Walsh Jennings for years objected to the AVP’s exclusive rights to her competition within the U.S.GETTY IMAGES
Kerri Walsh Jennings' p1440 volleyball series gets off the ground this weekend at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, and she thinks beach volleyball "can be more than something that gets noticed once every four years" at the Olympics, according to Ann Killion of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Walsh Jennings was "dissatisfied with the trajectory of her sport," so she decided to break with the AVP and "start her own tour." With only eight events per year, Walsh Jennings "objected to AVP’s exclusive rights to her competition" within the U.S. But she is "trying to be respectful of AVP, not scheduling any conflicting events." She has partnered with FIVB, and next month's Las Vegas p1440 event "will be an Olympic-qualifying tournament, giving participants a chance to earn qualifying points" for the '20 Tokyo Games. This weekend's three-day event is a "sports festival/experience, deriving its name from Walsh Jennings’ goal to live all 1,440 minutes of each day with a purpose." Her vision is "built on four pillars: competition, health and wellness, personal development and entertainment." The weekend includes a "professional beach-volleyball tournament, with a $300,000 purse prize, live music, guided meditation, yoga sessions, inspirational talks, nutrition information and more" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/26).
NEW THINKING: SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL's Ben Fischer noted the $300,000 purse at the San Jose event is "bigger than any single stop" on the AVP Tour this year. The p1440 series "offers athletes the prospect of more per-event prize money without asking them to forego other events, and the website notes it is 'created with athletes in mind.'" This year, the AVP gave out $1.46M in prize money "spread across eight stops." The "first four events of the p1440 tour" will total $1.2M in prizes. Walsh Jennings acknowledges that she "does not expect p1440 to be profitable in the near term with the larger purses and festival concept, but could not say when she projects profitability." Walsh Jennings recently hired WME to "represent her personal brand and assist p1440’s launch, possibly by aiding sponsorship sales" (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/24 issue).
