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ines%2Dspor</a> ts<br><br>VOLLEYBALL: Spat Over Airfare Keeps 2
U.S. Honorees at Home<br>By MIKE BRESNAHAN, TIMES
STAFF WRITER<br><br>There was a party Friday in Buenos
Aires, a gala honoring the top volleyball players &
coaches of the 20th century, but some guests of honor
didn't show up because of a tiff over transportation
expenses.<br><br>A standoff between the sport's international
governing body & USA Volleyball left Karch Kiraly & former
national team coach Marv Dunphy caught in the middle ...
and stuck at home.<br><br>The host of the gala, the
Federation Internationale de Volleyball, believed USA
Volleyball was responsible for the airfare for 3 U.S.
athletes & 2 coaches, a total cost of about $7,500. USA
Volleyball, which has struggled financially in recent years,
said the FIVB should have picked up the tab for
Kiraly, Dunphy, Sinjin Smith & Randy
Stoklos.<br><br>Smith used frequent-flier miles to get to the gala.
Stoklos paid his own way. Doug Beal, the 5th U.S. award
recipient, is coaching the U.S. national team in a
tournament in Buenos Aires & attended the
ceremony.<br><br>The FIVB agreed to pay for honorees' lodging, meals &
local transportation. It drew the line at airline
tickets.<br><br>"It's unfortunate that U.S. Volleyball couldn't afford
to send their stars," FIVB President Ruben Acosta
Hernandez said. "We would've loved to have seen [Kiraly &
Dunphy] in Buenos Aires."<br><br>USA Volleyball lost
$400,000 last year, mostly because of travel costs
incurred playing in international tournaments before the
Sydney Olympics, said Kerry Klosterman, executive
director of USA Volleyball.<br><br>Klosterman said the
honors were appreciated, but not the costs. "We frankly
didn't have the money budgeted to do it," he
said.<br><br>Kiraly, a member of gold-medal indoor teams in 1984 &
1988 & a gold medalist in beach volleyball at the 1996
Olympics, said he was "a little baffled" by the FIVB's
request.<br><br>"If you're going to name some awards & they're only
every 100 years, you'd think the FIVB would pay for
it," he said. "I totally understand USA Volleyball's
response. They're pretty tightly strapped for
cash."<br><br>Kiraly said he probably wouldn't have attended the gala
in any event because he was moving from his San
Clemente home this weekend.<br><br>In a letter sent to
Kiraly after he'd declined the invitation, an FIVB
official wrote that USA Volleyball should pay the airfare
because the FIVB already invests heavily in
volleyball.<br><br>"It's important for the associations of each country to
understand that they're not only there to sit & wait &
receive, but that they also have responsibilities towards
the world volleyball family," wrote Jean-Pierre
Seppey, FIVB general manager. "We consider it ... a duty
of USA Volleyball to send you all to the 20th
century awards."<br><br>Smith, who has longstanding ties
with the FIVB & is the president of the beach
volleyball world council, said he was surprised by USA
Volleyball's refusal to pay.<br><br>"They have money in their
coffers, it's just how they choose to spend it," said
Smith, who retired from the sport after the Manhattan
Beach Open in August. "They don't choose to apparently
spend it to send athletes from our country to receive
awards. It's a shame.<br><br>"The FIVB considers the U.S.
a very, very important part of the growth of the
sport on a worldwide basis. If the USA is not [fully]
represented, it's a big problem."<br><br>Dunphy coached the
U.S. team to a gold medal in 1998 and still has ties
to USA Volleyball, having served as an assistant
coach in Sydney.<br><br>"It's unfortunate that there's
a tug of war," said Dunphy, who also coaches at
Pepperdine. "You've got to look at it on both sides. On their
side, if you have a party, you want peo