The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) has announced its 2018 tour stops. The oldest and most prestigious American beach tour, the AVP’s announcement came on the same day as its status was challenge – USA Volleyball announced a tour of its own – the USA National Beach Tour. Perhaps prompted by USA Volleyball’s announcement, the 2018 tour dates are being released much earlier than they were in 2017.
The tour will take a familiar route, once again opening in the beach mecca of Hungtingon Beach, California.
3 stops – New York City, Hermosa Beach, and Chicago – have been designated as AVP Gold events. Last year, the Gold Series offered larger purses. In 2017, that meant an increase from the standard $150,000 to $175,000 in New York City, $225,000 in Manhattan Beach, and $225,000 in Chicago. The design of that program for 2018 has not yet been announced.
This year’s events will be hosted in the same 8 cities as last year’s, as the AVP settles into a standard hosting rotation. That includes Hermosa Beach, which returned to the hosting rotation last year after 4 years aligned with the rival NVL – which cancelled most of its season last year.
| Huntington Beach | Austin | New York | Seattle | San Francisco | Hermosa Beach | Manhattan Beach | Chicago | |
| Men’s AVP Tournaments Hosted | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 29 | 30 | 28 |
| Women’s AVP Tournaments Hosted | 16 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 16 |
| Consecutive Years Hosted (through 2017) | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Last year’s Men’s Winnners | Dalhausser/Lucena | Dalhausser/Lucena | Crabb/Gibb | Allen/Slick | Loomis/McKibbin | Crabb/Gibb | Dalhausser/Lucena | Doherty/Hyden |
| Last year’s Women’s Winners | Day/Hochevar | Pavlik/A. Ross | Fendrick/A. Ross | S. Ross/Sweat | Flint/Larsen | Day/Hochevar | Day/Hochevar | Claes/Hughes |
While AVP events are free to the general public, VIP tickets are sold – which this year will open on January 1st for AVP members ($20/year) and January 15th for everyone else.
2018 Tour Dates
- Huntington Beach Open, California – May 3rd-6th
- Austin Open, Austin, Texas – May 17th-20th
- New York City Open – June 7th-10th (GOLD)
- Seattle Open, Washington – June 21st-24th
- San Francisco Open, California – July 5th-8th
- Hermosa Beach Open, California – July 26th-29th (GOLD)
- Manhattan Beach Open, California – August 16th-19th
- Chicago Open, Illinois – August 30th-September 2nd (GOLD)
Leave a Reply