By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

BEACH volleyball action will hit the island this weekend with the 15th Marianas Cup Beach Volleyball Festival holding a three-day activity at the Pacific Islands Club.
The annual event will kick off with a free beach volleyball clinic today. Professional players from the US and Japan will be sharing tips and techniques with local players from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The US and Japanese pros arrived yesterday and held a short practice at the PIC sandcourt in the afternoon.
They needed the warm up as they will play exhibition games tonight.
The US pair of Brooke Niles Hanson and Angie Akers will challenge the Japanese tandem of Sachi Oguri and Miho Makabe.
The Americans were both ranked in the top 30 in the AVP Tour last year, while the Japanese players are ranked in the top 3 in Japan.
The exhibition match in the women’s division will start at 6 p.m.
The men’s friendly match will begin at 7 p.m. with the US tandem of Paul Baxter and Adam Roberts facing Japan’s Taichi Morikawa and Tatsuo Yamamoto.
Tomorrow, the double- elimination beach volleyball tournament will start with the pros playing with the locals.
The lucky partners of the pros will be determined via a draw tomorrow before the tournament begins.
The competitions in the men’s and women’s division will run until Sunday.
Over $13,000 in cash and prizes can be won in the two-day tournament, which is supported by PIC Saipan, PTI, Northwest Airlines, EFC Engineers and Architects, Triple J, Miller Lite, Hertz and AON Insurance.