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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2016
Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Team Los Angeles’ Alex Freire kicks the ball while facing off against Northern California in the Team USA Footvolley qualifying matches on Saturday in Seaside.
Foot: New sport not an oficial event
Continued from Page 1A
Each rally for points begins after
one team serves the ball to the other
side by kicking it off of a mound of
sand on the backline.
Utilizing different parts of the
body to control the ball can set up
more strategic returns for teammates,
as they dive around the court and try
keep the ball in the air. Instead of
spikes, like in volleyball, the most
tactical hit is called a “shark attack,
where a player goes upside down in
the air to slam the ball down with
their foot.
Footvolley was created in Rio in
response to their national sport of
soccer being banned on the beaches.
Players would kick around a ball
until police showed up, and then
would start volleying it over the net
to stay out of trouble.
Eventually, the game caught on
and players started setting up bound-
aries and creating oficial rules.
Because of the foot skills and
juggling it requires, most footvolley
players have a strong background in
soccer.
Sergio Menezes, president of the
U.S. Footvolley Association and
competitor in the weekend tourna-
ment, said the organization chose
Seaside to show the sport to the
Paciic Northwest. “We’ve never
had any competitions or events here
before and really wanted to plant the
seed,” he said.
The Daily Astorian
Fans react during the Team USA Footvolley qualifying final on Sunday in Seaside. Team Miami defeated
Team Los Angeles 2-1 and will represent the U.S. Footvolley team as a demonstration sport in Rio.
Teams for the weekend’s tourna-
ment came from all across America,
including places like: Miami, Santa
Cruz, California, and even Wash-
ington, D.C., but Menezes’ plan has
already started to take root.
One pair of Oregonians made
the trip to Seaside and tried out the
sport for their irst time. Felyx Tsoi
and Matt LaPlant are former club
soccer players at University of Port-
land. While still involved in beach
matches and pickup games, they
found out about footvolley only a
week before and decided to give it
a shot.
“The community was great, but
it’s tough playing a new sport against
some top athletes,” said Tsoi.
“Portland is a big soccer city,
but it still has room for the sport to
grow,” said LaPlant, “We just need
more people to get out playing on
the beach.”
The qualifying match served as
the Northwest’s irst taste of foot-
volley, but with television cover-
age and exposure expected from the
Olympic hype, the sport is poised to
grow.
Tsui: Key leader with Music Festival
Continued from Page 1A
to the United States in 1986,
earned her university degrees
and embarked on a profes-
sional career that has taken her
around the world.
Clark describes her as “one
of the inest violinists in Los
Angeles.”
“I irst met her many years
ago when I needed an assistant
and she was recommended by
Sidney Weiss, concertmaster
of the LA Philharmonic.
She had played in the
orchestra when I had con-
ducted in LA and was on some
of my best-selling recordings.”
Clark appreciated her “for-
midable” violin skills and
leadership potential. “I saw her
as someone who has a lot to
offer,” he recalled. “I encour-
aged her to train as a conduc-
tor. Now she has played all
over Europe and conducted in
Europe.”
Tsui’s resume lists assign-
ments in Russia, Bulgaria, Slo-
vakia and Mexico, as well as
around the United States. She is
grateful that Clark boosted her
career. “I am a great admirer
of Maestro Clark. We have
been friends for decades,” she
laughed, having minutes ear-
lier declined to reveal her age,
“and I support everything he is
Road to Rio:
Top footvolley
qualiiers head
to Olympics
Submitted Photo
Olivia Tsui will conduct a concert featuring emerging
young artists Wednesday,June 29 at the Astoria Masonic
Lodge as the Astoria Music Festival completes its 14th
season this week. Mentoring young musicians is among
the highlights of her professional work, she says
doing to bring great perform-
ers from all around the country
to the Astoria Music Festival.”
Tsui’s key appointments
included serving as the irst
female music director of the
Glendale Symphony Orches-
tra, a California post previ-
ously held by Clark. As well as
classical works, she has con-
ducted modern music at the
Hollywood Bowl and else-
where. She judges young art-
ists’ contests and serves as
music director of the Sili-
con Beach Philharmonic and
LA Virtuosi. The City of Los
Angeles has honored her for
her educational work.
