Breaking: USAV to sanction all NVL tournaments

So you know when the AVP went through 2 bankruptcies, several tours struggled to make ends meet (and continue to do so), while all chaos breaks loose when tournament schedules conflict, and no one was there to step in?  It seemed like USAV had absolutely no interest in the outdoor game, and was solely dedicated to the youth indoor game as that is where the big bucks are.

But in breaking news it looks like USAV is finally taking a vested interest in the beach game and providing a "safety net" to the NVL, the fast rising, self-proclaimed "grassroots" tour, by sanctioning all of the NVL's tournaments.

The AVP may have money (even though most of it is Donald Sun's), the NVL has now leveled the playing field so to speak with this endorsement.  The rivalry between the two tours and the players that play for the respective tournaments will only get more heated from here.

From a purists stand point, you may only be interested in what is good for the growth of the game, but in the grand scheme of things, when beach volleyball functions within the entertainment industry you must have constant drama to lean on to keep yourself in the spotlight.  All other major sports have versions of this whether it be contract negotiations, free agency, trades, arrests, trash talking, and lockouts.  None of these things are good for the sport but it attracts eyeballs, and more viewers, more followers mean more money.  So for the time being, I'll continue to wring my hands and poke the bear that is this growing rivalry between the AVP and the NVL


Side note: If you think that there isn't much of a rivalry between these two tours then you might want to see who is featured in the AVP's Q&A this month.  It is none other than one of the former poster child's of the NVL Casey Patterson.