Professional volleyball is back in Santa Barbara.
After over 10 years without an AVP tournament in town, East Beach will host the Santa Barbara Open on Saturday, Oct. 4 and Sunday, Oct. 5.
The tournament will be composed of AVP professional players and top qualifying amateur players, including locals Will Rottman (Santa Barbara High), Ford Harmon (Santa Barbara High) and Katie Spieler (Dos Pueblos High).
Other notable players on the men’s side include Avery Drost, Swain Cook, Ryan Wilcox and Lev Prima. In the women’s tournament, competitors will also include Torrey Van Winden, Geena Urango, Kate Reilly, Mariah Whalen and Fallon Fonoimoana.
The guaranteed prize purse for the tournament is over $20,000, which was raised by the local beach volleyball community.
While the tournament will be headlined by a Men’s and Women’s Tournament, there will also be a co-ed 4’s tournament on Sunday, Oct. 5, with $5,000 up for grabs.
For more information on the free-to-attend event, visit https://santabarbaraopen.com/. The tournament will be put on by 805 Beach and directed by Jordan Dyer.