Many professional beach volleyball players received their wish last weekend when the uncertainty of where they would play in 2011 became clear. This happened when the upstart National Volleyball League (NVL) held it first tournament of the season in the infield of the Pimlico Race Course prior to the Preakness Stakes near Baltimore.
After the dissolution of the Association of Volleyball Players (AVP) last year, many players were left wondering if they still had a career as a professional and, if so, where would they be able to compete.
The top seeded men’s team of John Hyden (Sherman Oaks) and Sean Scott (Redondo Beach) swept fourth-seeded Billy Allen and Matt Prosser 21-16, 21-15 to capture the league’s first men’s title in the history of the new league. Hyden and Prosser split $10,000 for their championship win.
In women’s competition, No. 10 Tealle Hunkus (El Segundo) and Heather Lowe (Redondo Beach) battled back from a second-round loss to No. 2 Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik, defeating the team in a rematch in the semifinals. Hunkus and Lowe advanced to upset top-seeded Annett Davis and Lisa Rutledge 21-17, 24-22 in the first women’s championship.
The South Bay had a strong presence at the tournament with 12 men and 10 women competing in the field of 64. The NVL was the brainchild of Albert “Al-B” Hannemann, of Hermosa Beach, who cut short his 18-year playing career to oversee the new league.
“I wanted to play two more years to reach the 20-year mark,” said Hannemann, a gold medalist at the U.S. Olympic Festival and past winner of the AVP Hermosa Beach Open. “But the time was right to retire.”
Hannemann said he had thought about starting the new league in July 2010 when he saw the financial situation of the AVP.
“We’ve had overwhelming positive response,” Hannemann said. “The league opens more opportunities for players to make a name for themselves. We want to make sure we have a solid core for a long time.”
Having witnessed the ups and downs of the AVP and serving as Vice-President and Program Director for the Digs for Kids Foundation, Hannemann feels confident he can build a solid foundation for the league bringing in investors first and then sponsors, not vice-versa.
Hannemann has already secured sponsorship from EFX, Australian Gold, The ONE Group, Grand Touring Vodka and Wilson. While the NVL is in the process of acquiring a network TV contract, all events will be shown live on the NVL’s website.
The six tournaments scheduled for 2011 will coincide with events, such as the Preakness, that already have a large draw of spectators. Hannemann said he plans to increase the number of tour stops in 2012, including the addition of tournaments in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach.
The next NVL tour stop will be July 22-24 at the Malibu Surf and Sports Festival. The tour continues at the East Coast Surfing Championships at Virginia Beach, Va. (Aug. 26-28) and the Motherlode Classic and Volleyball Vacation in Aspen, Colo. (Sept. 1-4). The final two tournaments at the Models, Music and Fashion Festival in Miami, Fla. (Sept. 9-11) and the Sports Championship and Collegiate Festival in Long Beach, Calif. (Sept. 23-25) will be Olympic qualifiers. Hannemann has already lined up sponsors like EFX, Australian Gold, The ONE Group, Grand Touring Vodka, and Wilson, and a network TV contract is in the works. All events stream live on the NVL’s website.
Although big-name players like Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh, Phil Dalhauser and Todd Rogers are all overseas training for the London Olympics at FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) World Tour events, Hannemann expects many, including May-Treanor and Walsh to compete in the final two events on the NVL tour. ER
