Today on the blog, we’re going to turn our attention to the AVP. In nine days, a new season of the AVP kicks off with a Heritage Series event at Huntington Beach. In past seasons, this would be the first of 6-8 standalone tournaments put on by the AVP. This season promises to be a bit different.
Back in February the AVP announced a new look to its summer schedule. What was formally the “Gold Series” is now called the Heritage Series, and instead of Atlanta, this year Huntington Beach will kick off the three top tier events for the AVP. The remaining top level events, formally called “Pro Series” events, were effectively replaced by the new AVP league set to kick off in September with an eight week regular season and a two-day championship tournament in Los Angeles September 9th and 10th.
The new AVP league is said to be comprised of eight teams per gender with one team per gender assigned to a unique city. Qualification for this new AVP league is determined by either winning a Heritage Series event, qualifying via points, or wild card.
- Winning teams of the three Heritage series event earn an automatic bid into the AVP league. With three Heritage Series events this season in Huntington Beach, Manhattan Beach and Chicago, theoretically three unique teams per gender could qualify this way.
- The AVP has said it will retain up to two wildcards per gender to be assigned to teams of its choosing that do not qualify.
- The remaining bids will be earned via qualifying points. Teams will take their two best results from the three Heritage Series events and these points will be tallied and ranked, qualifying the remaining teams.
What this means is that in previous years when winning a Pro Series or a Gold Series event merely meant a prize purse and bragging rights, there’s a lot more on the line this season. Particularly so for those teams that are currently ranked 4th-12th in the USA in their gender, who can’t expect to take a 1st or get a wild card. For those 6-8 teams per gender, every match along the “path to the league” is crucial. All that begins in 9 days at Huntington Beach. So let’s take a look at the teams that we expect will comprise this new AVP league when it kicks off just over four months from now.
Women’s
(1) The “A-Team” – Alex Klineman and April Ross
The defending 2020 women’s Olympic gold medalists have announced that they’re going to return to the sand to play on the AVP season after taking the 2022 and 2023 seasons off to have their first children. They’re on the entry list for Huntington and all signs point to them competing at the Manhattan Beach Open and in Chicago on Labor Day weekend. They are, by a wide margin, the easiest pick in this blog. Alex and April are all but guaranteed a birth into the new AVP league should they want it. It’s almost impossible to see a world where they don’t qualify via points OR via winning one of the three Heritage Series events. However, if they aren’t able to pick up right where they left off, I’d bet any amount of money the AVP has a Wild Card earmarked for the defending Gold Medalists.
(2) Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes
Kelly and Sara are one of two USA teams that will qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris two months from now. They’re the defending champions at Huntington Beach, and are currently seeded third into the main draw at AVP Huntington Beach next weekend. With both Manhattan and Chicago taking place after the 2024 Olympics concludes, it’s entirely reasonable to expect that Kelly and Sarah will participate in as many events as necessary to earn their berth into the league. As such, they are virtual locks to qualify for the league.
(3) Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss
The other USA qualifying women’s team for the 2024 Olympics is Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss. Team TKN won two of the three Gold Series events in 2023, including their second consecutive Chicago 1st place. They’re on the entry list for Huntington Beach and spoke recently on their YouTube show Small Talk and Tall Tales about how excited they are for this new version of the AVP league. TKN will qualify via winning one of the three events or via points, and they are your third locked team to participate in the fall league.
(4) Melissa Humana-Parades and Brandie Wilkerson
The first international team on this list, Canadians Melissa Humana-Parades and Brandie Wilkerson will qualify for 2024 Olympics and, along with the two teams noted above, are on a shortlist of teams that have legitimate gold medal aspirations in Paris. Brandie and Mel won at AVP Miami early last season, Brandie’s first win on the AVP. Add to that résumé a Gold at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Montreal late last summer. Like Kelly/Sarah and TKN, Brandie and Mel are on the entry list for Huntington Beach.
One thing to keep an eye on here, the Beach Pro Tour Montreal Elite 16 is the same weekend as AVP Chicago. As the defending champions from the host country, it would be difficult to imagine them skipping Montreal to play in Chicago. So look for Mel and Brandie to try to secure their berth into the league in the first two events, allowing them to skip Chicago. Even with that caveat, it’s hard to imagine the world where Brandie and Mel don’t qualify via a win or points.
(5) Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles
Betsi and Julia had an incredible 2023 season both domestically and abroad. Winners of their first Manhattan Beach, Betsi and Julia added to that two 2nds and two 3rds on the AVP, as well as a silver metal at the Beach Pro Tour Montreal Elite 16. After Manhattan, Julia took some time off to address a nagging knee injury. Their first event back looks to be Huntington Beach and it’s extremely likely they will qualify for the league via points or victory in 2024.
