The Cypress AYSO Boys Under 9 team took second place overall in their division at the annual Huntington Beach Sand Soccer Tournament on June 7 and 8.
The Cypress AYSO Boys Under 9 team took second place overall in their division at the annual Huntington Beach Sand Soccer Tournament on June 7 and 8.
It is the only 7 vs. 7 sand soccer tournament in the world, and is the largest youth sand soccer tournament on the west coast, played just south of the world famous Huntington Beach Pier.
The beach was swamped with sand soccer athletes from 148 teams ranging in age from youth to teens. The tournament drew 20,000 people including one local luminary, Dean Torrence, of the Jan & Dean famous musical act, who was dropping his daughters off so they could participate on the teams.
While soccer is all the rage in California, sand soccer is quickly gaining ground as the hot new game. The sport is played much like field soccer with the players enjoying the different texture of the sand, requiring use of specific muscles. The players run in the sand in their bare feet or wear special sand socks.
The sand soccer tournament has been around for 16 years and was formed thanks to the sponsorship of Longboard Restaurant & Pub in Huntington Beach. Held at other beaches along the Southern California coast, two years ago the event moved to Huntington Beach. The sport has grown 66 percent in one year, and this year it occupied one-third mile of beachfront.
According to the sand soccer planner Sean Dick, this popular fast-growing game has grown so much that they had to relocate to a larger playing area in 2008.
With 2,100 players signed up for this year’s games alone, the turnout was simply amazing.