Association of Volleyball Professionals
The AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) was founded in 1983 by Leonard Armato. The organization started its own American beach volleyball men's tour in 1984. By the late 80's, the tour was experiencing tremendous growth, in part through the promotion of the sport by successful players such as Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, Mike Dodd, and Tim Hovland.
The early to mid 90's are seen by many as the "glory years" of the AVP as the tour corporate sponsorship, and thus, prize money, was at its peak. This period was largely dominated by the team of volleyball legend Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes. The AVP also begun to hold women's events, competing with the WPVA tour.
By 1997, the tour was in decline under mounting financial problems as sponsors began to withdraw support for the sport. The organization entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998.
In 2001, Leonard Armato returned to revamp the AVP. The organization united the men's and women's beach volleyball tours under one umbrella. The AVP became the focal point around which professional beach volleyball in the United States currently (2007) revolves. The international counterpart to the AVP is the FIVB.
The AVP represents professional beach volleyball via tours that are broadcast over television networks like NBC and Versus.
At all tournament finals, the players are introduced by Chris McGee, commonly known as "Geeter."
The top players on the 2005 AVP tour were Jake Gibb / Stein Metzger on the men's side and Kerri Walsh-Jennings / Misty May-Treanor on the women's side.
The top players on the 2006 AVP tour were Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers on the men's side. Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh-Jennings were the top players on the women's side. The top rivals, respectively were Mike Lambert/Stein Metzger on the men's side and Rachel Wacholder/Elaine Youngs on the women's side.
The current sponsor of the AVP tour is Crocs.
Other notable AVP Players are:
Karch Kiraly Misty May-Treanor
Phil Dalhausser Kerri Walsh-Jennings
Mike Lambert Holly McPeak
Stein Metzger Elaine Youngs
Dax Holdren Rachel Wacholder
Jeff Nygaard Jennifer Boss
Jake Gibb Tyra Turner
Matt Fuerbringer Makare Wilson
Casey Jennings Semirames "Mimi" Amaral
Todd Rogers Tatiana "Tati" Minello
Dain Blanton Jenny Johnson Jordan
Eric Fonoimoana Annett Davis
Sean Scott Suzanne Stonebarger
Adam Johnson Michelle More
Kevin Wong Nicole Branagh
Official Anthem
"We Are the AVP" is the official anthem of the AVP. It was written by AVP player Mike Lambert. Lambert has played the song at many AVP tournaments.
Source:
Association of Volleyball Professionals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AVP Tour - A Brief History
AVP Tour - A Brief History
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