Sinjin Smith
Encyclopedia
Christopher St. John Smith (born May 7, 1957 in Santa Monica, California
) is a professional
Beach Volleyball
player. He won one U.S. championship and two World championships with Randy Stoklos
.
He began to compete as a professional in the two man beach volleyball tournaments of Southern California at age fifteen. In 1977 he won his first tournament, teaming with "Stormin" Mike Normand. He went to college at UCLA, where he played volleyball as a setter under head coach Al Scates
. While there the UCLA Bruins won two National Championships, in 1978 and 1979, with Smith winning All American honors both years. In the early 1980s he made a successful beach team pairing with former UCLA teammate Karch Kiraly
. The partnership split up as Karch came to focus on the National Olympic Team. Smith moved on to partner with Randy Stoklos
, and the two became the most dominant pair in men's beach volleyball. Smith was the first player to reach 100 career open tournament wins. He was a primary force behind the growth of beach volleyball as a sport, and the development of the Association of Volleyball Professionals
, which formalized the sport as a professional athletic competition. In the late 1980s and early 1990s "Sinjin and Stokes" were the kings of the beach.
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
) is a professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
player. He won one U.S. championship and two World championships with Randy Stoklos
Randy Stoklos
Randy Stoklos is the first player to earn $1,000,000 in beach volleyball. He won one U.S. championship and two World championships with Sinjin Smith...
.
He began to compete as a professional in the two man beach volleyball tournaments of Southern California at age fifteen. In 1977 he won his first tournament, teaming with "Stormin" Mike Normand. He went to college at UCLA, where he played volleyball as a setter under head coach Al Scates
Al Scates
Al Scates is an American former volleyball player and is the current volleyball coach of the UCLA Bruins of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation...
. While there the UCLA Bruins won two National Championships, in 1978 and 1979, with Smith winning All American honors both years. In the early 1980s he made a successful beach team pairing with former UCLA teammate Karch Kiraly
Karch Kiraly
Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly , is an American volleyball player who is the only person to have won Olympic gold medals in both the indoor and beach versions of the sport.-High school career:...
. The partnership split up as Karch came to focus on the National Olympic Team. Smith moved on to partner with Randy Stoklos
Randy Stoklos
Randy Stoklos is the first player to earn $1,000,000 in beach volleyball. He won one U.S. championship and two World championships with Sinjin Smith...
, and the two became the most dominant pair in men's beach volleyball. Smith was the first player to reach 100 career open tournament wins. He was a primary force behind the growth of beach volleyball as a sport, and the development of the Association of Volleyball Professionals
Association of Volleyball Professionals
The Association of Volleyball Professionals, or AVP, is a beach volleyball tour which takes place throughout the United States. The summer tour starts in April and continues almost every weekend until the end of October....
, which formalized the sport as a professional athletic competition. In the late 1980s and early 1990s "Sinjin and Stokes" were the kings of the beach.