Manhattan Beach Open set to begin despite pro league's end

The setting and spiking on the sand begins Saturday morning at the Manhattan Beach Open volleyball competition. Some people call the Open the “Wimbledon” of beach volleyball, but it’s happening just after the collapse of the pro tour. The sport’s top event survived this year by returning to its surf-and-sand roots.

The Manhattan Beach Open started 50 years ago. Back then, it was all about bragging rights. Spectators brought their beach chairs or sat in the sand to watch the top amateurs go two-on-two. In 1983, the Association of Volleyball Professionals began — and absorbed the Manhattan Beach event into its pro tour.

"It’s been a positive," says Mark Leyman with the Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation Department. "It’s been absolutely wonderful that they’ve helped to grow the sport, added a lot more fans."

With more fans came more sponsors and more TV coverage for beach volleyball. Players could earn a living from prize money, and beach volleyball grew popular enough to become an Olympic sport in 1996.

But the recession forced sponsors to scale back — and the pro tour sank into financial quicksand. It folded last week — and canceled the Manhattan Beach Open. In stepped the City of Manhattan Beach and the California Beach Volleyball Association — the group that governs amateur volleyball. Mark Leyman says they found three local sponsors to make sure the Open goes on.

"To hold the 50th anniversary Manhattan Beach Open, I think that’s re-energizing everyone, and we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from that," Leyman says.

They’ve hired J. Parker Saikley to run the tournament. His father used to run it but backed out as the event became more commercial, and the rules of the game changed to make it more TV-friendly.

"As the tour grew, their production got bigger and bigger," says Saikley. "I don’t know; I think that might have taken away from what volleyball started as, and why we play it."

So Saikley is making the 50th Manhattan Beach Open look a lot like the first. He reinstated the old scoring rules, made the courts bigger like they used to be — and got rid of the grandstands. So if you want the best seat for beach volleyball this weekend, bring your own chair — just like 50 years ago when the Manhattan Beach Open began.