10A • August 5, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Tournament directors ‘live the volleyball culture’
Volleyball from Page 1A
With that burgeoning de-
mographic in mind, Owen
said, the chamber knew
change was necessary to im-
prove the player experience.
To help bring the volleyball
event up to speed this year,
the chamber hired new tour-
nament directors: NWAS and
Bad Boys Open Volleyball,
two Portland groups operat-
ed by Deng Thepharat, PT
Thilavanh and Mike Grifin,
who are active members of
the volleyball community and
former players at the Seaside
tournament.
“Those three individuals
really have helped us move
the event into a technologi-
cally forward product,” Owen
said. “They do understand
and live the volleyball cul-
ture.”
New app to free
up players
The chamber received
feedback last year that some
event participants were not
pleased with how late the
games were inishing nor the
system of communicating a
team’s next match. In previous
years, teams had to inish their
game, walk to center of the
event to report the score and
winner and wait to ind out the
time, location and competitor
for their next game, which
would get posted on dry erase
boards. This method virtually
held participants “captive on
the beach,” Owen said.
“We were trying to do
business the way we would
want to do business, and that
wasn’t our consumer,” he
added.
This year, the chamber
will be using a smartphone
application to keep players in-
formed about their upcoming
matches. Players also can re-
port their scores at one of three
stations diversely located at
the north side, south side and
middle of the playing area.
This new system will free
up players to leave the beach
and eat, shower, visit the
city or do other activities in
between their matches. The
chamber also has improved
communication through its
website and is publishing the
event’s irst Players’ Guide
with court information.
As for getting play to
end earlier each evening, the
chamber added an extra day to
the event.
“The games were not end-
ing until after dark,” Owen
said. “Starting it a day earlier,
we’re able to manage the time
JEFF TER HAR PHOTO
Over 3,000 players on 1,450 teams are expected to turn out this year for the 35th volleyball tournament staged on the beach at Seaside.
and have a better player expe-
rience.”
Youth doubles will begin
Aug. 11 and inish Aug. 12,
the day adult doubles also
start. Parent/child doubles
will take place Aug. 12, as
well. Doubles games for all
divisions will conclude Aug.
13. The quads and sixes divi-
sions, including the new boys
quads division, will take place
Aug. 14.
“The pinnacle of the event
is really Saturday afternoon
and evening,” Owen said.
“We have the best players for
both the men’s and women’s
brackets playing on center
stage.”
Burgeoning youth
participation
The doubles divisions in-
clude the majority of partic-
ipating teams. Registration
for the whole event may be
down a little this year, “be-
cause families were used to
playing Friday,” instead of
Thursday, Owen said, but
organizers still anticipate up-
ward of 1,450 teams. Players
had until July 31 to register.
For average spectators
who want to watch good
having a lot of travel to other
areas,” Owen said.
The fast pace with which
the youth divisions are grow-
ing also is drawing more col-
lege scouts and sponsors to
the Seaside tournament.
In the adult divisions, there
were no brand name adult
players yet registered, but
some of the better doubles
teams from last year, such as
British Columbia’s Dan and
Sean Casey and Eric Brewer
and Aleksey Kruglikov, plan
to return.
In an effort to provide new-
comers to the sport the chance
to learn and play, the event
will feature a court, sponsored
by Providence Seaside Hos-
pital, that is speciically de-
signed for novice players.
“We truly designed this
year with the player experi-
ence in mind,” Owen said,
adding organizers want to
give the event a fun and ex-
citing vibe – “a youthful vibe”
that will appeal to the young
players who are becoming the
lifeblood of the Seaside tour-
nament. “[That vibe is] the
laugher, it’s the fun, it’s the
enthusiasm of the event and
the day.”
SUBMITTED BY THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Since 2011, the Seaside Chamber Beach Volleyball event has been recognized by the World
Records Academy as the largest beach volleyball tournament.
‘We truly designed this year with the player experience in mind.’
Brian Owen
Seaside Chamber of Commerce executive director
matches, Owen would sug-
gest keeping an eye on the
youth players, or the 14- to
16-year-olds. He would not
give names, as the players
are minors, but he said some
of the best northwest players,
in addition to clubs from Chi-
cago, San Diego, Los Ange-
les and other large cities, are
attending the Seaside event.
