Thirty-six volleyball teams. Thirty-seven boys and girls cross country teams. Eleven swim and dive teams.

That volume of teams will be in action this weekend (Friday Sept. 7 and Saturday Sept. 8) at marquee events around the East Valley.

Starting the weekend off is the 21st annual Westwood Tournament of Champions Volleyball Invitational. The 36 teams will compet Friday and Saturday at Mesa, Red Mountain, Skyline and Westwood high schools. Pool play begins Friday at noon and continues through late afternoon. It resumes on Saturday at 9 a.m. Beginning at 1 p.m. (or shortly thereafter), four single-elimination brackets will be formed based on pool play results. The top nine teams compete Saturday afternoon at Westwood with the finals set for late afternoon/early evening.

Teams competing are: POOL A (Westwood) --  Gilbert, Mountain Pointe, Pinnacle, Ironwood, Ironwood Ridge, Chandler, Desert Mountain, Westwood and McClintock. POOL B (Mesa High) -- Horizxon, Sunnyslope, Corona del Sol, Seton, Mesa Mountain View, Deer Valley, Mesa, Canyon del Oro and Cibola. POOL C (Red Mountain) -- Xavier, Hamilton, Desert Vista, Desert Ridge, Chaparral, Red Mountain, Saguaro, Queen Creek, Dobson. POOL D (Skyline) -- Mountain Ridge, Centennial, Basha, Highland, Thatcher, Salpointe, Marcos de Niza, Cactus Shadows and Skyline.

The annual Chandler Invitational cross country  meet gets things rolling Saturday morning. The races will be held at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler, located at the intersection of Germann and McQueen roads in Chandler. Meet format is four races each for boys and girls beginning with a freshman race at 8:20 a.m., sophomore race at 8:55, junior race at 9:30 and senior race at 10:05. Schools top finisher in each race score for their team. (Example -- If a school has the top finisher in each race their score is 4 (1+1+1+1).

Also the annual Mesa Swim and Dive Relays put on by Mesa Public Schools takes place Saturday at Kino Junior High's Aquatic Center in Mesa (intersection of Horne and Browne roads in Mesa). Relays begin at 9 a.m. as well as girls diving. Boys diving commences one-half hour after the completion of girls diving. Schools competing are Cibola, Desert Ridge, Gila Ridge, Kofa, Gilbert Classical Academy, North, Dobson, Mesa, Mountain View, Red Mountain and Westwood.