Up in the Air: To 6-Man or Not?

Let them play!

At least that's what some beach volleyball lovers are saying about the Charlie Saikley 6-Man volleyball tournament that is $102,000 short of covering its cost to the city. City Council will discuss tonight at its regularly scheduled meeting whether or not the 2011 tournament, scheduled to hit the sand July 30 and 31, should have its operational deficit covered by other city coffers or be cancelled.

The tournament, named for the former Manhattan Beach city parks and recreation supervisor who ran it for more than 40 years before he passed away in 2005, is extremely popular, in recent years attracting crowds of 50,000-65,000 during its two days on the beach south of the Manhattan Beach Pier.

Indeed, what began as a homegrown, homespun local event in 1964, setting the stage for beach volleyball to become a professional sport, has turned into a nightmare for some residents due to the throngs who consider the event a time to party with alcohol.

“I try to stay away from the beach that weekend,” said Mike Mahoney, a Manhattan Beach resident who lives in the affected area. “Two years ago, people were urinating in my front yard, vomiting on the sidewalk and fornicating in the alley, it was a nightmare.”

The city banned alcohol from the event last year, hoping to curtail the effects of drunken spectators, adding 35 police officers and 65 private security guards to patrol the tournament. Thirty-eight tournament-related arrests were made.

“Our first priority is to make sure we protect our citizens and their property,” said Wayne Powell, Manhattan Beach City Councilman. “I think that when we took alcohol off the beach [in 2010], we pushed those people onto Manhattan Beach Boulevard which created a whole host of problems.”

To offset the costs of having every Manhattan Beach police officer on duty and hiring outside security, the tournament increased its registration fees and limited the number of teams that could compete. Last year, 143 teams registered, resulting in a $54,000 shortfall that the city covered. This year, 85 out of a possible 180 teams have registered, raising $100,000 of the $202,000 needed to cover expenses.

“This is our city’s biggest event every year,” Manhattan Beach Mayor Richard Montgomery said. “As someone who has competed for the last 14 years in the event, I would hate to see this unique tradition changed in any way but we are short money and need to find a way to keep this event alive.”

Saikley, like the tournament, is considered a sacred institution to many longtime beach residents. His nickname was the “Godfather of beach volleyball” because he was credited with starting, in 1965, the Manhattan Beach Open, considered the most prestigious beach volleyball tournament in the world.

“He’s the reason so many of us don’t have to work a regular job,” said Albert Hanneman, former professional beach volleyball player. “We as players owe a lot to him and I know how passionate he was about the 6-man tournament, so I think we need to keep that tradition going.”

“I think that we need to come up with some solutions that are realistic,” said Mayor Montgomery. “I think that if we ask the businesses around the area that benefit most from this event to contribute some money, I think they will, but we can’t afford to lose this piece of our identity.”

The tournament, famous for its wild costumes and party atmosphere as professional beach volleyball players play alongside friends, is not the way the tournament was intended to be, said Councilman Powell.

“I think that Charlie would have a hard time with this current incarnation of the tournament. This was a tournament about sportsmanship, camaraderie and having fun while competing, not about being a destination stop for the frat party crowd. If you google our city or search our city on Yahoo, this tournament pops up on the list.

“I think the internet and blogs have got it all wrong because we don’t want to cancel this event but we have to find ways to make this tournament at least break even for our city, especially in this crazy economy.”