Beach Volleyball World Tour 2014

BEACH VOLLEYBALL 2014 WORLD TOUR > PUERTO VALLARTA OPEN

Beach Volleyball World Tour 2014 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Beach Volleyball World Tour 2014 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The Beach Volleyball World Tour 2014 (Puerto Vallarta Open) was a huge and well run international event along Playa Camarones in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The volleyball matches for both men and women took place from May 6 through May 11, 2014. In the enclosed stadium area there were giant screens hung at the ends of the stadium, and a special VIP area adjacent to a large announcer’s stand equipped with multiple dashboards of high-end electronics and flanked by gigantic speakers. There were cheerleaders in sparkly pink uniforms performing on the sidelines. Exterior of the stadium multiple volleyball matches were all taking place at the same time on a series of sand courts fanning westward toward the beach. We rotated between viewing games occurring interior and exterior of the arena. Leading up to the Mexico match, seating was very limited within the northern section of the stadium where the Mexican nationals gathered together to cheer on their local players.

Beach Volleyball World Tour 2014 in Puerto Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico
Beach Volleyball World Tour 2014 in Puerto Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico.

Entrance to this event was free, and it was well attended. Although the crowd each day was a bit thin at 9 a.m., as the morning rolled on the stands filled up with locals and plenty of tourists. Both players and spectators were full of energy and enthusiasm. A lot of uniformed students arrived mid-day with chaperones from organized school field trips. It was so fun to see huge numbers of volleyball players representing countries from all over the world descend upon Puerto Vallarta in May to compete in such a fabulous locale with great weather and ambiance. When Mexico’s team took the combed sand court the crowd went wild, stomping their feet in unison and chanting “Mex-i-co. Mex-i-co. Mex-i-co.” Among many matches that we viewed, including USA vs. Israel (Israel won), Chile vs. Austria (Chile won), etc., we were there to witness the thrilling triumph of Mexico over Norway. The energy in the stands rivaled that of a soccer game during The World Cup!