15 Apr Business Gets Down and Dirty on the Beach
The business of beach volleyball takes a turn for the worse as Donald Sun and the AVP may be endangering the future of the entire sport. Only time will tell how this all plays out.
As an internet service provider for numerous news and sports outlets, and an avid fan and player for countless years, I felt that I couldn’t stay silent on this subject any longer. Late last week the 2013 AVP schedule was finally announced. They only have five events that conflict with two of the four NVL events that have been scheduled for several months. Needless to say it created a firestorm, especially when player and close associate Tarin Keith shared her thoughts about the 2013 AVP schedule.
An Open Letter to All Beach Volleyball “Professionals”
Donald Sun and the AVP have decided most of you are NOT professionals…
One of the players has shared with us the inside scoop about the “New” AVP (read it here). In his own words “I believe that the AVP made the right move scheduling conflicting events, and here’s why: we can’t survive, much less thrive, with competing “professional” tours” (note the quotes around “professional”). Evidently only the selected few that are being paid by Donald Sun and others who are privileged to compete can consider themselves professionals.
So it seems that if you are not one of the top 32 players in the country (by AVP standards) you are not a professional. You are only a developmental league player! It doesn’t matter that you train every day and compete in every money event possible (when you are not delivering pizza or whatever else you do so you can pursue the sport).
Deep Pockets and Short Memories
Donald Sun feels that he can make the NVL and other competing leagues go away by buying the player’s loyalty. I think it is great that a small group of players (some of whom are my friends) get a reasonable pay day (at least for this year and hopefully forever). Some players seem to have a very short memory. When competing at the NVL Preakness event in 2012, there were no AVP events scheduled. They also are ignoring the recent financial history of the AVP (including bankruptcies). At the moment it seems that the only difference between the new AVP and the old AVP is that Donald Sun has not run out of money yet. The players better hope that never happens, because the only professional league still standing will be the NVL. That may not be enough to carry this sport.
The Future of Professional Beach Volleyball
Here are some things everyone needs to know. The NVL is not going away any time soon. Donald Sun and his team know this, and if they thought otherwise they would not have bothered to overlap the NVL events.
AL-B (Albert Hannemann), Molly Menard, and Laura Ratto (and their team) have built a tour with a broad base that includes EVERYONE from youth to professional. They will continue to acquire more multi-year sponsors and media exposure. The prize money continues to grow (slowly). The NVL events are not just a series of pro exhibitions; they give anyone and everyone a chance to prove they belong. You can certainly count on some amazing new players competing in their events, shocking the fans, and providing the future for this sport and next generation of Olympians. If the “new” AVP follows the same path as the old AVP (hopefully not), the NVL will once again be the only hope for professional beach volleyball.
This sport needs both the AVP and NVL (and anyone else who dares to throw their hat in the ring) to have a chance to compete with the myriad of other professional sports. Together these two tours could be exactly what is needed to push pro beach volleyball to new heights.
Help Is NOT On The Way
Some of the players and fans have asked why USA Volleyball (the governing body) does not step in and protect the rest of the players. This is very disturbing and the fans need to draw their own conclusions on this. Who is on this board? Is there a conflict of interest that needs to be addressed? What kind of influence does the new AVP have on the board of USA Volleyball? Does USA Volleyball actually have any governing power? Why have they been silent through all of this? Why wouldn’t they do everything possible to protect all the players? You can see the list of current board members here: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/About-Us/Board-of-Directors.aspx.
Speak Now, Your Last Chance to be Heard
This sport will not survive with just one tour. There will be no way to build the next generation of beach volleyball professionals. The fan base and appeal will simply be too narrow to encourage sustained sponsorship. The fans and players are doomed to see a repeat of the recent past unless they speak up now.
Editors note: Andy LoCascio (learn more here) has never been employed by the NVL, Volleyball Vacations, AVP, or any other professional volleyball organization.