The West Florida Waves Volleyball Club felt the best way to honor their founder was through great competition. This weekend they bring the 13th Annual Randy Pounders Open to the Foley Event Center.
Tournament Director Jeff Schmitt said just like the sport Randy Pounders helped to grow in along the Gulf Coast, his namesake tournament is also seeing growth. This year they’ve had to split the tournament over two locations to accommodate all the teams wanting to compete, with the 12 – 15 age groups playing in Foley.
Schmitt said the tournament is the club’s way of honoring the man who helped build the sport of volleyball into what it is today.
“This tournament is named after the founding director of Volleyball Pensacola, that today operates as West Florida Waves,” Schmitt explained. “Randy Pounders was one of the first club directors and first tournament host within the Gulf Coast Region.”
Foley Sports Tourism Event Operations Coordinator Meagan McVicker said the tournament is a great reminder for all of us to remember your roots.
“We love that the West Florida Waves continue to honor their past by building on what Pounders worked so hard to create,” McVicker said. “We sometimes get so caught up in what’s happening now we forget to honor how far we’ve come. FST has been around for less than ten years and we’ve been blessed to have grown at such an amazing rate. The Pounders Open reminds us to look back to help us continue to move forward.”
The Pounders Open runs all day January 29 – 30 and there is a $5 charge for admission. For more information on this or any FST event visit our event page.
