Growing pro beach volleyball in the U.S. "certainly doesn't seem to be top-of-mind" when the National Volleyball League (NVL) and Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) "share a championship weekend on separate beaches, dividing fans and players," according to Jenni Renee Sullivan of ESPNW. For decades, the AVP was the "most successful" tour in the country, "attracting media attention, heaps of sponsorship dollars, and a fan base that packed stands to see the sport's premier personality players." But after a "series of mismanagement issues, the iconic brand went bankrupt, for a second time," in '10. The AVP in '12 was "given new life when it was purchased" by Donald Sun. Following the purchase, "many players who had been playing in the NVL were lured back" to the AVP. But a number of players "bounced between the two leagues" until the AVP asked its players to "sign exclusivity contracts." A first AVP-NVL event overlap occurred in '13, but when dueling events happened again this past weekend, it was "met with groans." The NVL tourney was "on the calendar weeks before the AVP announced its date," but the AVP said that it had to "contend with a scheduling conflict initiated" by the sport's governing body, FIVB, which rescheduled a Brazilian event on the AVP's original championship date. Not "wanting to risk losing the top-ranked players" from the final event of the season, Sun "moved his tournament up one week, to NVL's date." Meanwhile, AVP CEO Albert Hannemann has started a venture "with Club Med to develop world-class training facilities" and started the "first U.S. beach volleyball academy" in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Sun and his team are also "paying close attention to the opportunities that lie outside elite-level pro tournament events." With the AVPNext developmental program, the league hopes to "host 16 regional events for up-and-coming players next season" (ESPNW.com, 9/23).
