Dig it, dudes: Beach volleyball regaining its vibe

By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer

Beach volleyball is on the verge of regaining its lost vibe.

Five years after the Association of Volleyball Professionals filed for bankruptcy protection, the tour seems to have its act together. The AVP celebrates its 20th anniversary starting this weekend with a tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The tour is backed by a lineup of big-time sponsors, will have six live network TV shows in August and, with the Olympics about 1{ years away, are at peace with the sport's international governing body.

The sport turned on the sex appeal for the last two Summer Games, including a rocking show at Sydney's Bondi Beach, but struggled in the United States in non-Olympic years.

``The tour is maybe at a point where the future is the brightest out of all these 20 years,'' said Karch Kiraly, the game's most recognizable star and still playing at 42. ``It's probably on its best foundation ever.''

That's mostly due to Leonard Armato, who helped found the AVP and used to be the agent for Shaquille O'Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Armato, married to beach volleyball star Holly McPeak, bought the AVP in 2001 and unified the men's and women's tours. Then he went to work wooing sponsors and NBC to help revive the sport.

``The problem with the AVP in the past was almost like a California subculture meeting big-time sports,'' Armato said from his Los Angeles-area office. ``There was a collision there, and the AVP didn't have the infrastructure to support its needs.''

In the formative years on Southern California's beaches, a two-man team got pitchers of beer or dinner at a steakhouse for winning a tournament. Now, partners split up to $17,500 for winning a tournament, and there's equal money for the men and women.

Kiraly has won three Olympic volleyball gold medals, including the first beach gold at Atlanta in 1996 with Kent Steffes. He's the winningest player in beach volleyball history with 143 titles, and has earned more than $3 million playing on the sand.

Even though AVP players won gold medals at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics, the tour has been known as much for infighting and mismanagement as it has for bronzed bodies flying across the sand.

``The tour itself has always been an exciting product and an entertaining one,'' Kiraly said. ``We've got great players, but the business side has not always been run smoothly.''

The tour is now called the AVP Nissan Series, and among the other sponsors are Bud Light, Xbox and Gatorade.

``Now we have the runway to bring this sport to the fans in a more compelling way,'' Armato said. ``We believe that once people experience an AVP event, they'll be hooked and become fans.''

NBC will increase its live broadcasts from two to six, including the first live coverage of AVP women's finals.

The women's and men's finals to be shown live will be at Manhattan Beach, Calif., on Aug. 9-10; Huntington Beach, Calif., on Aug. 16-17; and at Chicago's North Avenue Beach on Aug. 30-31.

The tour's other stops are at Tempe, Ariz., April 25-27; Hermosa Beach, Calif., June 6-8; San Diego June 13-15; Belmar, N.J., July 25-27; Las Vegas Sept. 4-6; and a tournament at Carson, Calif., Sept. 4-6 that counts toward Olympic qualifying.

Armato has patched up the AVP's bitter differences with the FIVB, the international governing body that runs the Olympic qualifying process.

To qualify for Athens, players must earn points over the next two seasons on the FIVB tour. There are some conflicts this year between the FIVB and AVP tours, but the AVP is promoting the FIVB tournament in Carson in September.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)