PCB Sand Sports Teams up with AVP for Beach Volleyball

021909_avp_logoPCB Sand Sports in partnership with AVPNext, the grassroots program of the Association of Volleyball Professionals will be developing a Beach Volleyball league and series sponsored by Barefoot Wine to launch at Sharkys the week of May 11th, 2009. The leagues will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday nights for men’s doubles and Friday evening for women’s doubles.

The leagues will run for 8 weeks and offer both the men and women’s winners a prize of $1000 in cash along with airfare and entry into competition for the “first ever” Barefoot Cup Championship in Hermosa Beach, CA. The top 16 teams from across the U.S. will compete in Hermosa Beach to represent their area.

Sharkys and Seahaven are partners with PCB Sand Sports to bring the “fun” of beach sports directly to Panama City Beach with programs, events and activities to showcase the white sand and ambience of the area. Roman Reese founder of PCB Sand Sports and Director of Nashville Beach Volleyball has been involved in volleyball for more than 20 years.

He has been a major influencer to develop the long standing Fud’s 4-Person Tournament that is located in the Destin, Ft. Walton area that has grown from 17 teams to more than 250 teams with a waiting list to play. This tournament is now a “regular” vacation for the players who began to come in the beginning and developed the event into a “memorable” tournament to meet friends and reconnect with players across the country.

The AVP Pro Tour will be hosting their first Tour Stop in Panama City Beach in front of Sharkys the weekend of March 28th-29th and will showcase some of the top players in both men and women’s categories to kick off the focus Panama City Beach has to bring FUN beach sports to the area. We hope to see the local community come out to meet the Pros.

PCB Sand Sports and Seahaven will be working closely with Bay Area Sports Association a non-profit focused to support sports programs for the local kids to set up visits with the Pros to promote beach volleyball.

PCB Sand Sports is also coordinating additional leagues for Sharkys to provide Co-Ed 4’s on Tuesday nights and Co-Ed 6’s on Thursdays. For more information on the leagues and beach volleyball events and activities contact Roman Reese @ beachresearch@yahoo.com

More Info on Pro Volleyball Coming to PCB

The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour will kick off its 2009 season in a unique fashion; the Tour is holding its first-ever Spring Break event in Panama City Beach, Fla., March 27-29. The event will feature the world’s best beach volleyball players, including 2008 Olympic gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, battling it out on the sand amidst the excitement of Spring Break.

Panama City Beach plays host to hundreds of thousands of college students each year, who descend on the Florida coast to soak up the surf and sand, and party on the beach. While the main event of AVP’s Spring Break will be the AVP Crocs Tour Panama City Beach Open, taking place March 27-29, the AVP will head to Panama Beach City on March 7 to start its three-week Spring Break experience.

“We are excited to bring the AVP to Spring Break for the very first time,” said Leonard Armato, CEO and Commissioner of AVP Pro Beach Volleyball. “The biggest beach party in the country is the perfect atmosphere in which to kick off our 2009 season.”

The finale of the AVP’s Spring Break in Panama City Beach will come as the AVP Crocs Tour Panama City Beach Open. A one-day qualifier will begin on Friday morning, March 27, followed by a live band in the evening. Men’s and women’s Main Draw action will start on Saturday morning with both men’s and women’s finals planned for Sunday afternoon.  AVP specifically chose the last weekend of March for their tournament because it is both the final weekend of collegiate Spring Break and the first weekend of “family spring break”.  The event will be a fun party for all ages.

Prior to the competition, the first two weeks of Spring Break will include numerous promotions and events geared towards Spring Breakers. The third week of the AVP’s Spring Break event will start off with the first-ever Collegiate Beach Challenge. Starting on Tuesday, March 24, college students from across the country will have the chance to participate in a two-day four-on-four beach volleyball tournament. There will be men’s, women’s and coed divisions competing for cash prizes.

The AVP Crocs Tour event will take place directly behind Sharky’s Beach Front Restaurant & Tiki Bar, located in the heart of Panama City Beach at The Towne of Seahaven. In an attempt to revert back to the sport’s beginnings, six of the courts will be set up in “old school” style. This set-up will include minimal bleacher seating, allowing plenty of room for beachgoers to throw down their towels and fully enjoy the beach party atmosphere of Spring Break.

About AVP, Inc.:
AVP, Inc. is a leading lifestyle sports entertainment company focused on the production, marketing and distribution of professional beach volleyball events worldwide. One of the fastest growing entities in the sports world, the AVP operates two of the industry’s most prominent national outdoor touring series, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour (1983) and the AVP Hot Winter Nights Indoor Tour (launched in 2008). The AVP is set to stage more than 35 events throughout the United States in 2009 and features more than 150 of the top men and women competitors in the sport. AVP athletes won both the women’s and men’s gold medals at the 2008 Games in Beijing, marking the first gold medal sweep by a single country in the history of Olympic Beach Volleyball. AVP is headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. For more information, please visit http://www.avp.com.