For the second time in as many summers, beach volleyball has made its mark at Penticton Peachfest.
After the success of the inaugural Junior Chamber International (JCI) Penticton Beach Volleyball Tournament in 2022, a record number of teams hit the sand Saturday, Aug. 12, to once again play during the city’s beloved festival.
A total of 14 squads across two separate divisions could be seen at Skaha Lake Park, with close to 100 combined games expected to be played until Sunday evening.
“It’s all about word of mouth,” said Stuart Knott, the event’s committee chair, when reacting to nearly double the teams participating in the tournament compared to last summer. “Everyone’s having fun and we’re so excited it’s a success.”
Divisions include ‘competitive’ and ‘non-competitive,’ with teams in the latter vying for a share of the $300 cash prize.
Playoff games will be played Sunday afternoon, Aug. 13.
“If you could walk away with more money than you paid for the tournament, then that’s a good thing,” Knott said with a laugh.
All money distributed to JCI Penticton, through sponsors and donations, gets put back into the community.
The group is responsible for leading local projects like the annual Valley Food Drive and Penticton River Channel Clean-up.
Knott says that being part of the Peachfest, the city’s signature event for more than 75 years, only helps its cause of spreading local awareness for JCI’s initiatives.
“It makes things a lot easier to get the word out,” Knott said. “Everyone knows Peachfest and doing beach volleyball down at Skaha is just something different.”
Beach volleyball action resumes Sunday at 10 a.m., with final games in each division expected to conclude at around 6 p.m.
READ MORE: Peach Festival’s Grand Parade takes over downtown Penticton
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