RAPID CITY - The South Dakota state volleyball tournament rolls into the Rapid City Rushmore Plaza Civic Center for the first time since 2003.

For the large number of fans who will attend the event, including many from Rapid City Central, Stevens and St. Thomas More, participation will be relatively simple. Plunk down some bucks for a ticket, a few more for suitable snacks and settle into a comfortable seat to await the first serve for the tournament that runs from Thursday through Saturday.

As for all the essentials necessary to make possible that first contact between hand and ball leave those to Darren Paulson and Tyler Rachetto. The activities directors at Central and Stevens high schools, respectively, who jointly are serving as event managers of this year's tournament.

"Jo Auch, of the South Dakota High School Activities Association, is actually the director of the tournament," Paulson said. "We have been busy for the last month discussing plans and trying to make sure that everything will be ready to go on Thursday. We've actually been working on it since right after the state tennis tournament. But because she is in Pierre and there are so many logistical matters that have to be worked out, local involvement by the high schools is essential to host a state tournament."

Essential might be an understatement. While the SDHSAA takes care of officials - as voted upon by the state volleyball coaches - and arranges boarding for the participating teams.

But many of the items fans take for granted at a sporting event are handled at the local level. Paulson, Rachetto and their staffs arrange for programs, T-shirt sales, tickets and the recruiting and scheduling of the 100 or so workers and volunteers who do everything from scoring, to time-keeping, to taking tickets, to crowd control.

"Yes, that would be us," Paulson said. "All of those items fall into the hands of the local public schools that are hosting the event. It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort, and I certainly could not do it without a superb, supportive staff."

Paulsen is also quick to point out that without the outstanding cooperation of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, the patience and cooperation of assistant general managerJayne Kraemer and events coordinator Paul Sterling the tournament simply could not go on.

Sterling, former activities director at Stevens High School, helps to coordinate Civic Center participation in performing those functions required by the SDHSAA and requested by Darren Paulson.

"I have some experience from Darren's perspective when I worked as an AD which helps," Sterling said. "But now instead of being the person running the tournament, I just help coordinate and communicate Darren's wishes to our staff. Manuel Davila, civic center operations manager and his people do everything else including setting up the special sport court surface on the arena floor and installing all of the volleyball equipment which they did this past weekend.

"After that, it's kind of like trying to host a big party and provide rooms and food and entertainment for a number of guests and you don't know for sure how many are going to show up."

"I suppose it is a lot of work," Paulson said. "But it is also satisfying to see it all come together, and to be able to bring an event like this to the Rapid City sports community. And when the games begin, the fun begins for everybody, including me."