Guten Morgen, beach volleyball fans,
For those of you who do not speak German and can't connect those dots, that's good morning in German. I am drafting this up on the flight back from Hamburg, and I do apologize if none of this makes any sense at all. Kyle Friend and I commentated 8 matches on Sunday and five the day before that, and a man only has so many words in him.
That said: What an absolute blast.
Commentating in person is a wholly different experience, and I hope anyone who watched on VBTV saw the value in it or enjoyed it (or just noticed at all) because we'd like to keep doing it, and are scheduled to do so at Elite16s in Joao Pessoa in October and Rio de Janeiro in November as well as the Beach Pro Tour Finals in Doha in December.
It was an extra joy to sit in the box on Sunday during the men's bronze medal match with Laura Ludwig, which might, now that I think of it, be the last time I ever see Laura Ludwig. She played her final Beach Pro Tour event this weekend, finishing fifth with Louisa Lippmann. The folks in Hamburg and at Volleyball World made it a special weekend, and fittingly so; Laura's one of the best to ever do it. It was special to be there, and special to hang out with her quite a bit over the weekend.
Special, too, was Pablo Herrera's weekend in Hamburg. The 42-year-old Ageless Wonder played perhaps the finest match of his career in a semifinal win over Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot, ensuring his epic career ended on the podium, his 31st .He will retire as the only player to compete in 11 World Championships, and No. 2 all-time in tournaments played with the same partner; he and Adrian Gavira just wrapped up their 187th!
As multiple eras end, then, a new one begins: that of Backwards Hat Anders Mol. I say this jokingly, but only sort of. There was a playful version of Anders this weekend, and I'd say it worked, as, even hobbled by a tweaked neck that limited his ability to swing -- Hamburg marked his highest shot-to-swing ratio of the season -- he and Christian Sorum still won their 24th tournament as a team, and now move up to No. 2 all-time, passing Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers.
Kyle and I chat about all of this for the Beach Volleyball World YouTube Channel, and the recap video will be up soon (you can check out our preview here to see how well things stood up). Be sure to tune into that when it drops and like and share and all of those things.
We'd also love it if you liked and share all of those things for the videos we produced from our inaugural SANDCAST Tour event in Missoula, Montana.
The week in SANDCAST Studios
This week was a big one for the pod: It was SANDCAST Tour week. Back in June, we hit Missoula, Montana for a week of beach volleyball, live podcasting, ESPN, exhibitions, and damn good people.
What all was included?
Well, we did a fan question episode, which you can:
We also:
FUN NEWS! SANDCAST and Volleyball TV are partnering up. By the end of the year, the Road to Paris will feature highlights and clips from Volleyball TV to complement the coverage. Better yet: You can get 20 percent off your VBTV subscription if you use the code SANDCAST20.
News Around the Beach
- AVP Chicago begins Friday. Annually one of the most anticipated stops on Tour, there's even more intrigue in Chicago this year as it is the final deciding stop for who qualifies for the AVP League, which is becoming increasingly less ambiguous. The AVP has announced venues for each of the League stops, and the players were notified of the prize money, which is a decent chunk of change and I'm sure they'll publish that for the public soon enough. The number to know is this: 2,095. That is the projected average finish (fifth) a player will need to qualify for the League on both the men's and the women's side, with the slight chance that you'll need more. Anything less than that and you won't make it.
- Men's AVP League Projections: Five men's teams I'd say are locks -- Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander, Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner, Andy Benesh and Miles Partain, Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, and Seain Cook and Cody Caldwell. The other three spots are up for grabs, with Billy Allen and Paul Lotman in pole position, and Evan Cory and Alison, Tim Bomgren and Troy Field, Phil Dalhausser and Avery Drost all on the bubble. Fifths for the latter three teams will be critical. Everyone else in the field requires at least a third or they're out.
- Women's AVP League Projections. The women I'd say have four locks: Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles, and Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes. Geena Urango and Toni Rodriguez aren't quite a sharpie, but are pretty damn close. It would take some seriously strange happenings for them to get knocked out. In contention are Megan Kraft and Terese Cannon, Kylie Deberg and Hailey Harward (currently the last team in), Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle, Lexy Denaburg and Deahna Kraft, and Kim Hildreth and Teegan Van Gunst. A fifth will likely do for Kylie and Hailey and Simo and Van Winkle (unless the other gets a fifth, in which case they'll need a third), and everyone else below them needs a third. One major factor for the women: I'd expect the AVP to wild card April Ross and Alix Klineman. They won't qualify on points, as they're not playing Chicago and didn't do much in Huntington and Manhattan. So there are, to me, only seven spots available, which really puts Terese and Kraft in the final qualifying position. They'll need a third to bolster that spot and all but lock it up.
- SANDCAST memberships are live. We've opened up memberships for anyone who wants to watch full podcast episodes on YouTube a day or two early. Soon, you'll be able to watch this week's with Ryan Wilcox, Tri Bourne's new partner who has made an early splash.
- Hermosa Beach Open entry list is getting star-studded. The week after Chicago will be the independently-run Hermosa Beach Open, presented by Wedbush Securities. A fun wrinkle is that international players are allowed, which has opened the door to the men's wild card team of Leon Luini and Ruben Penninga of the Netherlands. It's also Penninga's birthday that week, so be sure to give him some love when they arrive. Miles Partain is playing with Alex Ranghieri, Theo Brunner with Sam Schachter, Hendrik Mol and Colton Cowell. Julia Scoles is going all-USC with Tina Graudina. It's awesome. I'm coming out of retirement for one final go with Andy Benesh -- SURPRISE! There are also the normal partnerships: Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, Tri Bourne and Ryan Wilcox, Megan Kraft and Terese Cannon, Seain Cook and Cody Caldwell, etc. It's going to be fun. You can find the entry lists and all information here.
- Coming up on Wednesday we've got Ryan Wilcox, Tri Bourne's new partner and already an AVP Contender Series champ in Virginia.
If you enjoy the podcast or this newsletter -- or both! -- we'd love it if you could share it out! Word of mouth is the best way we grow, so share the love, and as always, let us know any content you'd like to see more of (or less of) and we'll make it happen!
Much Love to the sponsors
We're officially partnered with Better at Beach! Don't know how this took so long, seeing the massive overlap between our audiences. So if you want to get Better at Beach, use our code SANDCAST for 10 percent off all of their products, from online classes to in-person camps and more.
We've been with Wilson Volleyball since day one, and we love the products they make -- the best ball on the market, hands down, no questions asked. With season coming up, if you're looking to get some new equipment, use our discount code: SANDCAST63 for 20 PERCENT OFF.
Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try!
Need to get hydrated? Waiakea has all kinds of fantastic deals online, and good news for you (and us), you can get 20 PERCENT OFF using our discount code, Sandcast, at checkout. Aloha, y'all.
SANDCAST is fueled by a lovely mix of three main ingredients: We LOVE to do it, people enjoy listening to it, and sponsors fund our ability to do so. We only partner with sponsors we love, and we are so fired up to have Athletic Greens join the show! And they're hooking up our listeners with a full year of Vitamin D for FREE, as well as five totally FREE travel packs!
Appreciate y'all for listening, reading, and loving the beach like we do.
Have a great week!
SHOOTS!
Tri and Travis (and Savvy)
