AVP announces three-event schedule following Tokyo Olympic Games

For many international teams, the Olympic Games, held between July 24-August 7, will mark the final major event of the year. A strange year, to be sure, with COVID protocols and bubble tournaments and a number of travel hoops through which to jump, but still: a somewhat full season in spite of it all.

Yet for American beach volleyball players, the end of the Olympic Games really only marks the beginning of the season.

The AVP, the United States' domestic tour, released its schedule, which will include three events, beginning in August, in Atlanta, and ending the first weekend of September, in Chicago. Atlanta will be held the weekend after the Olympics' closing ceremonies.

It is far fewer events than usual, as the AVP will typically run anywhere from six to eight tournaments per year, featuring draws of varying sizes. But where the number of events has dropped, the prize money has increased. Atlanta and Chicago, which will feature 16-team main draws, boast a prize purse of $200,000 each, while the famed Manhattan Beach Open will be played for $250,000, and, as always, a plaque on the Manhattan Beach Pier.

In 2020, the AVP hosted the aforementioned AVP Champions Cup, a back-to-back-to-back series that featured three tournaments, all held in Long Beach, California, in a controlled environment with no fans but a superb streaming service. The field for the Champions Cup was limited to just eight teams in the main draw, with two coming out of a qualifier.

As COVID restrictions ease in the United States, the fields for the tournaments are slowly expanding and better yet, fans are allowed back in the stands.