Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

I've been delinquent in my reporting here.  I was out at MBO and Chicago.  Ran into Molly at MBO.  They didn't get out of the qualifiers on Thurs.  She said she was moving "out here" (presumably South Bay) and looking to give the beach volleyball circuit a go.  I saw on http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=23586 that she made $250 in some FIVB events in China.  Hopefully we see her getting into a few main draws going forward.  I'd also love to see some of the current UT Beach girls out there accumulating tour points.

Other takeaways:

- you guys already mentioned it.  The city franchise approach is contrived.  Beach volleyball doesn't lend itself to that approach.  If I thought about it, I could probably come up with more, but off the top of my head, here are my problems with it:

  • It's awkward to have only four people representing a city.  It's possible we're just accustomed to at least a dozen people (e.g. NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, etc) for a given city and there's nothing inherently wrong with only four.
  • If the men's team wins and the women's team loses, is it a draw for the city?  How do standings work?  I'm sure they explain this, but the fact that I don't know and don't have a strong desire to look into it should be an indication that this concept is in trouble
  • Indoor volleyball probably has a chance with city franchises because they play best of 5 sets, you get 2-3 hours of entertainment, the season is long enough to build a relationship with fans, and you have a clear winner/loser.  With this concept, you have one or two events per city, you get 1.5-2 hrs of competition, and they may split?
  • The team names seem like a product of someone who fed the following into a GenAI tool: "Give me team nicknames for [insert cities] where only one or two of the nicknames have some semblance of a meaningful tie to the city/region, give me lots of alliteration, and all of the nicknames must be so generic that there is no way any of them can be perceived as offensive to anyone.  Hint: check out American Gladiators for name ideas."

- I'm interested in some of the physique trends year over year.  I noted last year that there were a handful that really hit the weights and bulked up.  This year, those same people who were bulked up last year came back to normal and several others looked notably lighter.  Scoles was one who looked really physically strong last year, but I was questioning the wisdom of the added weight and pounding on her joints as a blocker after she had leg injuries.  She still looks strong, but probably at a better weight for longevity now.  Bourne looked lighter.  I barely recognized Terese Cannon as she lost quite a bit of weight - she wasn't heavy to begin with and she isn't "skinny" now, but a noticeable change.  Lighter seems to be the way to go in 2024.

- Took a walk out on the pier to find Coach's plaques.  Looking forward to him bringing beach volleyball hardware to Austin.

IMG_1246.jpeg

IMG_1245.jpeg

Edited by BadgerHorn
Posted
5 hours ago, BadgerHorn said:

 

- you guys already mentioned it.  The city franchise approach is contrived.  Beach volleyball doesn't lend itself to that approach.  If I thought about it, I could probably come up with more, but off the top of my head, here are my problems with it:

  • It's awkward to have only four people representing a city.  It's possible we're just accustomed to at least a dozen people (e.g. NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, etc) for a given city and there's nothing inherently wrong with only four.
  • If the men's team wins and the women's team loses, is it a draw for the city?  How do standings work?  I'm sure they explain this, but the fact that I don't know and don't have a strong desire to look into it should be an indication that this concept is in trouble
  • Indoor volleyball probably has a chance with city franchises because they play best of 5 sets, you get 2-3 hours of entertainment, the season is long enough to build a relationship with fans, and you have a clear winner/loser.  With this concept, you have one or two events per city, you get 1.5-2 hrs of competition, and they may split?
  • The team names seem like a product of someone who fed the following into a GenAI tool: "Give me team nicknames for [insert cities] where only one or two of the nicknames have some semblance of a meaningful tie to the city/region, give me lots of alliteration, and all of the nicknames must be so generic that there is no way any of them can be perceived as offensive to anyone.  Hint: check out American Gladiators for name ideas."

 

Yep. All of this. Pretty much point for point what I've been thinking about it. Beach Volleyball is best as a tournament sport, and it's not remotely close. I also think they're discounting what previous leaders of the AVP always understood - that a major component of the AVP's allure is the beach lifestyle aspect. Having short events that are expensive to attend, like these league events, pales in comparison to having a tournament, even on an artificial 'beach' in a park. They will have completely neutered one of the main reasons attend AVP events, while also having fewer and fewer tournaments. 

I'm as big of an AVP fan as there ever was. 10 years ago I never would have even considered skipping an AVP event in Austin. But that's exactly what I'll be doing when our weekend rolls around. If they're losing people like me, well, that's a very bad sign.

