Duo make bid for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens

Mike Sciacca

Dain Blanton and his partner on the sand, Jeff Nygaard, earned the

title of “Kings of the Beach” by winning three tournament titles

during the recently concluded Assn. of Professional Volleyball 2003

Bud Light series.

Now Blanton, of Laguna Beach, and Nygaard, of Los Angeles, have

turned their sights on another prize: qualifying for the 2004 Olympic

Games in Athens, Greece.

An Olympic qualifying beach volleyball tournament began Thursday

at the Home Depot Center in Carson and continues today through

Sunday.

All two-player teams are trying to qualify for next summer’s 2004

Athens Games.

The Blanton/Nygaard tandem is just one of several top-seeded teams

competing in the tournament, one of 20 sponsored by the Federation

Internationale de Volleyball.

“It’s an important time of the year for us,” Blanton said after he

and Nygaard won the final Bud Light Series event, the Aquafina

Shootout presented by Bud Light, in Las Vegas the weekend of Sept. 6

and 7. “We feel confident because we’re playing very well at this

stage of the season.”

Since the end of the Bud Light series, Blanton has been busy doing

promotional spots for the Olympic qualifying tournament, dubbed the

Swatch-FIVB World Tour Nissan Grand Slam.

“We’re excited about staging this qualifying tournament,” said

Leonard Armato, AVP commissioner, during August’s Huntington Beach

Open, a stop during the Bud Light Series tour. “Some of the big names

in professional volleyball will be fighting it out for a berth in the

Athens games. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Two men’s teams and two women’s teams from each country will

qualify for the Athens Olympic Games.

The Carson tournament is the only one in the nation that counts

toward a U.S. men’s and women’s team qualifying for the Athens Games.

“This tournament is big, but it’s still early in the qualifying

process,” Blanton said. “What this event will do is position teams

for upcoming qualifying events.”

Blanton has been in a similar situation before -- and met the

challenge: in 2000, he qualified with partner Eric Fonoimoana for the

Sydney Olympic Games, and the duo went on to upset the top-seeded

team from Brazil to win Olympic Gold.

In addition to Blanton and Nygaard, other top men’s teams

competing at the Olympic qualifying tournament include Fonoimoana and

his partner, Kevin Wong.

Top women’s teams competing include the undefeated and top-ranked

team of Misty May and Kerri Walsh and the team of Holly McPeak and

Elaine Youngs.

Blanton had some advice for those fans who might not make it to

Greece next summer.

“If you’re not going to Athens, then come out to Carson this

weekend to see some great volleyball,” Blanton added. “It’s the only

time you’ll see this caliber of talent on U.S. soil before the

Olympic Games. It’s going to be quite competitive.”

The tournament will be played at the 8,000-seat tennis stadium at

the Home Depot Center, which has been transformed into an outdoor

volleyball court.

The Home Depot Center is located at 18400 Avalon Blvd. in Carson.

Today’s schedule

Main Draw

8 a.m. -- Begin pool play competition

10:30 p.m. -- Conclusion of day’s games

Saturday

Main Draw

8 a.m. -- Round of 16 games

Noon -- Quarterfinal games begin

2 p.m. -- Semifinal games begin

7 p.m. -- Conclusion of day’s games

Sunday

Main Draw

10 a.m. -- Women’s third-place match

11:30 a.m. -- Men’s third-place match

1:10 p.m. -- Women’s final

2:45 p.m. -- Men’s Final