The Ontario Volleyball Association Grand Slam event played out in North Bay over the Civic Holiday long weekend, with the finals of the provincial tour held on Sunday.
The adult elite players are predominantly from Southern Ontario, although there are a few athletes from British Columbia who are competing in the Ontario circuit this year.
The athletes not only play for prize money, but they also earn valuable points.
Suzanne Wallace, Manager of Beach Programs for the Ontario Volleyball Association, explains,
"We have six teams here this weekend. It's one of our marquee events throughout the year. We have one in Toronto, and one in North Bay. It also helps them garner more points towards their Ontario Volleyball standings".
This isn't the first time Grant O'Gorman has competed in North Bay.
Conditions were a lot different from when he played in a Canadian Olympic qualifier in North Bay in June of 2016. The outcome determined the second of two men's beach volleyball teams to represent Canada in Rio.That day was blazing hot unlike the cold and rain experienced this weekend.
"I played in the Canadian Olympic trials with Sam Pedlow, and we lost to Sam Schachter and Josh Binstock. There was a massive crowd. It felt like all of North Bay came out to watch. It was a great time."
Last week O'Gorman and his partner, Mike Plantinga decided to go their separate ways in what he describes as an amicable split. O'Gorman is now looking for a permanent partner.
'It's more of a fun weekend for me to enjoy volleyball a bit, I appreciate being outdoors and I'm playing with a new partner to see how it goes. It's beautiful up here, fresh air, good people, I love it."
The weather forced players to adjust their style of play.
"With a side wind coming off the water, across the court, you play more back stance and you want to try to hit the ball into the wind. When you hit it into the wind, the ball dies down faster, so it hits the ground quicker and the court actually becomes bigger on that side. So you try to lower your bumps and your sets and keep everything compact."
The only time play stops is when the weather becomes dangerous, as with lightening and thunder storms.
"The sand they have here is top notch, especially on the court that we're playing on. Hutcheson sand makes a huge difference. The water can drain right out, so the sand still stays in that nice fluffy texture," said Suzanne Wallace.
Which will help if the weather conditions are the same in two weeks time, when North Bay again hosts another big competition. At this point, 17 teams have registered.
"We are hosting the Senior Nationals for players 19 and up in a couple of weeks here, so some of these athletes will be back competing in the Canadian Nationals," said David Culin, Director of VSE Canada, (Vision Sports and Entertainment).
"That is going to be a big event. We have both men's and women's teams. A lot of the Canadian National Team players come because its part of their requirements to be on the National team."
This is the second consecutive year Volleyball Canada has awarded the event to the city. The event runs August 18-20.
