Hawai‘i Dinosaur Volleyball Tournament brings out sport’s best

LIHU’E— Kalapaki Bay is partying like it’s 65 million BC this weekend

Each year, the Hawai’i Dinosaur Volleyball Tournament – Dino for short – brings grey-haired volleyball players from around the world to Nawiliwili’s Kalapaki Beach to compete.

Consisting of more than 120 teams of older players – male partners must be 80 years old combined, while female teams must be 75 years or older – the tournament offers a casual yet competitive environment where all are welcome.

But Joe Woo, 52, almost didn’t arrive at all after registering late.

As fate would have it, Woo accidentally stumbled upon a friend of tournament director David Chaikin while playing a casual match in Hermosa Beach, California.

“We were just playing each other together and the dino came up and I was like, ‘I tried to sign up but I think it’s a bit late, I haven’t heard anything, I can’t make any plans. I don’t know what to do,'” he said. “And he’s like, ‘Well, I know Dave — I’ll email him.’ A week later I’m in the tournament. So the energy flipped.”

After reaching the Dino for the first time on Thursday, Woo was immediately interested in the tournament’s unique approach to the sport.

“I’ve heard it’s best described as an aloha spirit,” he said. “Everyone just isn’t confrontational — I know, like in LA, people are confrontational in heated moments, but I felt like everyone[here]and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to let this go.’ It’s more relaxed but still competitive and I’ve never experienced such a high-energy tournament.”

However, the dino’s special environment is nothing new for Kimmy Viccknair, 47, as this is her sixth time competing.

After playing for almost a decade – both in the US and Slovenia – Viccknair now looks forward to the Dino and the other competitors who take on him each year.

“We’re all ex-players… we still love playing this sport but it’s not that serious,” she said. “We just come here to have a good time, enjoy the sport we love and have friends.”

Every year the tournament produces some of volleyball’s greatest players and this year is no exception.

Four-time Olympic champion Jake Gibb, 47, made his dino debut this weekend after retiring from the professional tour in 2021.

Gibb first became interested in the tournament last year after his wife first competed. Now that he’s a competitor himself, Gibb immediately fell in love with the dino’s gentler demeanor.

“It’s beach volleyball,” he says. “I grew up just seeing beach volleyball relaxed, great vibes, great people. That’s good.”

Despite playing beach volleyball for about three decades, even Gibb recognized the Dino’s incomparable atmosphere.

“I think what’s happening is there’s a bunch of people who play volleyball at a high level, but they have nothing to prove,” he said. “When you have young children, the energy is different. It’s more about good times here, about tough competition – trying to win, but not like that chip on people’s shoulders that you get in professional events.”

Although this year’s tournament concludes on Sunday, every participant who spoke to The Garden Island expressed their excitement about returning to Kaua’i to dino next year.

“I’ll be coming back for years,” Vicknair said. “As long as I can.”

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Jackson HealyReporter, can be reached at 808-647-4966 or [email protected].