South Beach Miami - Beach Volleyball Nationals
The sparkling white sands and vibrant waterfront of South Beach Miami not only attracts tourists from all over the world, but is also host for many professional sporting events such as, volleyball, basketball, marathons, triathlons and many more. Zephyrhills sponsors a tour called ‘Dig the Beach Volleyball Tour’, which hosts 14 professional beach volleyball tournaments throughout the state of Florida from March through September. The ‘Dig the Beach Tour’ culminates with a National Championship tournament held on Miami Beach.
If you’ve had the opportunity to visit Miami Beach, I would be willing to bet you either cruised or strolled along the main strip, Ocean Drive. For the past five years, the ‘Dig the Beach Tour’ has hosted nationals on Miami Beach. Over 100 teams travel to compete in the annual tournament. The ladies professional division also known as the open division was an invitation only tournament. Teams from New York, California, Michigan, South Carolina and of course Florida traveled to compete for the National Title.
Last year Kristen and I watched the finals under the lights and vowed to one another that in 2008 our team, SpikeKey, would be competing in the finals. One year later, team SpikeKey stayed true to their promise and competed under the spotlights in the finals. A link for the match will be placed on spikekey’s website coming soon.
Entering the tournament, spikekey was ranked 8th overall. Our first match was at 8am in the warm Florida sun and we finished competing under the stars and portable lighting at 10pm. During the course of the day we played five matches totaling 10 games all the while maintaining a high level of intensity and focus. We entered our last match of the day undefeated, but faced the top seeded team in the tournament. With a spot in the semi-finals up for grabs, we battled them for two grueling hours to earn a three set victory. This victory was a turning point for our team and we knew that our preparation and confidence would lead us into the finals. Our semi-final match was against Miami locals. We rode our momentum from the previous match and our victory brought about our dream from 2007, THE FINALS.
Not surprisingly the team we defeated earlier, the number 1 ranked team, had worked their way through the contender’s bracket and joined us in the finals on center court. Our family, friends, tourists, and city strollers crowded around the court. We were surprised with the elaborate set-up and preparations for the finals. Portable lights were surrounding the court, the TV crews were scanning the crowd all while the announcer was giving a play-by-play recap to the audience. It was an exciting match and we were pleased by our performance! To be ranked second in the Nation is an accomplishment to hold your heads up high for. Next year…the dream is to WIN nationals.
SpikeKey wins Dominican Republic trip after performance in Atlantic City
It was our first time visiting Atlantic City and it was only natural to hit a few slots and indulge ourselves in a very delicious meal or shall I say meals, the buffet. After losing a few dollars and in desperate need of exercise we headed out to the beach. Out of all the beaches we have traveled to, the Atlantic City beach has by far the most shells, rocks and even nails embedded in the sand. The lifeguards greeted and cheered for our team throughout the tournament, and chose our team to have the home court advantage being fan favorites.
This tournament was hosted by East End Volleyball and sponsored by Caribbean Cruises. Teams traveled to compete for the cash purse and a paid trip to the Dominican to compete in an exclusive tournament. Due to the large amount of teams registered to play we were split into 4 pools of 5. This means you have to play against everyone in your pool and the top two teams make it out and then the tournament follows a single elimination format. We defeated all teams in our pool and advanced our way to the finals by eliminating talented and experienced teams.
We found ourselves in a very familiar situation, competing against a team that had beaten us in New York earlier in the year at the Long Beach championship match. We envisioned all week winning the tournament, by not only focusing on the fundamentals of volleyball, but also believing and picturing the final point. We left Atlantic City with smiles and with tickets to play in the Dominican Republic in November!
U.S. Open Santa Barbara
The U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball was created with the specific purpose of providing an opportunity for adult players to pursue a crowning achievement on a national stage. Karch Kari, the father and best player in the world, hosts an annual invitation only beach volleyball tournament. Teams are selected on their performance over the course of the year and each team had to win at least one national tournament to receive an invite. We received out entry by winning the Toyota Pro Beach East Dewey Beach tournament. We would like to thank Zephyrhills and the ‘Dig the beach tour’ for flying SpikeKey to Santa Barbara to compete in the event. We woke up early Saturday morning and headed to the beautiful beaches representing Florida professional’s tours. The tournament format was double elimination and our winning record led us into Sunday play. After a few early games in the morning we ended the tournament fifth overall. We were happy with our performance and headed back to Sarasota to train for the upcoming tournaments.
SPONSOR OPPORTUNITY at the Siesta Key Beach (October 18th)
SpikeKey is offering a unique advertising opportunity to local businesses. SpikeKey will be distributing DenTek product sample bags to volleyball fans, tourists and other premier athletes at this large national event. Additional supporting companies will have the opportunity to include promotional inserts such as company coupons, leaflets, sample products and widgets. This unique opportunity is available for $100. Sponsors will also receive a complementary SpikeKey team shirt, a link to your website on www.SpikeKey.com, along with our free monthly newsletter. If you would like to receive more information including sponsor and tournament details, please email or call Megan Wallin or Kristen Batt. Spikekey13@yahoo.com Cell: 517-896-8232
Email: Spikekey13@yahoo.com
Cell: 517-896-8232
GOLD SPONSOR
Upcoming tournaments
Clearwater * October 11-12th 2008
Siesta Key Beach * Nationals * October 18-19th, 2008
Dominican Republic * EEVB Nationals * November -8-9th, 2008
