Pacific Northwest Qualifier volleyball major event for area

Quick, name one of the area's sporting events that makes interest in hotel rooms spike and something area merchants dig. 

Nope, it's not Hoopfest, nor is it Bloomsday. 

Months in advance teams block out hundreds of rooms to accommodate players from across the nation who will be competing in the Pacific Northwest Qualifier volleyball tournament March 20-22 and then again March 27-29. 

Eastern Washington University will be one of three venues that will house 661 teams for the event that will send champions on to New Orleans for the national championship later in the summer. The PNQ is one of about a dozen similar regional qualifiers. 

"March Madness has a whole different meaning for our family," PNQ director, Cheney's April Stark said. 

The competition takes place at Reese Court with three courts, more in the other gyms in the Phase plus nine more in the Jim Thorpe Field House. Last year there were three more courts on the ice rink at the University Rec Center but some hockey events precluded that this time. 

The PNQ is staged the last two weekends of March. "The way we determine our dates is when Eastern has spring break," Stark said. EWU, the Hub in the Spokane Valley and the Spokane Convention Center make up the other venues. 

The PNQ has grown by 58 teams over last year. "Percentage-wise in one year, that's quite a jump," Stark said. 

This is the 18th annual PNQ, an event that began when USA Volleyball wanted to give the teams in the area the opportunity to win a bid to Nationals without the large travel costs. 

"After the first year, my dad took it over and has been the executive director since," Stark said of her father, Russ Poage of Spokane. The PNQ started with just 50 teams, Stark said. Working as a teacher, plus conducting registration the first year was once a doable chore. 

As it grew every year Stark and her father recognized the need for adding an employee. "So I now work full time," for PNQ the wife of Cheney Middle School principal, Mike Stark, and EWU grad said.

Stark believes the PNQ represents possibly the largest economic impact to Spokane and the surrounding areas of any tourism events. The two-week tournament provides 13,000 room nights. By comparison, the next highest is Ironman in Coeur d'Alene which fills 8,500. 

"Given the size of the teams, the length of the event, and the fact that there are so many teams from out of town, the hotels and restaurants and stores get lots of business," Stark said. "The fact that it is a girls' junior event makes the PNQ's shopping factor huge." 

The tournament was able to accommodate additional teams with the recent expansion of the Spokane Convention Center and Stark said the PNQ could continue to grow with the building of a new fieldhouse near the Spokane Arena. 

"We're crossing our fingers for that new sports-plex that may be in the works with County Parks," Stark said. 

With the success the PNQ has shown, there had been some discussion about bidding to host nationals. 

"But USA Volleyball tends to look for a location where all events are under one roof so-to-speak," Stark said. "We're ones that have multiple venues." 

Part of the success and growth has been attributed to how well teams are treated, Stark said. "We are able to keep it personal," she said. "I think there's something to be said about that." 

That's why the PNQ sees so many teams come back from most every Western state plus Texas, Illinois, and many more. "It's a more friendly place," Stark has been told. 

The 2016 PNQ will likely feature a slightly new look as USA Volleyball is restructuring their older divisions. Younger groups will replace the loss of an estimated 20 teams in the older ages next year, Stark said.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].