GULF SHORES, Ala. - Two cities in the history of the American Volleyball Coaches Association have one received a plaque for meritorious service.

One is quite famous for beach volleyball in Manhattan Beach, Calif., the birthplace of beach volleyball.

The other is on the verge of being famous for the sport, the city of Gulf Shores.

Philip Bryant, the Volleyball USA’s Gulf Coast Regional Commissioner wants to further that fame by bringing sand volleyball Olympic trials to Gulf Shores in 2016.

Bryant  made the award presentation to the City Council Monday night. It was part of his own presentation to get city backing for hosting the beach volleyball championships again this spring. The city pitched in about $30,000 for the April event.

Bryant says the bid has to be in by Oct. 1 and this time the bid will be for a three-year contract. The city’s performance, Bryant said, was the reason this year the AVCA is entertaining the idea of a three-year bid.

“They thought we were a great first date,” Bryant said. By Oct. 10 Bryant said the bid winner should be announced.

Gulf Shores was the site for the first AVCA sand volleyball championships April 27-29 and the services provided by the city left quite an impression on the volleyball world. Gulf Shores was chosen over three other cities vying for the 2012 event: Los Angeles and San Diego , Calif., and Orlando, Fla.

 “We are just receiving, still, an overwhelming response six months later,” Bryant told the council. “It’s captured the imagination of the volleyball community from hosting the national championships.”

The executive director of the AVCA shared her enthusiasm about Gulf Shores, too.

“Kathy DeBoer said ‘you will not find city services like this anywhere in California,’” Bryant said. “She was adamant about us having the opportunity to be the lead horse in the race for the subsequent bid coming up that we’re putting a package together on now.”

The city’s performance during the nationals earned it the R.L. Lindsey Award.

“It is for those individuals and organizations that set forth an effort to better the sport of volleyball and thus better communities,” Bryant said.

The infectious Bryant, who has been involved quite enthusiastically in volleyball indoors and out for years in Gulf Shores and the region, got a little gig from Mayor Robert Craft.

“Now, if we can just get him to think a little bigger and have a little more enthusiasm, who knows where we can go,” Craft deadpanned.

Bryant had an answer for that as well. Not only does he want to win the bid for three years of hosting the national championships, he has an even bigger volleyball prize in mind.

“In 2016 we’d like to be a frontrunner to host the NORCECA qualifier for the Rio Olympics,” he said. “NORSECA is North America, Central America and the Caribbean zone. They would compete to qualify for the Rio Olympics in beach volleyball.

“It was in the Caribbean four years ago, Canada for the Beijing Olympics, so somebody in America is going to get it. It would be great if it was Gulf Shores, Alabama.”

Exposure received at the recent nationals and subsequent nationals could play a major factor in securing the Olympic qualifier.

CBS filmed the nationals in April and aired three one-hour shows on the event.

“CBS has estimated 3.1 million people in those three telecasts viewed the volleyball that was played on the beach in Gulf Shores,” Bryant said. “That far surpasses heads in beds. We are out in the national and international eye.”

Those numbers left Councilman Jason Dyken agog.

“The intangible exposure this beach had and this city had to the world, 3.1million, there’s no way we can pay for that kind of exposure that we couldn’t afford otherwise,” Dyken said. “Having you lead the charge for us to even talk about having an Olympic trial in our community of 10,000 people, that gives me chill bumps.”

Councilman Phillip Harris had similar praise for Bryant.

“Without you and your passion, it wouldn’t happen,” Harris said.

Bryant said he believes hosting volleyball tournaments can become a stable in Gulf Shores, similar to the College World Series in baseball in Omaha, Neb.

“We could become the Omaha of sand volleyball,” he said.