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Flash Quotes

General Quotes

Pre-Tournament Press Conference

About being the Goodwill Games defending champions

Karolyn Kirby (USA):

"It's exciting to be playing in the U.S., especially in New York.  These are very prestigious games, and we're proud to be here.   We're happy to be playing together (with Liz Masakayan) again.  It's kind of nostalgic, having won the first Goodwill Games title in St. Petersburg, Russia.   Basically, we're just excited to be competing here and to be selected to be here and have our partnership back together again after a lot of years."

Synopsis of 1998 season and being back as Kirby's partner

Liz Masakayan (USA):

"It's been a couple of years since Karolyn and I have had a consistent partnership together, so it's a different team this time.  It's three years later, and we're both coming off surgeries (Masakayan knee surgery; Kirby shoulder surgery).  We're a little older, a little wiser.  But I think we're very, very excited and privileged to get the wild card into the Goodwill Games, being the defending champions of the first Goodwill Games of beach volleyball.  We're really happy to be here, looking forward to having another long partnership again, and we're right now beginning our process of rebuilding our partnership.  The first four tournaments were evidence of that. We're looking long-term now, and doing what we can to build hopefully to the Olympic trials."

About Masakanan's injuries and the GWG competition format

Liz Masakayan:

"I don't really have a set way that I think is best for me.  Sometimes, it is easier on my body to have one game a day.  But sometimes, it takes me a game for me to get warmed up and to perform better in the second and third games. There is really nothing that I've found that has worked for me.  So variety (of formats) is something I like.  It's not like this format is a great advantage for me."

About the growth of beach volleyball internationally since 1992

Karyolyn Kirby:

"I think the FIVB has done tremendous things for the sport, to put it into a position to be recognized world wide as a legitimate sport.   Subsequently, the domestic tours throughout the world have increased and strengthened the competition.  It has provided an opportunity for this sport to go big, which is what really needs to happen.  We need more women's sports, and we need more awareness of that, especially in the United States.  I think the sport has grown tremendously, but it has a long way to go.  Being in New York with this tremendous media capital we're in right now, it would be nice to get some support and some coverage.   Just showing up at the games will educate the public more and more about the great sport."

About the differences in Wollman Rink to a beach venue

Liz Masakayan:

"It gets a little gusty here.  We get a little bit of the wind factor like we do on a normal beach.  This is obviously a man-made arena in the middle of Central Park.  But it's very, very beautiful.  And we're not biased to always having to play on a beach."

About the status of the women's beach game in the United States

Karolyn Kirby:

"The lack of a domestic tour hasaffected the players, because we don't have the training base we normally get this time of year.   Financially, it's hit us very hard this year.  We've lost sponsors because we don't have a tour.  So we've had a setback, emotionally as well.  Not knowing what's going on and not knowing if we have a future.  Luckily, we have the international competition. That takes us abroad to play.  Next year, we're totally   excited to have the AVL (American Volleyball League, based in Carlsbad, Calif.).   Liz and I have backed having that in place.  We spent a lot of time doing that.  I think it's actually going to be better than ever, now."

About Australian women's beach volleyball

Kerri Pottharst (Australia):

"In Australia, beach volleyball is picking up.   It's getting close to matching some of the other countries' tours.  I just played a tournament in Germany two weeks ago, and they have a very good tour.  We're hoping this year to have a domestic tour, with eight-to-10 competitions.  We're also encouraging foreign teams to come down to play us.  That will strengthen our teams and help strengthen the sport in our country as well. It's our first GWG.  It's almost has an Olympic Games feel.  It's obviously not as big and hasn't got as many competitors, but it a really good introduction for Pauline (Manser).  I can tell her this is like the 1996 Olympics, and this is what we can expect in 2000.  That's our main focus for the next two years to prepare for that event. It will be my swansong in beach volleyball.  To have it in Sydney is the reason I'm still playing."

