Frontwave Arena in Oceanside will soon be center stage for the first-ever SI Women's Games, bringing together Team Americas and Team World in a week of competition featuring some of the best female athletes on the planet.
The event is a partnership between Scripps Sports and Sports Illustrated, showcasing women's sports across multiple disciplines.
"7-6-0, you gotta pop out," said Oceanside native and WNBA rookie Te-Hina Paopao, who will be competing for Team Americas.
Paopao, who was drafted by the WNBA's Atlanta Dream in April, expressed excitement about returning to her hometown for the competition.
"I think it's great for the sport," Paopao told ABC 10News. "You can build relationships off of it, not only in the Americas, but internationally as well, and I'm just really excited to meet different athletes [from] all over the world because that's what basketball is all about."
Brie O'Reilly, a volleyball player from Canada, is equally enthusiastic about participating in the games.
"It's really rare to get to be a part of something that's whole purpose is to promote women's sports," O'Reilly said.
Both athletes shared their excitement about watching competitors from other sports perform at Frontwave Arena.
"Gymnastics right away, really intrigues me," O'Reilly said.
"I'm really excited about volleyball. I love watching volleyball. I watch volleyball all of the time," Paopao said.
"Flag football, also. I love football, and I do not know what to expect with that, and I think it will be really fun," O'Reilly added.
For Paopao, hosting the SI Women's Games in Oceanside makes the event particularly special.
"I just really hope a lot of people come out and just support women's basketball and just be able to come out and see what we're capable of doing. And I'm just really excited to have it in my hometown," Paopao said.
Pre-sale tickets were made available to our community starting on Thursday, Aug. 14; the pre-sale period ends at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16.
Below, you'll find links to the tickets for each event. Select "more info" in the pre-sales box and insert code "ABC10" to gain access:
For more information on the athletes and the games in general, visit the Sports Illustrated website.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
