Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Katie Laverne Grannis (1919-2008)

LeRoy's wife Katie recently passed on. Here's her obituary, along with a link to the online guestbook where you can leave messages to LeRoy and the family:

Katie Laverne Grannis - GRANNIS, KATIE LAVERNE Katie LaVerne Grannis passed away December 3, 2008, in Carlsbad, California, with her husband of sixty-nine years, Leroy (Granny) Grannis, and her family by her side. Katie was born on September 23, 1919, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Iva Perkins and Edward A. Tracy. She had a sister Bette Tracy Finlayson, as well as a half-brother Ted Sizemore and a half-sister Ruth Sizemore Goodcell. The family moved to Southern California in 1923, and Katie grew up in Huntington Park, graduating from Huntington Park High School in 1938. In 1939, she married Leroy Frank Grannis. They had four children, Katie (Kit) Padilla, Frank Grannis, Nancy Grannis-Wiig, and John Grannis. They lived in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Hermosa Beach, until retiring to Carlsbad in 1978. From the early 1960's to the early 2000's, Katie and Granny travelled extensively nationally and internationally to photograph surfing and hang-gliding events, as well as to visit friends and family. Katie loved animals and children, and was very loyal to all of her old-time friends. She was a loving, devoted wife, mother, sister, and friend, loved and respected by everyone who knew her. She is survived by her husband, four children, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter, as well as her sister Bette and numerous relatives and friends. A private Burial was held on December 9th, in Redondo Beach. A Celebration of her life will be held on Sunday, December 28th, from 1 - 3 p.m., at the Harding Community Center auditorium, 3096 Harding Street, Carlsbad, CA. SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Obituaries

Friday, December 12, 2008

Beach Volleyball

Beach Volleyball has its roots in surfing. The first players were surfers... The following is from Batchgame.com. Original article has some nice photos, especially one of Duke Kahanamoku and members of the Outrigger Canoe Club, 1915:

BEACH VOLLEYBALL... First played: 1915 at Waikiki, Hawaii and in Pacific Palisades California, USA Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played on sand. Like other variations of volleyball, two teams, separated by a high net, try to score points against the other by grounding a ball on the other team’s court. Competitive beach volleyball teams usually consist of two players, though recreational variations can contain up to six players. Originating in Southern California, beach volleyball now enjoys worldwide popularity, even in countries without traditional beaches, like Switzerland... Though popularized in Southern California, the first recorded beach volleyball games took place on the beaches of Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawai’i at the Outrigger Canoe Club. Originally designed to give bored surfers something to do when the surf was down, the game quickly developed into more organized six-man matches. The most famous early player was legendary waterman, Duke Kahanamoku. In 1920, construction of new jetties in Santa Monica, California created a large sandy area for public enjoyment, planting the seed for beach volleyball development in that region. The first permanent nets began to appear, and recreational games were soon being played on public parts of the beach, as well as in private beach clubs. 11 such beach clubs appeared in the Santa Monica area, beginning in late 1922. The first inter-club competitions were staged in 1924, marking the first beach volleyball tournaments to be played in California. Most of these early beach volleyball matches were played with teams of at least six players per side, much like indoor volleyball. The concept of the modern two-man beach volleyball game, however, is credited to Paul “Pablo” Johnson, an indoor player. In the summer of 1930, while waiting for players to show up for a six-man game, Johnson decided to try playing with only the four people present. The game was forever changed. Beach volleyball began to appear in Europe in the 1930s. By the 1940s, doubles tournaments were being played on the beaches of Santa Monica for trophies. In the 1960s, an attempt to start a professional volleyball league was made in Santa Monica. It failed, but a professional tournament was held in France for 30,000 French francs. The first Manhattan Beach Open was held in 1960. The tournament is now considered the “Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball”. In the 1970s, a few professional tournaments in Santa Monica were sponsored by beer and cigarette companies. At the professional level, the sport remained fairly obscure until the 1980s when beach volleyball experienced a surge in popularity. Players like Karch Kiraly and Sinjin Smith became household names. In 1987, the FIVB created the first World Beach Volleyball Championships, played in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The FIVB began organizing worldwide professional tournaments, and laid the groundwork for the sport’s Olympic debut in 1996. Despite its increased popularity in the 80’s and 90’s, American beach volleyball suffered setbacks. In early 1998, the American women’s professional tour - the WPVA - closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy. Later that same year, the American professional men’s tour - the AVP - also filed for bankruptcy, plagued by problems as a player-run organization. In 2001, the AVP reemerged as a for-profit, publicly-traded company that combined the men’s and women’s professional tours, with equal prize money for both sexes... batchgame.com » Blog Archive » Beach volleyball