Sinjin Smith

Christopher St. John ("Sinjin") Smith (born May 7, 1957 in Santa Monica, California) is a professional beach volleyball player. He won one U.S. championship and two World championships with Randy Stoklos.

The oldest elite player in the world, Smith has competed in more beach volleyball events than any other player. He and Carl Henkel tied for fifth at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Smith played his first pro open in 1977 with beach volleyball legend Ron Von Hagen before winning his first title with Mike Normand the same season.

Smith is currently the president of the FIVB World Beach Volleyball Council. He was also the second volleyball player to be inducted into UCLA Sports Hall of Fame (1991, Ernie Suwara the first). A former member of the U. S. National team (1979-1982), Smith led UCLA to two National Championships (1976 and 1979) while earning All-American honors. He was the Most Valuable Player in the 1979 championships. His college jersey (#22) was retired March 4, 1992 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

Named Christopher St. John Smith, "Sinjin" is the Old English pronunciation of St. John. He has been featured in more than 20 commercials while appearing in several television series, including "Magnum PI" He also starred in Tri-Star Pictures release "Side Out!" He has also authored a book ("Kings Of the Beach") and has a computer game under the same title. He and his wife (Patty) have three boys. He currently is a TV commentator for most AVP tournaments along with Karch Kiraly.

References

* [http://www.volleyball.org/people/sinjin_smith.html Sinjin Smith] , biography from Volleyball World Wide.
* [http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=151 Profile] at the Beach Volleyball Database
* [http://www.volleyhall.org/smith.html Sinjin Smith] , Biography from the Volleyball Hall of Fame