VOLLEYBALL : Chisholm Alone Represents the Valley on Professional Beach Circuit

Linda Chisholm of Van Nuys has the dubious distinction of being the only member of the team beach volleyball circuit who lives in the Valley area.

“When I go back to the Valley it’s like I’m going to some bad, troubled area. For them, the beach is the greatest,” she said, referring to her teammates and league counterparts.

Living in the Valley has not hurt Chisholm’s success in volleyball. Before turning professional, she played for the U.S. women’s volleyball team that finished second behind China in the 1984 Olympics. The 1981 Pepperdine graduate plays professionally in Europe and in Southern California. For the past three years, she has played abroad to supplement her earnings.

“Most of the public goes out for men’s volleyball, not women’s,” Chisholm said. “Nobody is really aware that we have tournaments. The public relations is so much better for the men. It is usually very difficult for women to get the sponsors that the men have for their tournaments.

“We’re both professionals, but men will get $1,600 for first place in a tournament where the women will get $125 apiece for winning.”

Despite the disparity in prize money between men’s and women’s volleyball, the gap is narrowing, Chisholm said. The inception of the Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn. last year gave women’s beach volleyball a big boost in recognition and prize money. The WPVA already has attracted such sponsors as Michelob Light, which has three $5,000 tournaments on this summer’s tour.

Chisholm, 29, competes in WPVA tournaments throughout Southern California from May through September. With two first-place finishes, she has won $575 this summer and is preparing to compete in some $5,000 and $12,000 tournaments during the next two months.

When the WPVA season ends, Chisholm plays on the more lucrative Italian professional circuit, where players are under contract and can make as much as $30,000 a year. She is also active in teaching youth volleyball in the Valley.

“Quite a few women are playing until they’re 40,” she said. “Eventually, I want to get a job and do something else, but I can play a little longer. Beach volleyball is easier on the body than indoors. I enjoy it the whole time.”