Another gorgeous weekend for pro beach volleyball at Kits beach is in the books. June 10-11 marked the second stop of the 2017 Volleyball BC Pro Beach Tour. The Jim Clive cup is the only pro beach tour event to be named after a living legend.
JIM CLIVE CUP HISTORY
The 2017 Jim Clive Cup Pro & Amateur Beach event took place at famous Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver, BC. Volleyball BC named the second stop of the pro beach tour in honour of Jim Clive, one of the city’s beach volleyball pioneers. Jim, Jimmy or Cliver as many call him, is known for installing the first two permanent beach volleyball posts at Kits beach in 1981 and the posts have since multiplied to twelve courts today! Not only is Cliver a huge advocate of beach volleyball, 2017 is the 20th year that his non-profit association The KVBA (Kits Beach Volleyball Association) has been providing organized training and play for all beach volleyball players who come to Kits beach. Since 1997, The KVBA has given out over $160,000 in cash prizing back to the players who play in his ‘Clivers’.
RESULTS
As per usual, Cliver was beach-side all weekend watching the VBC Pro Beach Tour matches run. In the Women’s final, this year’s Kits Classic champ Kumiko Chow paired up with new partner Tammy Thomas as the tournament #2 seed. The pair won against the defending champions Quinci Birker & Darby Dunn in the semi-finals to reach the Jim Clive Cup final. Chow/Thomas competed in the championships match against tournament #8 seed Jayme Lepp & Andrea Frustaci (5th at 2017 Kits Classic). Despite the rough start, Chow/Thomas showed their poise and took the match against Lepp/Frustaci in two sets (21-15, 21-16).
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On in Men’s draw, tournament #7 seed Pat Poissant and Pablo Vidal had an excellent showing on their way to the Cup final winning against 2016 champions Alex Russell & Jared Krause (2nd seed), who also finished third at the 2017 Kits Classic. Poissant/Vidal ultimately lost in the final by two points against tournament #1 seed Matt Lebourdais & Jonny Wiskar (21-17, 13-21, 16-14).
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PRO TOUR LEADERBOARDS
With two of the tournaments completed in the 2017 VBC Pro Beach Tour, tour leaders are starting to shape up. Any of the top 10-20 Pros can take the #1 title with a string of good tournament placings. Next tournament, the Parksville Pro will for sure be an exciting one to follow!
2017 Jim Clive Cup Results
Pro Men’s & Women’s – 2017 Pro Beach Tour Leaderboard
About the Volleyball BC Pro Beach Volleyball Tour
The Volleyball BC Pro Beach Tour features pro volleyball athletes competing in five signature events from May to July in three regions of British Columbia with a total prize purse of $25,000.
Volleyball BC Pro Beach Tour teams will be competing for individual event titles and for a tour championship title. At the final event of the season (Vancouver Open), Men’s and Women’s Volleyball BC Pro Tour Champions will be crowned and $1,000 will be awarded to the Men’s and Women’s Champions. To win the Pro Tour Championship title, a player must have competed in all five tour events and have the highest accumulated points total based on their finishes in each of the five events.
Volleyball BC Pro Beach Tour events will take place in Vancouver, Parksville, and Kelowna and will feature 64 teams in the main draw (32 Men’s and 32 Women’s). The events will take place over two days (Saturday and Sunday) with the exception of the Vancouver Open Pro which will include a qualifying tournament on the Friday before. Adults interested in playing in the Amateur tournaments can visit here.