It's crazy and stupid.

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
Quote

Beach volleyball is back on TV! We are thrilled to announce that the AVP League will be airing on CBS Sports EVERY SUNDAY starting with this weekend’s event in Austin, TX. Watch the Austin Aces face off against the Palm Beach Passion in two action-packed AVP League matches on the CBS Sports Network this Sunday from 4pm to 6pm Central! 

Posted

Oh, that's today? I forgot it was even happening. The AVP is in Austin, and for the first time since about 1991, I have zero desire to attend. Well done, AVP!! Bravo!

  • 3 months later...
Posted (edited)

Well, they announced the 2025 season... and of course the AVP website is not updated after the news being out several days.  They wonder why they can't make money... 🤦‍♂️

Way too heavy on the league events in my opinion.  I get that they decided the tournament format isn't financially viable, but I really struggle to see how the league events are.  After going to a handful of tournaments every year, I haven't been to a single league event, so I can't tell what revenue they're generating there.  Can't help but think there are ways to make the tournaments work.

From Sandcast, it sounds like they bumped up the payouts for the league, so there should be decent competition to get into that.  But those who don't get into the league are polishing resumes?  Are we going to see higher level talent at the contender events?

 

image.thumb.png.20144680eef6ceebc1e89a4d3396fb87.png

Edited by BadgerHorn
  • Rage+1 1
Posted
On 1/31/2025 at 6:31 AM, BadgerHorn said:

Well, they announced the 2025 season... and of course the AVP website is not updated after the news being out several days.  They wonder why they can't make money... 🤦‍♂️

Way too heavy on the league events in my opinion.  I get that they decided the tournament format isn't financially viable, but I really struggle to see how the league events are.  After going to a handful of tournaments every year, I haven't been to a single league event, so I can't tell what revenue they're generating there.  Can't help but think there are ways to make the tournaments work.

From Sandcast, it sounds like they bumped up the payouts for the league, so there should be decent competition to get into that.  But those who don't get into the league are polishing resumes?  Are we going to see higher level talent at the contender events?

 

image.thumb.png.20144680eef6ceebc1e89a4d3396fb87.png

Yeah, the lack of website updates is frustrating—feels like a small thing that adds up when it comes to fan engagement. I’m also skeptical about the league format being the long-term solution. Without the traditional tournaments, it’s hard to see how they keep the broader audience interested. The payout bump is nice, but if you’re outside the league, it seems like a tough road. Hopefully, the contender events step up in quality, or we might see a serious talent drain

Posted (edited)
18 hours ago, Greer01 said:

Yeah, the lack of website updates is frustrating—feels like a small thing that adds up when it comes to fan engagement. I’m also skeptical about the league format being the long-term solution. Without the traditional tournaments, it’s hard to see how they keep the broader audience interested. The payout bump is nice, but if you’re outside the league, it seems like a tough road. Hopefully, the contender events step up in quality, or we might see a serious talent drain

On 1/30/2025 at 7:01 PM, BadgerHorn said:

Well, they announced the 2025 season... and of course the AVP website is not updated after the news being out several days.  They wonder why they can't make money... 🤦‍♂️

Way too heavy on the league events in my opinion.  I get that they decided the tournament format isn't financially viable, but I really struggle to see how the league events are.  After going to a handful of tournaments every year, I haven't been to a single league event, so I can't tell what revenue they're generating there.  Can't help but think there are ways to make the tournaments work.

From Sandcast, it sounds like they bumped up the payouts for the league, so there should be decent competition to get into that.  But those who don't get into the league are polishing resumes?  Are we going to see higher level talent at the contender events?

Yeah the league format is beyond silly on multiple levels imho, and re: the website lagging reality, it's another symptom of a long pattern of mismanagement by the AVP. Oh, what could have been.

Only 2 open tourneys. No Hermosa, again. Chicago as a league event. Etc. It's like they're trying to kill the AVP. The long, slow decline since the FIVB changed the rules has been painful to watch.

Edited by wood
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Heard the injury was pickleball related?

Big opportunity for Molly.  She's been stuck in the middle of the AVP main draw crowd for yrs.  I think she's been playing with Toni Rodriguez lately and they had some good results, which may have caught Kelly's attention.  Suspect Kelly's partner search was limited with the other littles figuring or being told this was temporary until Sara gets back.

