After a successful debut last summer, the Carbondale Open youth volleyball tournament is returning for its second year with updated courts and new prizes aimed at celebrating youth sports.

The Second Annual Carbondale Open, hosted by the Town of Carbondale and the Maroon Belles Volleyball Club, will return to Miners Park in Carbondale on Saturday, July 18, with upgraded courts and prizes. 

The doubles tournament is designed specifically to give young athletes the chance to participate in a sport that’s not always widely available for their age group and to compete against kids their own age. 

“The tournament is independent of any club affiliation,” Marron Belles Volleyball Club Director Laird Little said. “It was just something where there weren’t a lot of youth tournaments in Colorado, so if kids wanted to play, they had to play against adults. 

“We started this last year at 18U, 16U, and 14U, and it was really successful last year,” he continued. “We want to make this more about youth sports in general, and that’s why the prizes reflect that. Rather than a gift card or something, we’re going to try to give them experiences.”

The tournament will be divided into the same age groups as the previous year, with separate tournaments for each gender. Prizes include Aspen Snowmass 4-day flex passes, Sunlight Ski Mountain full-day passes, and Carbondale Rec Center 20-day punch passes. 

The prizes were donated by the various organizations that also sponsor the event, but according to Little, the goal is to purchase them and make it a day that locals carve out of their schedules every year to celebrate youth sports. 

“We are looking to continue this tradition for the next 20 years,” Little said. “The idea is to keep the kids active, and the earlier you start getting them out there, the better. I’m hoping to write a grant next year for Carbondale, where they would sponsor and actually buy the prizes. We’re definitely going to keep building on it.”

This year’s tournament will also give  local volleyball players a chance to play on the Association of Volleyball Professionals-quality sand that the Town of Carbondale installed earlier in 2026. 

The town budgeted $50,000 to import the sand from Denver. It is designed for grain size, shape, and consistency to help players avoid cuts and to ensure there is no dust or clay. The old sand that once called the Miners Park volleyball courts home was repurposed at the Carbondale Rodeo and Cemetery. The nets’ adjustability was also improved during the construction. 

The Miners Park improvements weren’t made just for local tournaments and have already seen increased usage — ranging from youth competitive club practices to informal, unorganized games. 

The tournament will begin at 9 a.m.  Saturday with pool play, then move into bracket-based elimination games in the afternoon, The second-ever Carbondale Open winners will be crowned before sunset. 

“Last year, we had about 20-30 teams,” Little said. “So, this year, we’re hoping for like 40 to 50, and really trying to get the word out on prizes. We’ll have girls’ and boys’ divisions and just a whole bunch of good athletes. It will all be two-on-two doubles, and they will form their own teams.

“Since we’ll have so many prizes and not everyone is going to make it into the afternoon play, we’ll do something at the end of pool play as well,” he continued. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, and these kids will have a lot of chances to win some cool prizes.”

For more information or to register, visit maroonbelles.com.