End of the AVP Loss to Beach Vollyeball Fans Commentary, PubClub.com

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End of the AVP Loss to Beach Vollyeball Fans Commentary

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The news the AVP foled came on Friday the 13th and has a sad effect on the beach cities community.

AVP's Loss is South Bay's Loss
Beach Cities Feel The Pain of No AVP

Top loss of the AVP is a hit to the Manhattan Open and the community.

The announcement came on a Friday.

Friday the 13th.

On an overcast day in Manhattan Beach.

How appropriate.

The Association of Volleyball Professionals – or AVP – announced its tour is over and that it has closed its doors after 23 years. It occurred one week before the 50th anniversary of the Manhattan Open, also known as the Wimbledon of beach volleyball.

The knowledgeable Manhattan Beach crowd watches from the sand.

While there's still a Manhattan Open – the California Beach Volleyball Assn. is producing a watered-down version Aug. 20-22 with no grandstands and back-to-the-original rules with a longer court, white 18-panel ball and side-outs – the demise of the AVP is a still tough pill for many in the beach cities to swallow.

Manhattan Beach is, in fact, the very birthplace of the sport and the pier has two rows of plaques recognizing the winners of the events. Getting a plaque on the pier is a moment of great pride for the players. "Winning Manhattan" is their ultimate professional goal.

Every weekend in the summer, there is some type of tournament happening in Manhattan or neighboring Hermosa Beach, and recreational players fill up the courts from El Porto to the "wall" in Redondo. Beach volleyball is more a part of the local culture than even surfing.

The 2009 AVP Manhattan Beach Open.

Not to have a pro beach volleyball tour to follow the players – many of whom live in the South Bay and are friends of those recreational players – is like a city losing a sports franchise. There's a void that can't be replaced.

And what will become of the Bud Light Lime Hermosa Beach Open, which gave the area a great 1-2 punch of the pros?

The AVP events are not just about the volleyball, they are one of the area's top party events, when people gather at the beach, watch matches, then talk about those matches and the players afterward in the bars. Sports and suds – it's what the beach life is all about here.

The Sunday night players parties are social highlights of the summer.

It's difficult to see other "specialty sports" – snowboarding, poker – thrive while the AVP has died. And it's easy to ask, "where did the AVP go wrong?"

That's hard for me to say, frankly. But the FIVB world tour has taken away may of the international players and has had an impact on the AVP. Its title sponsor the past few years, Croc's, flopped (though it did pick up Nivea as title sponsor for 2010). It's not on ESPN and never has been, at least with any consistency. A solid TV contract is the lifeblood of any sport these days.

It definitely got too big – and too arrogant – at one point, even challenging Manhattan Beach over charging admission that could have kicked the AVP off Manhattan's beach forever before backing down and reaching a compromise.

There have been rumors in 2010 about management issues, but I'm not close enough to the situation to provide commentary on this issue. Anyway, this is not a column to point fingers and assign blame. It's simply to express the sadness of the South Bay beach cities volleyball community that the organization running their favorite participation sport has dissolved.

It's sad, like a favorite band breaking up or a USC fan having to live through four years of NCAA probation. Life certainly goes on, but it's definitely missing a fun diversion.

At least there's still a Manhattan Open. And it's back to its roots with no grandstands, no reserved seat admission, no thunder sticks and pumped-up introductions for the finals.

Babes and beach volleyball went togetherwell at AVP events.
Bottom Photo: Scott Peterson

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