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Pros hold clinics tomorrow at PIC
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Posted on Feb 22 2006
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the biggest three-day volleyball event in the region as some of the best beachside bombers will assemble at the Pacific Islands Club to put on a show during the Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Festival.
While the folks in San Antonio are just a short walk away from the hottest action on the sand since last year’s event, players from the CNMI, Guam, Japan, and the Philippines will face a fierce journey through the brackets in search of the over $15,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs in the tournament.
Before any of the competition begins, top players from the AVP pro beach tour will host a pair of clinics starting tomorrow morning as sideout studs like Paul Baxter, Phil Dalhausser, Taichi Morikawa, Tetsuo Yamamoto, Heidi Ilustre, Diane Pascua, Hatsumi Yui, and Emi Oguri will teach the tricks of the trade.
The seaside sessions begin at 10am and 3pm, and once the clinic is over, the excitement begins at 6pm, as the American combo of Dalhausser-Baxter will face off against Japan’s Morikawa-Yamamoto in the men’s exhibition match later that evening, while Ilustre-Pascua of the Philippines will play Yui-Oguri of Japan.
While watching some of the world’s top players work their magic between the lines will be a leaning experience in and of itself, amateurs have a chance at winning a one-on-one class by having a professional teammate for the start of Saturday’s games the two-on-two during the raffle.
The cost to enter the tournament is $60 per team, which includes a commemorative t-shirt, a ticket to the awards banquet, drinks during the tournament, lots of games, and four raffle tickets good for the treasure trove of prizes.
According to tournament director Jon Cramer, there will be between 75-100 participants of all skill levels ready to play hand-to-hand in the sand, so all names need to be submitted as soon as possible. (Brad E. Ruszala)
