• This story is the last in a five-part series called Underground Vancouver, delving into little-known subcultures in and around the city. To read the previous installments on goths, street art, secret wine meet-ups and drag culture, search 'underground vancouver' on our site.
Walk down to Kits Beach on a hot, sunny day and you’re certain to see rows of brightly coloured nets and a frenzy of balls being bumped, set, spiked and dug by glistening bodies wearing bikinis or shorts.
Beach volleyball is both a fun summertime pastime and a sport of extremes. For those who regularly play and train at some of Vancouver’s nine beaches, not even rainstorms, burning-hot sand or gale-force winds are enough to keep them away from the game they love.
Kumiko Chow knows a lot about playing in unsavoury conditions. Last year, she competed in the Kits Classic tournament, run through Volleyball BC (VBC), on the rainiest day in May that Vancouver has seen in 15 years. “It was so cold and windy. We all wore garbage bags and rain pants,” she recalls. “But it was my first beach tournament with my beach partner, [Denise Wooding], and I think it made us closer as a team.”
The 28-year-old physiotherapist and Vancouver resident played in a beach tournament every weekend last summer – just one example of the sport’s popularity. Although several tournaments were in Vancouver, her biggest prize was won in Seabrook, Washington, where she and Wooding took home $2,000.
Promoting high-level play
If Olympic beach volleyball player Ben Saxon has his way, Vancouver will soon become a leading incubator for elite players, and a major draw for high-level events and tournaments.
Saxton co-founded the West Coast Beach Volleyball Society (WeCoBeVo) in 2016 to foster high-level play through coaching and funding opportunities for young athletes. The society’s fundraising efforts last year raised $12,000, a big chunk of which has already helped six young athletes go to Toronto for the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championship tryouts. Four players from Vancouver qualified and will be headed to Nanjing, China, to compete at an international level in June.
“I’m trying to help the transition for young athletes who are making that extra push” to become high-level players, says Saxton, over the phone from Los Angeles, where he trains with beach partner Chaim Schalk, with whom he placed 16th at the Rio Olympics in 2016. “Right now there’s no incentive [to go to a higher level] for beach for athletes from the West.”
Greater Vancouver has produced some amazing beach volleyball players, including twins Nicole and Megan McNamara, who made local headlines when they won the senior division of the 2013 Beach Volleyball National championships in Vancouver at the age of 16. The twins are now on the UCLA varsity beach volleyball team. However, many Canadian qualifiers take place in Ontario, which means local players must often spend out of pocket for their flight and accommodations. “I’m hoping to see at least a national team hub in Vancouver,” along with more international events and a higher level of beach volleyball in the West, says Saxton. “Vancouver is where you can spend the most time outside during the year, so it makes the most sense that Canadian beach volleyball should be here.”
A sport for all abilities and ages
That said, the recreational beach volleyball culture in Vancouver is strong and vibrant. VBC and Urban Rec run outdoor leagues, tournaments and training clinics during the spring and summer for beginner, intermediate and advanced players; and 6Pack Beach, an indoor beach volleyball facility located on Mitchell Island, off the Knight Street Bridge, has offerings throughout the year. There are also several social groups that play on a regular basis, such as Vancouver Beach Volleyball Lovers and Socialites, which has over 1,700 members on its Facebook page.
The inclusiveness and social aspects of beach volleyball culture are big draws for newbies and veterans alike. It appeals to different age groups, and anyone with a net, a ball, lines and a couple of poles can set up and play.
“Other sports are maybe more demanding on your body,” says Chris Densmore, CEO of VBC, adding that “it’s tough to move and jump in the sand, but I think people have fun doing that, and that’s why we continue to grow as a sport.”
Indeed, both VBC and Urban Rec have seen the demand for their leagues continue to rise over the years. “This year we’re looking to get more courts, because we sell out all of our leagues for the summer,” says Densmore, adding that they’ve already almost tripled the number of permanent courts from six years ago, to 16 at Spanish Banks West, 30 at Spanish Banks East, and 12 at Kits.
The evolution of beach volleyball in Vancouver
Sean Sanderson started playing in his home base of Kits in around 2000, and soon he met one of Vancouver’s beach volleyball legends, Jim Clive, who gave him a pass to what was then an invite-only beer garden at the annual Vancouver Open beach volleyball tournament. Clive is one of the founders of beach volleyball in Vancouver, having started playing the sport at Kits Beach with a group of friends in the late 1970s.
“He really cares about the beach volleyball community,” says Sanderson, recalling how Clive helped establish the first semi-permanent beach volleyball court at Kits using two telephone poles cemented into the sand.
Clive, who still regularly plays at Kits during the summer, later founded the KBVA as a way to promote the game and culture. “When I first started playing, it seemed like a very exclusive society,” says Sanderson. Now, partly thanks to more permanent poles for volleyball nets and a shift in the culture, “It’s so much more welcoming and inclusive.”
Pro tips for newbies
Playing beach volleyball for the first time can be intimidating. What do you need to know and bring? How do you get into a game? Take heart. Everyone has to start somewhere. Just follow these basic guidelines and you’ll be crushing balls and digging hits like a pro in no time.
Getting basic skills
• Consider signing up for a skills clinic through Urban Rec, Volleyball BC and/or 6Pack
• Register for a league with a group of friends, or sign up as an individual
• While professional beach volleyball is two players per side, you can a find sand leagues with two, four or six players per team
• Set up a net with friends and play for fun
What to bring
• Plenty of water, sunscreen, sunglasses, and maybe some sand socks (Canuckstuff or neoprene paddling socks from MEC) to protect your feet from scorching sand
• A net, lines, ratchet sets and a volleyball. You can request a net from the lifeguard at Kits Beach, but it’s not always available, so don’t count on it
• Canuckstuff is a good source for volleyball equipment
Where to play
• Kits Beach, and Spanish Banks East and West, are the most popular, as they have rows of permanent poles
• Get there early, because spaces fill up fast on nice days
Beach etiquette
• You can ask to challenge teams on challenge courts. Instructions are listed on the permanent wooden posts
