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The beach party is off as the AVP closes its doors but Manhattan Beach Open will continue.

AVP Ends In Middle of 2010 Season
Beach Volleyball Still Coming to Manhattan

Todd Rogers in the AVP in Hermosa Beach, CA.

The beach volleyball party is off for the rest of 2010.

The Association of Volleyball Professionals – or AVP – has closed its doors. This means the remaining five events of a 12-stop tour will not take place.

This includes the one that started it all, the Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball, the AVP Bud Light Manhattan Open in Manhattan Beach. There will, however, be a Manhattan Open, a small three-day event with no grandstands run by the California Beach Volleyball Assn.

"On behalf of AVP staff we want to express our sincere gratitude to fans, players, partners and sponsors,” said Jason Hodell, AVP CEO. “Words cannot express our profound disappointment.”

“Through the course of this investor search we have encountered individuals and groups with intelligence, common sense and a passion for the game of beach volleyball,” said Mike Dodd, AVP commissioner. “Unfortunately, the time constraints were such that pulling the trigger on the amount of money necessary to salvage this season were too great.

"Ironically this sad news comes as we approach the 50th anniversary of the Manhattan Open, our sport’s crown jewel and the one event that showed us all we could dream big. The Open has seen its ups and downs over the years and always persevered. I’m sure our sport will do the same.”

The 2010 season originally contained six venues in Southern California and traditional stops in South Florida, Virginia, Chicago New Jersey and even Ohio. Plus, an event in California that normally does not host beach volleyball tournaments – San Francisco's Bay Area

Beach volleyball is a both a sport and a lifestyle, one of the most fan-friendly events in all of sports. Spectators can walk right up to courts and see the best players in the world competing just a couple of feet away from them.

Plus, it's on the beach! Or it was, anyway. Enjoy this look at AVP action, when it was happening.

PubClub.com will provide any updates on the future of the AVP here.

Photo: Scott Peterson

Scenes from the beach – volleyball, babes and bikinis.

One of the great benefits of the Southern California events is that fans get to see and mingle with the Bud Light girls. Not only do the Bud Light girls enhance the beach in their bikinis and pass out items to spectators, but they go into the bars, too

The Bud Light girls enhance AVP tournaments in California.

And bars are big part of the AVP experience for everyone.

The beachside bars do booming business during AVP events.

– AVP 2010 DATES, VENUES–

BOLD indicates tournaments that are now cancelled.

* This event was originally scheduled for Malibu but now a California Beach Volleyball Association qualifier will take place in Malibu with the AVP Tour in Long Beach.

ESPN 2 and ABC are televising men's and women's events in 2010, mostly on a tape-delayed basis.

– AVP STORY LINKS –

• The Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball: Manhattan Open
• Manhattan Open: 2009 Winners & Coverage
• Manhattan Open: Photos From Past Years
• Hermosa Beach Open: 2009 Winners & Coverage
• Hermosa Open: Photos From Past Years
• Huntington Beach Open: Photos & Info
• AVP Dancers: Photos & Interview
• AVP: One Of the Top Fan-Friendly Sports
• Manhattan Open: Six-Man Demo 2009
• A Look at a Past Venue: San Diego, 2003
• AVP Website: AVP.com

The AVP Dancers help heat up the sand at select tournaments.

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