  • 3 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

If the AVP continues in this vein, I'll probably be pretty much done with 'em. But the Hermosa Beach Open ain't dead yet ...

caddyshack-bill-murray.gif

Remember former AVP pro Mark Paaluhi, who played in the 90s? When the AVP stupidly dropped Hermosa from the calendar, Mark stepped in to keep the event alive, with a homegrown effort funded by donations. I met Mark back then. He was a helluva nice guy and an amazing player in the heyday of the sport. When I found out he was responsible for reviving the Hermosa Beach Open, I wasn't surprised in the least.

Mark Paaluhi, the Hermosa Open, And A Revival of Beach Volleyball’s Purity  https://sandcastvolleyball.com/mark-paaluhi-the-hermosa-open-and-a-revival-of-beach-volleyballs-purity/#:~:text=View Larger Image-,Mark Paaluhi%2C the Hermosa Open%2C And A,Revival of Beach Volleyball's Purity&text=The 2025 Hermosa Open will,to raise it to %24200%2C000.

Quote

The 2025 Hermosa Open will be held on September 4-7, with a 32-team main draw. Eight teams will come from a single-elimination qualifier. Currently, prize money stands at $130,000 minimum, and Mark Paaluhi is seeking to raise it to $200,000. 

...

“A lot of people love our sport, and a lot of people want to support it,” Paaluhi said. “Everybody loves our sport and it’s very simple. It’s not complicated. Unfortunately for us as fans and spectators, people overcomplicate it. They want a return, and I get it, but it’s not how this sport works.”

Paaluhi competed as a professional mostly from 1994-2000, sprinkling in more events up through 2009. He witnessed, first-hand, the halcyon days of the sport, when the format and rules were simple, the sport devoid of what he sees as unnecessary complications that have plagued the game for decades. That’s what he brought back in Hermosa: a double-elimination format, a pure open concept that didn’t limit the field, a set-up that remained within the means of what he had raised and promised to sponsors.

“I just don’t understand what is wrong with our sport that we have so much change in the past 20 or 30 years and there was nothing wrong with our sport in my opinion,” he said. “Some changes to the rules, little ones here and there, yeah they benefitted the sport. Let’s do it. Let’s move on. But the massive part of the format, the scoring, I don’t understand it – pool play? Modified pool play? It’s all a joke to me. Lucky loser? I just don’t understand it. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. Once you start a competition, you let the competition go and let the dominoes go where they fall. You let them play. That’s what the competition’s for. You let them play. You seed it prior to results, today’s a new tournament, let’s fire it off. That’s why we got the Hermosa Open.”

And that is perhaps why it was universally loved by both the players and the city. Dutch wild cards Leon Luini and Ruben Penninga lost both of their matches in Hermosa. From a sporting sense, sure, they were disappointed. They had just come off an impressive showing at an Elite16 in Hamburg, Germany, and they couldn’t even beat a few lower-seeded American teams who don’t even play internationally?

It was their favorite event of the year.

A city councilman had come down to the tournament and spoke with the first players he saw. Those players were Penninga and Luini, who told him that it was their first time in the United States.

“And you came to Hermosa Beach?” the councilman responded, a bit bewildered.

“Yeah!” they both replied in a manner that was not difficult to hear their enthusiasm.

“That was one of the first things they brought up at the City Council,” Paaluhi said.

There will be more of the same in 2025. Paaluhi is bringing back the elements that worked so well a year ago: the double-elim, the open format, the player parties at Tower 12, the grassroots marketing, all of it.

“Our whole sport has lost the lifestyle, and that’s the biggest selling point we have,” he said. “We have the lifestyle.”

And, whether Paaluhi intended it or not, Hermosa Beach will have it for another three years.

By all accounts, the 2024 event - with a field full of AVP pros - was an incredible weekend. 

Hermosa Open Recap: The Vibes, The Partnerships, The Play — The Purest Beach Volleyball Tournament https://sandcastvolleyball.com/hermosa-open-recap-the-vibes-the-partnerships-the-play-the-purest-beach-volleyball-tournament/

This year, there will be a full traditional 4-day TRUE double elimination tourney (yes, complete with the potential for a double final), with a 32 team draw, 8 of which will come from a Thursday single-elimination qualifier.

Now all I need is a reservation at the Sea Sprite ...

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...