(6-8) This is where it gets interesting
Eight spots, five already virtual locks as explained above. 3 spots remain, with dozens of teams vying for a berth into the first year of the AVP league. Bet The Beach has the following 6 teams as highest odds to grab one of those last 3 spots:
- Hailey Harward and Kylie Deberg
- Meghan Kraft and Terese Cannon
- Geena Urango and Toni Rodriguez
- Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle
- Zana Muno and Emily Day Capers
- Deahna Kraft and Lexy Denaburg
Men’s
(1) Miles Partain and Andy Benesh
Miles and Andy currently hold the top position on the men’s side in the qualification race for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Miles and Andy won a medal of each color on the Beach Pro Tour last season in addition to winning at AVP Atlanta in addition to Huntington. They’ll be siitting out Huntington Beach to prepare for two more Elite 16 events prior to the Olympics in July. With no conflicts for Manhattan Beach and Chicago, and the Olympic birth all but guaranteeing a wildcard, Miles and Andy will be playing in the new AVP league come September.
(2) Chase Budinger and Miles Evans
At the time of writing, Chase and Miles are 100 points behind Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner for the second and final Olympic spot on the men’s side for the USA. With a Norceca Continental Final berth still ahead of them, they appear to be in the pole position to take that second spot in the Olympics. Though they are skipping Huntington Beach to get some much-needed rest, they will likely participate in both Manhattan and Chicago and based on their Olympic position are all but guaranteed a wildcard berth if the Olympic race prohibits them from qualifying via wins or points.
(3) Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner
Trev and Theo are currently the number two team on the US men’s side in the Olympic qualification push. Trevor and Theo may or may not miss out on the 2024 Olympics in Paris. They’re on the entry list for AVP Huntington Beach and you can be damn confident that if Trevor Crabb misses the Olympics, just barely, for the second time in a row, he’s gonna have something to prove domestically on the tour. Trevor and Theo won two AVP events in 2023, in Hermosa and Chicago, as well as a Gold at a Beach Pro Tour event in Guadalajara, Mexico last month. Either way, Trevor and Theo will qualify via wins, points, or wild card and participate in the AVP league in September.
(4) Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander
Maybe the most fun team to watch domestically on the men’s side at the moment, 2020 Olympians Crabb (beach) and Sander (indoor) might weirdly be the easiest pick of all to qualify for the AVP league. Nobody has been more vocal over the last few years about the importance of a healthy, profitable domestic league than Taylor Crabb, so you know it means a lot to him. In addition, unlike the three teams listed above, the Taylors have not spent the last few months traveling all over the world trying to qualify for the Olympics. As a result, they should be well rested, well trained, and well practiced. Winners in Miami and Manhattan Beach in 2023, look for them to take at least one of the three Heritage Series events or at a minimum qualify via points for the new AVP League in September.
(5) Avery Drost and Phil Dalhausser
At 44 years young, four time Olympian and beach gold medalist Phil Dalhausser is still competing and winning on the AVP tour. Dalhausser won three AVP tournaments in 2022 with three different partners. Phil did not win any tournaments in 2023, but did take two 3rds, one in Miami with Troy Field and one with current partner Avery Drost in Chicago. I’m confident that Phil and Avery will qualify via points however, if they do not, I’d be very surprised if the AVP didn’t find a way to use a Wild Card on the Thin Beast in the first year of their new league.
(6) Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk
Tri and Chaim announced earlier today on Instagram that their push for the 2024 Olympics was coming to a close, completing a disappointing season and a half for them as a team. Tri Bourne is now a three time victim of the two team Olympic country quota, in 2016 with John Hyden, 2020 with Trevor Crabb, and now 2024 with Chaim Schalk. Tri had just started playing some good volleyball early in the 2024 season but it was too little too late.
Now, the team turns their attention to the domestic tour, looking to earn the berth in the new league. Tri and Chaim took first in New Orleans last year and took 2nd at Huntington Beach to Miles and Andy. No team has more to prove on tour this season, look for Tri and Chaim to comfortably qualify via points for the inaugural season of the AVP league.
(7-8) This is where it gets interesting
On the women’s side, we’re expecting to have 3 spots left for everybody else. On the men’s side, it’s even tighter. Look for the two remaining qualifying teams to come from this list:
- Cody Caldwell and Seain Cook
- Hagen Smith and Logan Weber
- Evan Cory and Alison Cerutti
- Kyle Friend and Tim Brewster
Next week, we’ll have odds to win and odds to podium for AVP Huntington Beach in this space. Until then, don’t forget to join us tomorrow night for Bet The Beach Live, on YouTube, 9p ET, 6p PT.
Chris DeTurk – May 7, 2024
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