Sand and Volleyballs

Spike that ball and dive into the sand, it's the summer season of beach volleyball in #Toronto. The long rows of nets and poles stretch into the distance at Ashbridges Bay as the fit and agile athletes battle, two against two, in a leaping battle of rhythm and exploding violence as the ball is slammed back and forth.

Cool weekend on #Toronto beaches

On what would be a typically crowded summer weekend the rain and cool temperatures kept many sun and sand worshipers off the beaches. At Ashbridges Bay a smaller group of beach volleyball players joined in the Not So Pro league play while later in the day the high winds brought out plenty of kite surfers at Cherry Beach.

Dramatic clouds filled the sky until rain finally fell on Toronto

notsopro.com league play

See more photos after the jump.

OVA Beach Tour Provincial Volleyball Championships

The Ontario Volleyball Association event brought some amazing athletes together in #Toronto for the 2012 Provincial Championships Beach Volleyball Tournament. Ashbridges Bay park had the volleyball nets strung tight while teams of two battled for supremacy on the sands at the edge of Lake Ontario. The tournament during the July 28-29 weekend was for the Adult A-AA, Adult Elite, 18 & under and 15 & under players.

See more of the games after the jump.

Sunny day at a #Toronto beach

Woodbine Beach at Ashbridge's Bay Park was full of summer fun as volleyball games, swimming and plenty of sun worshipers enjoyed the warm weather and sand. Temperatures of 30 plus degrees Celsius made the sand and waters of Lake Ontario a perfect way to celebrate the heat of our short summer season.

You could also buy hot dogs and watch someone crack open a coconut in front of you.

OVA Beach Tour

Ashbridges Bay Beach Volleyball is building steam as summer rays hit the sandy beaches of #Toronto. The Ontario Volleyball Beach Tour was at the nets during the June 9, 2012 weekend.

See more slams and blocks after the jump.

Beach volleyball back in #Toronto

As summer weather comes back to TO the beaches around town come alive with activity. Down at Ashbridges Bay the volleyball courts are up and the teams, pickup games and tournaments start to fill the coming summer schedule. On Saturday during the Victoria Day long weekend I caught up with some two on two games being hard fought on the hot sands in the Beach.

See more volleyball action after the jump.

Things to do in Toronto August 20-21, 2011

It’s the middle of August and I don’t know where my summer is. The middle of August, how did that happen! Well let’s start cramming the rest of summer activities and events into the remaining sunbeams of August and the glorious weather and colours of fall that are just around the corner. This weekend there is plenty of stuff going on around Toronto, pick a couple of events and have a lot of fun. The weather for the weekend shows mostly sunny and warm temperatures and these weather pros (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/fourteenday/caon0696?ref=qlink_st_14day) never get that wrong!

Thursday Aug 18 to Sunday Aug 21: Havana Cultura (http://havana-cultura.ca/main.php) at Ossington.

Friday Aug 19 to Sunday  Aug 21: Masala! Mehndi! Masti! MMM Asian Festival (http://www.masalamehndimasti.com/2011/) at Harbourfront Centre.

Friday Aug 19 to Monday Sep 5: Canadian National Exhibition (the EX http://www.theex.com/).

Saturday Aug 20: Warriors Day Parade (http://www.thewarriorsdayparade.ca/) at the CNE.

Saturday Aug 20: Last OVA Beach Volleyball Tournament (http://www.ontariovolleyball.org/) at Ashbridges Bay in preparation of next weekends National Championships Aug 25 to 28 on the same beach.

Saturday Aug 20: Sports Day in the Square at Maple Leaf Square (www.mapleleafsquare.com) by the ACC from 10am-3pm.

Saturday Aug 20 to Sunday Aug 21: Fairbank Village Summerfest on Eglinton Avenue.

Sunday Aug 21: Toronto Zombie Carwash (http://torontozombiewalk.ca/?p=11) BLOODS ’N’ SUDS at Classic Coin Wash starting at noon.

If you like motorcycle racing there is the Canadian Superbike Championship (http://www.mosport.com/schedules-a-events/major-spectator-events/parts-canada-superbike-doubleheader-weekend) event over at Mosport International Raceway from Friday Aug 19 to Sunday Aug 21.

Upcoming Stuff: Next week during the August 25 to 28 weekend will see street performers take over the St Lawrence Market for Buskerfest 2011 (http://www.torontobuskerfest.com/). And for a little fun try the FanExpo (http://www.fanexpocanada.com/) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Aug 25 to 28.

PS It’s almost time for students to head back to school!

Beachin' volleyball

I think there were a lot of pro volleyball players out on the hot sands of Ashbridges Bay Beach. I am not sure, they might have even been Brazillian. They may have been practicing for next weekends Not So Pro Beach Volleyball tour on August 12-14, 2011.

See more pictures after the jump.

Ontario Volleyball at Ashbridges Bay

Ontario Volleyball had a large competition down at Ashbridges Bay/Woodbine Beaches as players started in the light mist and heavy fog of yet another beautiful Toronto weekend. I didn't even see any visible sunscreen and the typical beach volleyball swimwear was replaced with winter parkas.

The competitions looked pretty fierce with mens, ladies and youth games on the massive beach - it looked like a colourful net farm and the crop was doing good (probably all that rain).

Don't forget Hope Volleyball: Toronto's Largest Charity Volleyball Tournament on the Toronto Island on Saturday June 18, 2011.

See more pictures after the jump.

Beach Volleyball

It didn't look like any organized beach volleyball games were going on in Ashbridges Bay, just a large amount of pickup games. From what I heard on a nice sunny, Sunday the beaches would normally be full of volleyball tournaments but the long weekend has a lot of people out of town. The games were coed and were a lot of fun to watch.

Most of the players really got into the games and the action was intense at times. Dives into the sand to return the ball or high jumping spikes and blocks as each team fought for supremacy.

Looking at row after row of multi-coloured nets shows how much people like to play volleyball on this beach.


HOPE VOLLEYBALL

Billed as Toronto's largest one day Charity Volleyball Tournament the 22nd annual Hope Volleyball Tournament will be held on Saturday, June 12 on Centre Island in the Toronto Islands. If you want to play you need to register on-line by May 31. Individuals can even sign up and be placed on a team.

HOPE stands for Helping Other People Everywhere and the tournament gets about 6,000 players competing in the event.

Photo Vault - Hit the beaches

Winter has been very kind to us here in Ontario but even still it's time for Summer. Toronto is fortunate to be situated along Lake Ontario so there are a number of sandy beaches (see the following list) where Toronto goes to fly a kite or relax, put on their thongs to get some rays and then hit the water.



Bluffer's Park Beach with a great view of the Scarborough Bluffs.
Toronto Island:Centre Island Beach and the islands are a great place to spend a day.
Cherry Beach is also a favourite with dog owners.
Toronto Island:Gibraltar Point Beach
Toronto Island:Hanlan's Point Beach Toronto's clothing optional beach.
The Beaches:Kew - Balmy Beach
Marie Curtis Park East Beach
Rouge Beach
Sunnyside Beach
Toronto Island: Ward's Island Beach
The Beaches:Woodbine Beache home of the boardwalk and beach volleyball in Ashbridges Bay Park.




You can check out Toronto beach water quality here. You can also walk, bike or rollerblade on the waterfront trail.