Gold Medalist Eric Fonoimoana discusses 2000 Olympic run, upcoming "Queen Of The Beach" tournament - Articles

In August of 2000, Eric Fonoimoana was relatively unknown. He had three wins on the AVP tour, was continually in the mix, but was largely unknown outside of the world of beach volleyball fans. Fonoimoana’s partner was Dain Blanton. They believed in themselves at a time when few others did. “We were a very streaky team. Meaning, if we got hot we could beat anybody,” Fonoimoana said. And they did, which we’ll get to in a bit. First up is his tournament, the Queen of the Beach tournament, at the Hermosa Beach Pier June 25-26, an event co-sponsored by USA Volleyball and the AVP. High school and college players are invited to play in a round-robin format where each player plays with every other player in their pool of four players. The top two players advance to form new pools until a “Queen of the Beach” is crowned. Fonoimoana believes that a 2020 or 2024 Olympian will be present at this tournament. Fonoimoana is a big fan of the format, since he won the AVP’s King of the Beach tournament in Las Vegas 1998, his second victory on the AVP tour, and his biggest paycheck of $72,000. “You figure out real quickly who is positive, who plays well, and who plays well with others,” he said. “I think that’s a huge trait that these girls need to learn. It makes you communicate.” The event will also feature coaching seminars and discussions with coaches from many of the country’s top college beach volleyball programs.: That chain of...

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