Are we all ready for summer? With everything that is going on, the warm weather couldn’t get here soon enough. From the last time we stood on Bradford Beach, there have been many changes and developments all designed to provide the public with a better experience at the beach.
The beach will officially open the weekend of May 21st and remain open through September 29th. There will be a new set of business hours for the concession stand which will be released later in the spring. In addition, if you are interested in working at Bradford Beach, we would love to hear from you. The section regarding employment opportunities are listed below under the section “contact us”.
That being said, here is what you can expect from Bradford Beach in 2011:
WEEKLY PROGRAMS AND EVENTS:
Based on the success of providing the public with quality, free live entertainment, Bradford Beach will once again be the home for two unique weekly programs starting mid-June.
Thursday Night Acoustic Series:
Starting June 16th, Bradford Beach will be the place to be for some of the most unique and talented local musicians covering a wide variety of music genres. All shows start at 7pm.
Sunday Funday:
Bradford Beach is THE home for Sunday Funday. This year, we add DJ’s, Beach Bingo and tons of sponsor promotions to provide everyone with a great Sunday throughout the summer. Sunday Funday will kick-off on June 18th at 1pm.
VOLLEYBALL LEAGUES
Bradford Beach will once again be home to one the largest recreation volleyball leagues in the midwest offering two individual sessions held Sunday’s through Friday’s, with multiple formats and divisions for adults and youth. League registrations will open on March 1st at bradfordbeachjam.com. There are discounts for team registrations for early registration and registration for sessions 1 and 2. The following is an overview of the details:
- All league details and registration links can be found at bradfordbeachjam.com/sports_leagues.html.
- Session 1 leagues start May 23rd and complete July 31st from 6pm to 8:30pm.
- Session 2 leagues start August 1st and complete September 29th from 6pm to 8:30pm.
- SUNDAY night divisions include co-ed 6’s B and Co-ed 4’s A.
- MONDAY night divisions include Co-ed 6’s BB, Men’s 2’s B and Men’s 2’s Masters 38yrs old+.
- TUESDAY night divisions include Co-ed 6’s B and Junior Beach Development for Boys & Girls ages 12 to 18.
- WEDNESDAY night divisions include Co-ed 6’s B+, Men’s 2’s A and Women’s 2’s A.
- THURSDAY night divisions include Co-ed 6’s A/B+, Barefoot Wine Championship Cup Men’s 2’s Open and Women’s 2’s Open, Boys Juniors 4’s (14 to 18), Girls Juniors 4’s (14 to 18).
- FRIDAY night divisions include Co-ed 6’s BB and Co-ed 4’s B.
- DISCOUNTS - There is an early registration discount of $25/team if entries are received by April 15th and 20% discount for any team registering for Sessions 1 and 2 by May 1st.
- VOLLEY AMERICA - All players competing in doubles will need to be registered members of Volley America to participate. To register, visit volleyamerica.com.
- For the Barefoot Wine Championship Cup Thursday night doubles, teams will be competing for $2,000 in prize money and the opportunity to represent Bradford Beach at the 2011 Barefoot Wine Championship Cup Finals in Miami Beach this September.
- A portion of league entry fees supports Milwaukee County Parks and Bradford Beach.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Summer 2011 will be dotted with many of our long standing evens and several new events. The 8th annual Bradford Beach Jam Reggae and Sports Music festival will be held July 29th through the 31st. The Milwaukee Air and Water show moves from June back to August 6th and 7th. And Bradford will host for the 4th consecutive year the charitable event “BED” on July 16th and 17th for Pathfinders with proceeds benefiting homeless teens.
Some of the new events for 2011 include Bradford Beach Strongman Competition on June 26th. It’s an event that is every bit of the television coverage by ESPN2 with Hercules-strong athletes performing a series of competitions that will be sure to impress all. On August 20th and 21st, Bradford Beach will be part Hawaii part wine country as we offer a Luau and Wine Tasting featuring Hawaiian themed entertainment and many of our finest partner wineries.
And for the kids, the Friends of Bradford Beach Family Days are scheduled for June 19th, July 10th, august 7th and September 11th. Many kid-friendly activities including sand castles, scavenger hunts art, rock-climbing wall and volleyball.
Weekly live entertainment will be held each Thursday with Music By the Fire acoustic series and on Sunday with Sunday Funday. Both programs will start mid-June.
