th ranking team of Todd Rogers & Sean Scott (five years as a team) that defeated 4th ranking Karch Kiraly & Mike Lambert (two years as a team) in the finals.
Another surprise was that 2nd ranking team Rachel Wacholder & Elaine Young did not make it to the finals, but played the 1st ranking team Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh in the semifinals in what was arguably one of the most amazing matches at the Chicago stop on the tour.
The only time I've see this much sand scattered around is on the Magnificent Mile during the winter months. It was an extremely intense match considering several factors. May-Treanor & Walsh (Gold medalists in Athens) have been defeated by Wacholder & Young (Bronze medalist in Athens with former partner Holly McPeak ranked 3rd on this tour with her partner Jennifer Kessy) in the finals three times on this tour (breaking a 50 game winning streak), May-Treanor was playing with an injury, and Wacholder had won her first two tournaments with her previous partner Walsh several years ago. Both teams kept within a point of each other but in the end it was number one ranked May-Treanor & Walsh that moved on to the finals.
May-Treanor & Walsh's troubles weren't over as yet another up and coming team challenged them in the final round; the Brazilian 6th ranking team of Semirames Mimi Marins & Tatiana Tati Minello (first year as a team). This match didn't have as many dramatic elements as the semifinals but Mimi and Tati gave May-Treanor & Walsh a run for the prize. And what a prize it was, for this was the top booty on the tour in the amount of $375,000.
With the energetic force these world class athletes have brought on this tour can this be a glimpse of the power of this sport at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China in 2008?
AVP Rules and Format:
Each match will be a best of three rally-scoring sets.
The first two sets are played to 21 points.
The third set is played to 15 points.
Teams must have a two-point advantage to win a set and there will be no caps used.
There are two (2) timeouts per set with a duration of 30 seconds each.
Only one (1) injury timeout per player per match is allowed.
A side change will occur every seven (7) points in the first two sets and every five (5) points in the third set. The side changes will be direct without delay.
Time between sets will be one (1) minute.
Court dimensions are 8-meters (26-feet, 3-inches) by 8-meters per side.
In 2001, the AVP approved the implementation of having a let serve be in play. This means, if a server's ball hits the net and falls into the receiving team's space, the ball is in play.
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