Fort Lauderdale bosses tell it like it is!

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Fort Lauderdale Major, Jack Seiler (right) congratulates the Red Bull Air Force team following their descent to the Center Court at the Fort Lauderdale Major. Photocredit: Ian Witlen

“The Fort Lauderdale Major is our Super Bowl of volleyball!”

Wow, now that is saying something! They were the words of Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Robert L. Kinzie – one of the many special guests who joined thousands of happy fans at our first tournament of the season earlier this month.

“This event is equivalent to a Super Bowl,” Robert told us. “It just does so much for our community and this is what we are looking for. It is a great event, a world-class event and, again, I have to say this is the Super Bowl for us of volleyball.”

Robert’s thoughts were echoed by the Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Jack Seiler, who was on the beach to greet the Red Bull Air Force team after they delivered the matchball for the final in style (and yes you should watch this epic 360 video of their jaw-dropping dive from the air on our Facebook page).

“This was a first class tournament and an unbelievable event for the city of Fort Lauderdale,” he said. “From the set up to the actual tournament, everything went beautifully and was so professional. It brought a tremendous amount of energy, enthusiasm and excitement to the city of Fort Lauderdale and we hope the Swatch Major Series will come back every year!”

Huge crowds came to witness the #FLTMajor finals on Saturday and Sunday.

His right-hand-man, Vice Mayor, Dean Trantalis, was equally thrilled that international beach volleyball made its return to this part of the world of the first time since the World Tour Finals in September 2015.

“Fort Lauderdale welcomes the Swatch Major Series,” said Trantalis. “This was a tremendous weekend for everybody, I understand everyone who is participating – the sponsors, the partners and certainly our community.

“The energy, the excitement, the opportunity for us to showcase what a beautiful city we are. The weather was beautiful and the people were amazingly hospitable. We have been able to create a wonderful partnership with the promoters and the people that live and work here in Fort Lauderdale.

“So, when you go back and you look at all the tapes and you look at the event, you’re going to understand why people come to Fort Lauderdale, it’s a place you never want to leave. This is a place where we have beautiful culture, people, beaches, shopping, theater – everything that everyone would love to experience and I think that once you get a chance to see who we are, you’ll understand why it is so important to continue to return to Fort Lauderdale.”

Remember you can watch all of the action back from the wonderful week we had in Florida by subscribing to our BeachStream channel. Click here for all the details to access every dig, dive, serve and spike from the Fort Lauderdale Major.