Sand volleyball court has become area’s hot spot

Numbers up since the summer; users want site to expand

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Summer is heating up, and so is participation at the lone sand volleyball court in Gig Harbor.

Turnout numbers since last September’s construction have attracted nearly 50 people on some weekend afternoons. People of all ages are coming out to play, arguably making it one of the most popular outdoor recreation spots in the area.

Eric Guenther, recreation and special projects coordinator for the Peninsula Metropolitan Parks District, said a lot of people getting excited about sand volleyball.

“There’s not a high school sport for boys and men to play volleyball,” Guenther said. “It’s an opportunity for them to play, too.”

What the year-old park has done for men is level the playing field. And women are using the park, too: There are coed pickup games nearly every day, and members of a Peninsula Athletic Association adult recreation team competed against each other last Thursday.

Gig Harbor’s Scott Cannaday, 57, who works for the City of Tacoma, helped build the court. At first, he wondered if anyone would use it.

“As we started (building), we could see the interest of people honking and dropping by and asking questions,” Cannaday said. “It seems to cross all ages. It’s been very well-received.”

The park, located at the intersection of Crescent Valley Drive and Vernhardson Street, features two nets for dual action. It was paid for through a matching grant by PenMet Parks and local dollars from community members. League members contributed 150 hours of labor, and the City of Gig Harbor helped with a portion of the dirt work.

It was a collaborative effort, with volleyball team members spearheading the idea and operations.

Greg Vermillion said the team members used it exclusively until March. Since then, he said people have been playing there all the time.

“I think it’s been pretty huge,” Vermillion said about the recreational impact it’s had on the community. “It’s one of those types of facilities that lends itself to all different levels of play.”

Vermillion said that, before the court was built, the closest legit sand volleyball court was at Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom. He said the Gig Harbor YMCA opens a basketball gym for one night of volleyball, but the feeling of playing in the sand is incomparable.

“We used to have to travel quite far for sand volleyball,” said Chris Nelson, 51, an engineer at Boeing. “It’s easy on the body. You can play year-round. It’s been a great addition.”

Even when the courts were topped with 8 inches of snow during the winter, the die-hard players were out there having a blast.

“Those kids, along with the guys who have been coming out and anybody else with (volleyball) exposure, see the courts and then gravitate there,” Nelson said.

Since the courts have been occupied on a consistent basis, team members are thinking about expanding the site to the BMX park, located next to the sand volleyball court. Team members believe consideration for expansion should be considered because the BMX park isn’t used as frequently.

The flip side would be to take space away from the bike riders, either slimming down or perhaps completely eliminating a well-known BMX course.

There’s more beautification work surrounding the volleyball site that still needs to be completed. Nets around the perimeter and general maintenance are a couple small projects on the PAA team members’ list of things to do. They are looking to get it funded and designed.

“It’s pretty cool to see something we did get used as much,” said George Lee, one of the team members who helped build the park. “Some people pull in and see what’s there. They leave because they don’t want to wait.”