Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh threatening to skip beach crown jewel over rules change

Olympian Walsh says she’ll skip Manhattan Beach

Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh is threatening to boycott this weekend’s revamped Manhattan Beach Open because the beach volleyball tournament won’t be played under the accepted international rules.

In an e-mail to the Manhattan Beach City Council, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Walsh said the decision to return to the sport’s traditional rules “hurts us as players, it hurts the forward progression of our sport and it unnecessarily divides the volleyball community.”

“It is my strong belief that your decision to return to long outdated rules of the game hurts our fragile sport and takes us in the wrong direction,” Walsh wrote. “We love the game of beach volleyball and very much wish to compete in your event; however, we will not do so if your ‘old school’ decision stands.”

The crown jewel of the beach volleyball circuit is being run by the city of Manhattan Beach this year because the AVP tour collapsed last week from financial hardship. With only one week to put the tournament together, the city ditched the grandstand seating and other accessories of the pro tour and is planning an event reminiscent of the sport’s early days, when fans would stand on the elevated pier and look down on the beach.

Organizers also decided to abandon the rules adopted in 1998 by the international volleyball community, including the Olympics, to shorten the matches and make them TV-friendly. The biggest change was the switch from side-out scoring, in which only the serving team can score points, to rally scoring that awards a point on every ball in play.

“We want to bring it back to the retro game, that built the sport and made it the toughest tournament to win,” said J. Parker Saikley, who is running the tournament. “There is a little dissension — understandably so. The players have lost a lot this year. The players have a lot of fears right now because of the AVP folding.”

It was not immediately clear how many players would join a boycott. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, who won the men’s gold medal in Beijing, had previously committed to playing on the international tour instead.

“Supporting anything other than the real rules of the sport simply doesn’t make sense to us,” said Ryan Morgan, an agent who represents Walsh, Rogers and Dalhausser. “We won’t see top tennis players playing in badminton tournaments anytime soon, either.”

Morgan said Olympian Jake Gibb was also skipping Manhattan Beach. Saikley, whose father, Charlie, was known as the Godfather of Beach Volleyball for his role in making the Manhattan Beach Open the most prestigious event on the circuit, said Gibb’s partner from the Beijing Games, Sean Rosenthal, is planning to play with fellow local product Aaron Wachtfogel.

Others will play for the prestige of the event and the chance to have their name added to the Volleyball Walk of Fame, a series of volleyball-shaped brass plaques on the pier. Saikley said he could not say how much prize money would be awarded because sponsors were still being lined up.

“The value of the tournament is in its tradition,” Saikley said. “They understand that there’s more to volleyball than making a dollar. They want to get their name on the pier.”