The FIVB has announced four U.S. beach volleyball players have received end-of-season awards and the schedule for the FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour 2012. The women winners were Kerri Walsh (San Jose, Calif.), named Best Blocker and Most Inspirational and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) as Best Hitter and Best Server. Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) earned the Best Defensive Player award. Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) won Best Setter among men. The schedule will feature a total of 14 events in 15 countries over a seven-month period, including a record-breaking nine Grand Slam tournaments.
The Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame holds awards ceremony and fund raiser in advance of its expected opening in Spring of 2012. The ceremony tood place in Hermosa Beach California and included sixty four inductees. The Hermosa Beach Historical Society and the California Beach Volleyball Association were the two organizations hosting the event, which drew five hundred attendees.
New Zealand family of four plays competitive beach volleyball as a team. Brad and Jacinta Blundell with their children Chloe, 15, and Jadyn, 13 play as a couple, and as a team of four. Article includes psychologist's comments on the benefits of playing on the same team, and the dangers of competing against one another, when not.
Pompano Beach, FL resident Mark Van Zwieten finishes fifth at Pan American Games. The 24-year-old ocean engineer from Florida Atlantic University teamed up with Andrew Fuller and participated in the 16th Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Together, they emerged as the one of the top-five teams of the tournament.
