Beach Nazis
must die!

>> Founder says crisis of competence threatens spirit of park volleyball

by KRISTIAN GRAVENOR

Every day between early May and mid-September somebody unlocks the old public washroom at Park and Duluth and hauls out a bunch of nets, carries them across the street and supervises volleyball players who play until nightfall. But an anti-social, competitive spirit has crept into the courts, betraying the onetime cooperative spirit that once reigned, according to one of the court’s founders, Robert “Bicycle Bob” Silverman.

“If we could get some more bad players to come out we could make a heaven,” says Silverman. The six sand-covered courts remain popular with Montrealers, 15,000 of whom take part in pickup games each summer. But alongside the six-on-six contests, flashy midriff-baring volleyball virtuosos have infiltrated and staked a claim on the turf, playing four rather than 12 per court.

On this day, Silverman, 68, watches on in disgust as two courts host two-on-two while about 30 others dally about on the sidelines. “If they enforced the six-on-six, they’d have 72 people playing all the time and nobody would have to wait.” He also notes that two-on-two games cost the association: participants pay $2 to play, and fewer players means less cash for the court’s upkeep.

But Silverman says he’s philosophically troubled by the inroads the competitive beach spirit has made on the old-time six-on-six game. “It’s individual consciousness vs. collective consciousness. When you can see the defence handling the offence, it creates a beautiful interchange,” says Silverman between shouted criticisms of players he deems overly aggressive. He scowls as a player misses an ambitious shot. “You see, every time somebody tries to show off, it goes wrong, just like in life.” Silverman feels that the new competitive ethos has scared off many potential players. “Old people don’t show up to play, they don’t want to feel humiliated and made to feel not fast enough, and the number of women players keeps falling because only the best can play,” he says.
Born of strife

The courts opened in 1973, after residents who had gathered to oppose the La Cité project, a development initially slated to flatten much of the McGill ghetto, discovered they shared a love for volleyball. The group appealed to city hall for a court, and an official noted that in France the sport is played outdoors in parks. So in April 1973, city official Raymond Verschelden met Silverman at L’Esplanade and Duluth. “He drove around, looking at the park and suddenly he pointed, and said ‘here.’ This is where the courts have been ever since,” says Silverman.

In 1986 the gravel courts were resurfaced with sand left over from a sandcastle exhibit in Lafontaine Park, and the new courts eventually attracted the spiker set. “I still wear my shoes when I play as a protest,” says Silverman, who unhappily notes that beach players completely excluded others last weekend by taking over the courts for a two-on-two tournament, complete with garish Bacardi posters stuck on Hotel Dieu’s elegant fieldstone wall.

“The aim of the sport should be to let the ball go over the net as much as possible. Everybody should get to touch the ball. It’s really beautiful when it becomes six hearts beating as one,” he says. As well as being a magnet for court hogs and showoffs, the beach game, according to Silverman, is inferior. “The two-on-twos never have a rally that goes over three shots—they have too much room to cover.”

One two-on-two player named France disagrees. “I wouldn’t come here if there were no two-on-twos, and I’m sure lots of others wouldn’t either. Even four-on-four doesn’t have the same intensity. We’d rather wait to play two-on-two than play six-on-six,” she says.

The Milton Park Recreation Association, the body that manages the courts, sees no crisis. “We get the best players in the city and the worst, and we try to accommodate everybody,” says prez Terrence Regan, who was also involved in founding the court and has seen some excellent players, including beach volleyball pro Jasper Egan, develop in front of his eyes. “We try to respect all people and all levels. You can’t show more respect to a beginner player than an advanced player. We want the mediocre to play and the good ones as well.” :