Because many of the
youth are working toward
obtaining scholarships to
play collegiate beach volley-
ball, they compete at a high
caliber.
“This is an event that a
lot of these clubs come to
so they can play each other
at one location, rather than
Nominations wanted for Hall of Fame
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Northwest Blazers’ Orange team, following their
recent championship win in Arizona. The team includes
Abby Anderson of Glencoe (top row, center), N’dea Flye of
Oregon City (front row, far left) and Seaside’s Maddi Utti
(front row, far right).
Utti and the Blazers
win big in Arizona
EO Media Group
Led by a trio of players
from Oregon, the Northwest
Blazers’ Orange team won
the Arizona Elite NCAA-cer-
tiied high school girls bas-
ketball tournament, held July
23-25 in Phoenix.
An Amateur Athletic
Union (AAU) 17U Top Di-
vision team, the Orange are
led by Abby Anderson of
Glencoe High School, N’Dea
Flye from Oregon City, and
Seaside High School’s Mad-
di Utti, a senior-to-be for the
Gulls next season.
The tournament was
played in front of college
coaches from across the
West, and represented the
sixth-straight inals appear-
ance for the Northwest Blaz-
ers in their sixth National
NCAA-certiied event this
season.
The Blazers went 5-0 in
the Arizona Elite tournament,
scoring wins over Team Ari-
zona Red Elite (47-33) and
the AZ Sting-Slaga (40-28)
in Saturday pool play, and
victories over Team Bibby
Girlz (57-23) and the Clutch
Players-Red (33-32) Sunday.
In the championship
game held July 25, the Blaz-
ers cruised past Arizona Elite
Black, 57-44.
The Blazers concluded
their season in the Adidas
Nationals last week in Atlan-
ta, Ga.
The Seaside High School
Hall of Fame was launched
in 2001 by a group of teach-
ers and coaches from Seaside
High School.
The Hall of Fame has in-
ducted individuals and busi-
nesses in the community who
have supported Seaside High
School activities, totaling 125
individuals, 27 teams and
more than a dozen businesses.
An induction ceremony
takes place every other year.
Past inductees come and
speak to the students.
Guidelines for honorees
include:
• Alumni of Seaside High
School who have been out of
school for at least ive years
and have demonstrated exem-
plary performance warranting
consideration of nominations
as student athletes or in the
areas of career accomplish-
ments or meritorious service;
• Supporters,
sponsors,
coaches and other individ-
uals in the Seaside commu-
nity who have over a period
of time, supported, encour-
aged, and advanced the above
members of Seaside High
School;
• Teams or individuals
who have earned state cham-
pionships or state recognition.
The nominations for ath-
letes will come from all the
sports offered at Seaside High
School.
Nominations for activities
come from academia, the arts,
choir, band, debate, science,
government or public service,
military commendations, not-
ed authors and business exec-
utives.
Send nominations to Sea-
side Hall of Fame, PO Box
2101, Gearhart, 97138.
D EL ’S O .K .
D EL ’S O .K .
is changing its name to
Same great service
YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR TIRES
CUSTOM WHEELS • AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES
Hours:
Mon-Fri 8-6
Sat- 8-4
503-325-2861
35359 Business Hwy 101
For emergencies
503-325-0233
Astoria, OR
(miles crossing)
NOW OPEN
&
WE NEED YOU!
Pelican
Brewing
Company is
NO W HI RI NG
FIRST
CLASS
FREE!
(With this coupon)
4025 Abbey Lane #8
Astoria, OR 97103
503.468.1990
www.crossfit1811.com
Line Cooks, Janitors, Dishwashers,
Servers, Hosts & Bussers
APPLY IN PERSON ANYTIME AT:
1371 SW Hemlock, Cannon Beach
OR SEND YOUR RESUME TO:
Employment@Pelicanbrewing.com
www.yourlittlebeachtown.com/employment
Questions? Call Stephanie 503-965-7779 ext. 307