About her team's strength

Pauline Manser (Australia):

"Our strength is our power and our size.  It can be pretty intimidating for some teams to face us at the net."

About the international beach volleyball interest

Kerri Pottharst:

"I think the big drawing card is the Olympic Games in 2000.  A lot of indoor volleyball players have realized that if their indoor careers are over, they can make a career out on the beach.  They saw how successful beach volleyball was in Atlanta in 1996 and they thought, 'My athletic career isn't over.   I should go out on the beach and give it a try.'  So we're seeing hundreds of men's teams out there trying to qualify for the main draw event and in Italy, we had about 60 women's teams trying to qualify for the main draw (eight positions).  So it's pretty tough out there in the qualifying tournaments. But it is good to see so many more countries involved, and it will make it a really international affair at the Olympic Games by increasing it to 24 teams."

About the German team

Kerri Pottharst:

"They're a very strong team.  They're ranked 9th in the world.  They've been playing together for about two years now, since the Olympic Games.  They've just continued to improve.  They're not an overly big team as far as strong attacks and hard spikes.  But they're very very consistent.   And they don't let many balls hit the sand.  After playing a tournament with Maike (Friedrichsen), I was very impressed with the whole tour in Germany.  There are some very strong players in Germany.  I would encourage many of the players in Germany to play on the world tour."

About the Brazilian team (Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, the No. 1 ranked women's team in the world)

Liz Masakayan:

"I think one of their strengths is their ball control.   They know how to move the ball around very well.  Defensively, they're not big players, but they're very quick.  Once they get the ball, they pretty much know where and how fast to put it where the other player is not.  It seems so simple, but they make it look simple.  They really don't have that many weaknesses.  They're both strong servers and great ball control setting, and a lot of finess and grace. And they seem very confident right now going into the Goodwill Games because they've done so well in the last four tournaments.  I think that's a big advantage for them."

About beach volleyball in the US

Karolyn Kirby:

"Number one, they (Brazil) have federation support, which has been my topic of conversation of late.  So does Australia, as does the countries that are doing very well in the sport right now.  Unlike the United States, where we do not have federation support.  It's been a struggle.  When you realize other countries are getting the support, the backing, the physical therapy, the scouting, supporting their athletes internationally, having at one time pretty much dominating the sport, it's pretty much discouraging for the athletes to know our federation is not doing anything to maintain what we once had initially, and secondly, what's the plan for the future for these athletes. You have to have a plan for success, and USA Volleyball does not have a plan for success.  The athletes are getting older.   Right now, we don't have a tour, and we don't have a developmental program.   It's a big problem and unless something changes, it'll really affect the progress of USA Volleyball."

About support of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball

Liz Masakayan:

"The sport has a lot of history with the indoor game and USA Volleyball has for a long time supported the indoor game.  But I think especially for the last 10 years, for both men and women, we've had a lot of opportunity to medal on the beach, and that hasn't really been acknowledged.  In the last Olympics, we had a lot more opportunity for both men and women to medal, more so than the indoor team.  And I think going into the 2000 Games, we do also.  And we're not getting that recognition.  Nobody is acknowledging that we have the chance to do that on the beach.  I think we don't get the respect because of the tradition of all the support of the indoor game.  We don't get the respect of the sport.  Like Karolyn said, it's really discouraging seeing a lot of other countries develop better and fine-tuned teams because of the support they get."

"They're getting support with a lot of younger athletes, like Pauline (Manser).  It's nice to see that.  We want to see that.   We want 10 Elaine Youngs (All-American at UCLA and former Masakayan partner on the beach) every year, not just one every four years.  I think that's very important, and we definiatly need the support and the funding behind us to get better.  The other countries are just passing us by, and getting stronger than us.  And it's a shame, because just four or five years ago, the Americans were dominating.  And it's no longer like that.  And it's not just Brazil and Australia.  It's Japan, Germany, Italy and so many other countries coming out and winning."