Pro tour returns to Fort Lauderdale Beach
While many in South Florida have been watching the Winter Olympics from afar, the opportunity to see past and possibly future Olympians in person comes to town when professional beach volleyball returns to Fort Lauderdale.
The first event of the 2018 FIVB season runs today through Sunday on Fort Lauderdale Beach, as 24 teams in both the men’s and women’s sides compete for a $600,000 purse.
Headlining the men’s field will be the past three World Championship teams, along with Americans Phil Dalhausser and Cooper City product Nick Lucena.
Lucena knows he’ll have a ton of local support.
“All my friends and family,” Lucena explained recently, “they live for this tournament.”
Lucena, who spent this offseason helping his wife, Brooke Niles, coach the Florida State women’s beach volleyball team, is eager to get back into form with Dalhausser.
“It’s our first time playing since August, so I think we might start off a little rusty,” Lucena said.
Lucena and Dalhausser are both 38, which is much older than most of the players in the field.
“Pretty sure we’ll be the oldest team in the tournament,” Lucena said. “Maybe we’ll use our experience a little to get us through when we’re struggling.”
On the women’s side, the 2017 champions are not playing. The field is wide open but still quite strong and includes two-time Olympic medalist American April Ross.
Entering the event, the top-ranked women’s team is Canada’s Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes.
“The field for the women is always pretty deep,” Pavan said. “For Melissa and I to have success, we’re going to have to play well every single match.”
Even though the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are more than two years away, players are preparing now for the opportunity to represent their country in beach volleyball in Tokyo.
“For beach volleyball, it’s such a huge sport in the Olympics,” Pavan said. “For the majority of the athletes, that is definitely the big goal. People on the tour are already talking about the Olympics. It’s always in everybody’s mind.”
Lucena, who represented the United States in beach volleyball in 2016, shares that feeling.
“As a beach volleyball athlete, that’s always your highest goal, to reach the Olympics,” Lucena said.
Admission to the tournament is free and Pavan encourages anyone interested in attending the event to come out and enjoy the experience.
“It’s definitely not your typical day at the beach. It’s such a fun environment. The culture is so laid back and fan friendly,” Pavan said. “They have DJs at every game playing music. It’s basically like a party in the stands that can carry on after the game is over.”
In addition to the environment, both Lucena and Pavan know fans will see some amazing action.
“There’s some freakish athletes out there,” Lucena said. “To be able to do some of the things they do in the sand, it’s pretty impressive.”
“Everybody enjoys playing beach volleyball and thinks it’s just a fun sport, but when you see the best in the world competing, its something else,” Pavan said.
VIP tickets are available for purchase. For more information and updates, visit beachmajors.com.