The schedule of event for Summer 2011 is as follows:
| May 21st:
June 18th-19th:
June 19th: June 26th: July 10th: July 16th-17th: July 25th-28th: July 29th – 31st:
August 6th: August 6th-7th: August 7th: August 20th-21st:
September 11th: September 17th-18th: | Bradford Beach Season Kick-off Bradford Beach Volleyball Series Bradford Beach Volleyball Series US Open of Beach Volleyball Junior Qualifier Friends of Bradford Beach Family Day Bradford Beach Strongman Friends of Bradford Beach Family Day Pathfinders B.E.D. Charity Event benefiting homeless teens* I Work Downtown Volleyball Challenge Bradford Beach Jam Reggae Music Festival* Bradford Beach Volleyball Series Bradford Beach 7v7 Beach Rugby Tournament Bradford Beach National Day Out Milwaukee Air & Water Show Friends of Bradford Beach Family Day Bradford Beach Luau & Balzac at the Beach Wine Tasting* Bradford Beach Volleyball Series Friends of Bradford Beach Family Day Sand & Bands Endless Summer Beach Party* Barefoot Wine Championship Beach Volleyball Series |
* Features live music
VOLLEYBALL, STRONGMAN AND RUGBY TOURNAMENTS:
There are several sports tournaments scheduled for 2011. The dates are as follows:
VOLLEYBALL
Bradford Beach Volleyball Series:
| May 21st:
June 18th: June 19th:
July 17th: July 30th:
July 31st: August 20th: August 21st: September 17th: September 18th: | Men’s 2’s (Open, A, B); Women’s 2’s (Open, A), Co-ed 4’s (2 men, 2 women) Boys Junior 2’s (12’s, 14’s, 16’s, 18’s); Girls Juniors (12’s, 14’s, 16’s, 18’s) Men’s 2’s (Open, A, B); Women’s 2’s (Open, A) Co-ed 4’s (2 men, 2 women) Boys Junior 2’s (12’s, 14’s, 16’s, 18’s); Girls Juniors (12’s, 14’s, 16’s, 18’s) Men’s Collegiate 2’s Women’s Collegiate 2’s Men’s 2’s, Women’s 2’s, Co-ed 4’s, Co-ed 6’s Men’s 2’s (Open, A, B); Women’s 2’s (Open, A) Boys Junior 2’s (12’s, 14’s, 16’s, 18’s); Girls Juniors (12’s, 14’s, 16’s, 18’s) Co-ed 4’s (2 men, 2 women) Men’s 2’s (Open, A, B); Women’s 2’s (Open, A) Co-ed 4’s (2 men, 2 women) Men’s 2’s (Open, A, B); Women’s 2’s (Open, A) Co-ed 4’s (2 men, 2 women) |
- To register for any event, the weblink is bradfordbeachjam.com/tournaments.html.
- All players competing in each tournament must be current members of the new national sanctioning group titled Volley America at a cost of $15/annually.
- Volley America is a group of grassroots promoters that include several major programs such as East End Volleyball, Great American Volleyball and Bradford Beach. The program is designed to provide tangible benefits to all players regardless of skill level.
- To register for Volley America, the weblink is volleyamerica.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=VA-ANNUAL
- Player Benefits for Volley America include:
- Player insurance
- National Player Ranking System
- National Player Grand Prix Prize System
- Sponsorship prizes from Spalding, Riderz Sandals and others
- Qualification into National Championship event in Florida (details to follow)
- Payout structure for each event will be based on the following minimums:
- Men’s & Women’s Open – based on a minimum of 16 teams
- 1st - $350.00 + sponsor prizes
- 2nd - $225.00 + sponsor prizes
- 3rd(s) - $125.00
- 5th(s) - $80.00
- Entry fee is $80/team
- Men’s & Women’s A – based on a minimum of 8 teams
- 1st - $100.00 + sponsor prizes
- 2nd - $60.00 + sponsor prizes
- 3rd(s) - sponsor prizes
- Entry fee is $60/team
- Men’s & Women’s Collegiate & B – based on a minimum of 8 teams
- 1st - sponsor prizes
- 2nd - sponsor prizes
- 3rd(s) - sponsor prizes
- Entry fee is $40/team
- Co-ed 4’s– based on a minimum of 16 teams
- Gold 1st - $450.00
- Gold 2nd - $300.00
- Silver 1st - $150.00
- Silver 2nd - $100.00
- Entry fee is $100/team
STRONGMAN:
Bradford Beach Strongman on June 26th is a Platinum level event sanctioned by North American Strongman. The inaugural event will showcase 20 heavyweight athletes competing in the following events:
Keg Toss – 5+ kegs tossed over a 14ft bar
Husafell Stone – 300lb stone carried for max distance
Log Press – 275lb log pressed for max reps
Frame Carry – 700lb frame carried for 150ft.
Atlas Stones – Five stones weighing 275lbs to 380lbs lifted and pressed.
Prizes include
1st place: $750.00
2nd place: $600.00
3rd place: $500.00
Top three finishers qualify for North American Strongman National Championships.
Entry Fee is $100 per competitor.
The event will be promoted and executed by Sam McMahon (414-708-3989, mcmahost@hotmail.com). Athletes must be pre-qualified by Sam prior to any entry being accepted.
Event registration will be located at bradfordbeachjam.com in May.
RUGBY;
7v7 Beach Rugby will be held during the 8th annual Bradford Beach Jam on July 30th & 31st. The beach rugby tournament has been a tremendous annual event bringing teams from across the midwest and beyond to compete in Midwest’s only beach rugby tournament.
The event co-promoter is the Milwaukee Rugby Club. For any and all questions, please contact James “JD” Davis at 414-379-8804 or mil_rugger@yahoo.com.
Additional details for each event will be released on bradfordbeachjam.com throughout the spring.
PRIVATE EVENT AND RENTAL REQUESTS:
Bradford Beach will be home to Bradford Beach Cabana service. For information and reservations, please contact Bradford Beach Cabanas at 414-502-7368.
For small private events and functions, Bradford Beach can accommodate your request with a unique setting, menu and private service. For more information and details, please contact Kristyn St. Denis at 414-315-0316.
EMPLOYMENT:
Bradford Beach is looking for summer staff for our concession operations. For all inquiries, please contact Kristyn St. Denis at 414-315-0316.
