AVP - Association of Volleyball Professionals

AVP Supports Volleyball Players for 25 Years

Jul 7, 2008

Over a million people attend AVP Volleyball events in the United States enjoying a beach party atmosphere at games.

The Association of Volleyball Professionals was formed in 1983 and reorganized in 2001 to include both men’s and women’s competitions. It is currently the only professional volleyball association touring the United States. The AVP is Beach Volleyball games with setups on real sand in the court.

Popular Women’s Teams

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are perhaps one of the most popular of the AVP women’s team. They have won 15 tournament titles and the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games. Both are preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in August.

Jenny Johnson Jordan and Annett Davis are the longest playing team in the women’s AVP history with over 100 games together. ‘Triple J’ and Davis played together at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Also headed to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs.

First Indoor Winter Tour

For the 2007 winter AVP launched a 19 game series titled Hot Winter Nights. It was the first indoor beach volleyball tour and was picked up again for 2008 starting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in January. Hot Winter Nights ran to mid-February 2008 where it ended its tour in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Typical Event

Attending a typical AVP Volleyball tour event can be fun for the whole family. Young people interested in the sport enjoy the opportunity to meet their favorite players between games. Some tour locations offer a family discount for a party of four while other locations offer a discount to see the full event.

Several games are played over two to three days or evenings at each location. Tickets are purchased to watch men’s or women’s matches or in combination to see all games for the duration of the event. It is recommended to purchase tickets in advance so that a preferred time or day can be reserved.

2008 Summer Tour

The 2008 AVP summer tour started April 11th in Miami and will end September 27th in Glendale, Arizona. Stops include California, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, New Jersey, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas, Colorado and Florida.

Volleyball Resources

The National Governing Body of volleyball in the U.S. is the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA). The USVBA is recognized by the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). It is not exclusive to beach volleyball.

The Beach Volleyball Database keeps an online record of international Beach Volleyball games. Statistics can be searched by player, tournament, rank, awards, leaders and more.

AVP Contact Details

The copyright of the article AVP - Association of Volleyball Professionals in Beach Volleyball is owned by Amy Kreydin. Permission to republish AVP - Association of Volleyball Professionals in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.