The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) returns to Belmar for the Sunkist AVP Belmar Open on tomorrow and Sunday. The open is a double-elimination tournament, and the eighth event on the 12-stop 2000 AVP tour. Competition begins each day at 9 a.m. with beach volleyball’s best athletes competing for the $75,000 purse. General admission to the open is $5. The final match will be played at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Leading the charge of young rising AVP stars are David Swatik, last year’s Belmar champion, and Lee LeGrande, the only player on the tour this year who has won two events in Delray, Fla., and Santa Barbara, Cal. Also returning to Belmar are legends Mike Whitmarsh and Brent Frohoff.
In a continuing effort to promote the sport of beach volleyball among the youth of America, the AVP has organized a free instructional clinic for all youth participants the Friday prior to each tournament. The Sunkist AVP Youth Clinic features AVP stars David Swatik, Lee LeGrande, and Albert Hannemann. In addition, the Sunkist AVP Youth Tour will take place right next to the pro event on Sunday at the Sunkist AVP Muskegon Open. These programs were developed to help cultivate the next generation of beach volleyball players in an atmosphere that encompasses the true essence of the sport.
Red Bank’s Parks and Recreation Department has announced that registration for Pop Warner Football/Cheerleading will be held July 23 and 30, 9 a.m. to noon at the Red Bank Bobcats’ office at Count Basie Park. The Bobcats are composed of children from the sending districts of Red Bank Regional High School: Red Bank, Shrewsbury and Little Silver. The Parks and Recreation Department is working closely with Pop Warner to improve the program by providing new equipment to ensure player safety, and by sponsoring coaching clinics. The Pop Warner program works under the guidelines of "safety first" with strict control of ages, weights and equipment. All football and cheerleading coaches are certified by the National Youth Sports Coaching Association and by Rutgers University’s S.A.F.E.T.Y. clinic.
Registrants must be between the ages of 8 and 14 years old and be accompanied by a parent or guardian at the time of registration. There is a $50 fee to register, adjusted for families with more than two children participating. New applicants must bring their birth certificate with a copy, a recent wallet-size photo and the registration fee.
Summer Camp 2000 will be held the week of Aug. 14 -18 by the United Soccer Academy in Fair Haven. The camp is for all ages and abilities between 3 and 14 years old. For more information check out their Web site at www.USAsoccer.net or call (908) 781-8887.
The River Plaza Youth Club Inc. has $500 scholarships available for one male and one female class of 2000 high school graduate who is a past participant in any of the organization’s football, cheerleading, baseball, softball or basketball programs. To receive an application, or for more information, call Jeffrey Nolen at (732) 741-1511. The deadline for applying is July 31.
The Twin County Girls Basketball Camp will be held July 24-28 at Rutgers Prep, Easton Avenue, Somerset. The camp is open to girls ages 9 to 16. For more information, call Ernie Vajda at (732) 249-8942 or Mary Klinger at (732) 821-0899.