She views it as a mission
to help young people embrace
music. Recent collaborations
have linked music with visual
arts or used digital techniques
designed to reach youth audi-
ences. “I am trying to bring
classical music and art to a
new generation, and expose
children to great culture,” she
said.
Clark commends the way
Tsui works with the festival’s
young musicians and singers
in Astoria. “She is extremely
articulate in expressing her
love and joy of music, and
generous in taking as much
time as it takes to mentor and
inspire the next generation of
artists,” he said.
Tsui appears cooly in con-
trol when she steps up to the
podium, usually clad in a
white jacket, baton poised to
bring a couple of dozen artists
together in harmony. But she
does feel stress when her two
sons take the spotlight.
The boys, aged 7 and 12,
both play the piano. And one
has shown exceptional prom-
ise as a solo singer in Los
Angeles.
Some artistic parents steer
their children in other direc-
tions. Not Tsui. “I couldn’t be
more pleased,” she said, when
asked about her boys’ musi-
cal successes. “it’s beyond
description.” One just sang the
title role in the opera “Amahl
and the Night Visitors.”
But even for a professional
musician, there is a down side
to watching them at compe-
titions or auditions with the
Los Angeles Opera and LA
Philharmonic.
“I have never been so ner-
vous in my life!” Tsui said.
— Patrick Webb
Only two female teams competed
in the Team USA Footvolley qualify-
ing matches in Seaside, so the play-
ers rotated partners and tallied the
results for the title of “Queen of the
Court.” In the end, Melony Poviones
of Miami and Leah Morales of Oak-
land, California, proved to be the best
pair and will make the trip across the
world for a demonstration event of
the sport at the summer Olympics in
Rio de Janiero.
Both are former collegiate soccer
players but have never played at this
level of competition.
“There’s really nothing better than
getting to travel and continue doing
what you love,” Poviones said.
Six male pairs faced off over the
weekend for the opportunity to repre-
sent America in Rio de Janeiro.
While Sergio Menezes serves
as president of the U.S. Footvolley
Association, he also was on the win-
ning team of the beach battle. His
partner, Lucas Roque, is a native to
Brazil and has played soccer pro-
fessionally, as well as with the U.S.
indoor team. “I’ve played many tour-
naments with big prizes before,”
Roque said after the tournament. “But
this chance … who doesn’t want to
play in the Olympics?”
Cape: Design Review
hopes for second chance
Continued from Page 1A
The county plans to dis-
continue the committee
again, but this time through
a land use process that would
include public hearings
before the committee, the
Planning Commission and
Board of Commissioners.
“We agreed we will go
through the land use process
instead of the appeal,” Com-
munity Development Direc-
tor Heather Hansen said.
Supporters of the Arch
Cape Design Review Com-
mittee see the opportunity
for public comment at the
upcoming hearings as a sec-
ond chance. The commit-
tee is the last active citizens
advisory committee in the
county and is 39 years old.
For now, the committee
is alive and will discuss its
future at a meeting July 12.
The committee’s recommen-
dation will be heard by the
Planning Commission later
in July. The land use process
to dissolve the committee is
expected to reach the Board
of Commissioners in August.
“Now there is more
time for them to try to con-
vince the board to keep them
Lyra Fontaine/The Daily Astorian
The Arch Cape Design Re-
view Committee will get a
second chance after it was
dissolved by the county
earlier this year.
around,” Hansen said.
The committee screens
all major construction design
applications for the unincor-
porated community of Arch
Cape submitted to the county
planning ofice.
County commissioners
have heard complaints about
the committee from people
who wanted to build or sell
homes in Arch Cape.
Former committee mem-
bers and others in the com-
munity have argued, how-
ever, that the committee is
valuable for maintaining the
community’s livability.
“I feel very strongly that
the community should have
a say in Arch Cape’s devel-
opment and future,” Jensvold
said.