The sport of beach volleyball in Boston is on the verge of getting a level of national exposure previously reserved in New England for Newport, R.I.
Each Wednesday night since May, eight teams of men and 12 teams of women have been battling it out in the sand on a private beach behind the L Street Bathhouse in South Boston for more than just bragging rights.
The regular season now is complete, and Wednesday night (5:30 p.m. at the M Street entrance to the building), those tandems fortunate enough to have made the playoffs will be competing for a $1,000 cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Chicago for a chance to qualify for the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) nationally televised Chicago Tour Championship on Aug. 29.
“This is the first time anything like this has been run in Boston for beach volleyball,” said Jonah Mytro, who is part of one of the teams competing for the prize.
Michelle DiChiara, who lives in Southie, is the founder of Boston Beach Volleyball and has been striving both as a player and coach to help grow the sport locally for the better part of the last 10 years. She was contacted by the AVP in January about getting the league to join with 13 others from around the country to hold qualifiers for the Chicago tournament as part of the AVP Next series.
Along with the AVP came a sponsor in the form of Barefoot Wine, but the tie-in made it difficult for DiChiara to secure a place to play. State law prohibits any league associated with an alcohol company from playing in a public place. However, the city of Boston has no such restrictions, so it was simply a matter of finding a private beach on which to play.
Complicating matters even further, DiChiara’s father, James, died in March. Sick of wading through red tape while also grieving, she was ready to throw in the towel. Then, as though her father somehow pulled strings from above, DiChiara found her angel in former NHL player Fred Ahern, who runs the Curley Recreation Center. Ahern helped her secure the necessary permits and gave the league a place to play at L Street Beach.
“A week after the funeral, Fred called and told me we had the permit and a place to play,” DiChiara said. “It was such a relief.”
DiChiara coordinates the women’s league and also runs the Boston Beach Volleyball website. Mytro serves as the men’s coordinator and worked to promote the league and get teams to sign up. Their hard work has not gone unnoticed by the players.
“Its nice to have the organization behind it,” said Matt Luksa, who played club volleyball at Northeastern. “To have people that put their own free time on the line to organize this, work with the AVP, work with getting everything set up for us, keeping tabs on who is playing who, the scores, and answering everyone’s needs has been amazing.”
It did not take long for local players, tired of having to trek to Newport and other faraway destinations for competitive beach volleyball, to sign up. The league drew enough interest that numerous teams were wait-listed for both leagues. The ability to play close to home was as big an attraction as the chance to qualify for the AVP event.
“This is the first time something like this has come to Boston, so it was exciting to have it where we live,” said Jessica Bensley of Somerville. “It’s the only place in New England that they have this particular league and it’s exciting that you have a chance to go to Chicago and actually get a chance to play on the AVP Tour.”
Added Newton’s Marriah Vengroff-Butts, “It’s been really fun to play at a high level and take the T to get here. We know almost everyone here so it’s like a friendly competition and it’s really convenient.”
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