By Jorge Casuso

August 9, 2024 -- The tens of millions of viewers who tuned into the Olympics' final volleyball match in Paris on Friday likely didn't know that Santa Monica was the birthplace of the game they were watching.

Three-time Olympic Gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, who was on hand for the games, made sure to spike home that fact in a video for Santa Monica Travel and Tourism (SMTT).

“Not only is Santa Monica the birthplace of modern beach volleyball, it was the place to train,” she says reflecting on the early days of her career. “The sand is deep and the competition is amazing.

"The Santa Monica lifestyle is beachy, natural and active -– everything my sport represents and something I always aspired to.”

In the video interview, shot against a skyline featuring the Eiffel Tower, Walsh Jennings not only pays tribute to the beach city's role in developing the modern two-player variation of the game, she extols Santa Monica as a tourist destination.

“Santa Monica has always been a pinnacle in my life,” she says touting. “Not only is it amazing for beach volleyball, with their 3.5 miles of white sand and attractions like Pacific Park," it's a great place for families to visit.

"Now as someone who’s a mother and enjoys the experience of being active and wants to give my kids the things I’ve experienced, visiting Santa Monica is a no-brainer," Jennings Walsh says.

"The sand is beautiful, the beaches are wonderful and there’s so much for them to do.”

Tourism officials note that the city’s first permanent beach volleyball nets "were installed in the early 1920s while the sport was still a new phenomenon.

"Rapidly rising passion for the sport was apparent, with beach volleyball fans ranging from casual players on the public courts to serious competitors entering Santa Monica’s inter-club competitions beginning in 1924."

Today Santa Monica is home to dozens of courts and beach volleyball clubs across the city, including those at Annenberg Community Beach House, a local icon open to the public.

SMTT suggests celebrating a great game of volleyball by heading to Pacific Park on the world-famous Santa Monica Pier, which has been saluting salute Olympic athletes nightly with the Ferris wheel’s dazzling light display.

The nightly Ferris wheel light program features the five colored rings, that have represented the games worldwide for more than 110 years.

The display also features a 90-foot-tall waving American flag "to cheer on the nearly 600 athletes that make up Team USA, a French flag for the current host country and the American flag for host country 2028," Pacific Park officials said.

On Sunday, the amusement park will celebrate the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics with a special ceremony that will air at 10 p.m. to officially hand the guardianship of the Olympic Games to the organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Pacific Park is a fitting setting for the ceremony since it overlooks the sands where beach volleyball got its start.

To learn more about Santa Monica and the city’s connection to beach volleyball, visit santamonica.com.