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FRIENDS OF THE COURT
The Seaside Beach Volleyball tournament — the world’s largest amateur volleyball tournament — enters 36th year
By BRENNA VISSER
COAST WEEKEND
hen Joel Maag fi rst
started playing in the
Seaside Beach Volleyball
tournament, the conver-
sations he would have with friends after a
match revolved around what they planned
to do that weekend.
Now, 25 years later, Maag and those
same friends still play together in the
tournament. But the talk has shifted from
weekend plans to bonding over their kids,
families and full-time jobs.
“Today, almost all of us have kids. And
maybe we aren’t as athletic as we all once
were. But it is still great we are playing
today,” Maag said. “Between reminiscing
about the old days, to experiencing this
with our kids today, it has been fun to
watch that transition.”
As he has for the last 25 years, the
Portland resident will return to play in
the Seaside Beach Volleyball tourna-
ment Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 10
through 13. He will be on one of the 1,400
teams estimated to register this year. This
equates to almost 3,000 volleyball enthusi-
asts crowding the soft sands of Seaside.
Skill levels vary from casual play to
the open division, where world-renowned
players compete in the center court for a
fi rst-place $4,000 cash prize and prestige.
In its 36th year, the tournament
includes players of all ages and has been
recognized as the world’s largest amateur
volleyball tournament. Many aspects of
the tournament will remain the same, but,
W
Photo by Jeff Ter Har
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, AUG. 10
8:30 a.m., players meetings and na-
tional anthem
9 a.m. Juniors “AM” (morning) wave
pool play starts, “PM” (afternoon)
wave after
FRIDAY, AUG. 11
8:30 a.m., Adult players’ meeting and
national anthem
9 a.m., Adult Doubles and Junior Dou-
bles begin in waves. Parent/Child and
Coach/Child pool play begins after
Junior bracket fi nishes
SATURDAY, AUG. 12
9 a.m. Junior Quads and Junior Sixes
pool play begin. Parent/Child and
Coach/Child brackets begin and fi nish
SUNDAY, AUG. 13
9 a.m., Junior and Adult Quads and
sixes begin and fi nish
LEFT: Darith Lim, left, of Vancouver,
Washington, attempts to tip a shot at
the net over the hand of John Nizich,
of Oregon City, the 2013 Seaside Beach
Volleyball tournament.
PHOTO BY ALEX PEJUNAS