Manhattan Beach Open

Manhattan Beach Open
Tournament information
SportBeach volleyball
LocationManhattan Beach, California
Established1960[1]
Tournament
format(s)
Double-elimination
PurseUS$250,000[2]

The Manhattan Beach Open is a beach volleyball tournament held annually during the summer in Manhattan Beach, California. Held on the south side of the Manhattan Beach Pier, the Open is the only professional volleyball tournament in which amateurs are able to "place into" the event through pre-qualifying rounds.[3]

The tournament began in 1960 starting as an amateur event and, since 1984 has been part of the AVP's season (with the exceptions of 1997 and 1998, 2010, 2011 and 2012 it was presented by Pro Beach, and 2020 when it was not run due to Covid-19). Today the event is the largest on the AVP tour drawing an estimated 60,000+ people over three days. It is the longest-running and most prestigious beach volleyball tournament in the United States.[4][5]

Winners of the tournament are memorialized with bronze volleyball-shaped plaques in the "Volleyball Walk of Fame" mounted on the Manhattan Beach Pier.[6]

  1. ^ Hall, Dave (June 30, 1989). "Manhattan Tourney, the Wimbledon of Volleyball : '68 Match Called 'Most Famous' of All Time". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ "Introducing The Gold Series". AVP.com. June 5, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  3. ^ City of Manhattan Beach website for the Open
  4. ^ "Donald Sun brings AVP home in hopes of brighter days on the beach". Daily Breeze. August 15, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  5. ^ Blint-Welsh, Tyler (August 16, 2017). "'Granddaddy of Beach Volleyball' hits the sand this week in Manhattan Beach". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  6. ^ "Manhattan Beach Open Walk of Fame Pier Ceremony: Honoring the 2016 Manhattan Beach Open Champions". citymb.info. Retrieved March 27, 2018.