American Volleyball Coaches Association Selects Seattle for Two Major Events | Sports Destination Management
 

American Volleyball Coaches Association Selects Seattle for Two Major Events

Share
Apr 05, 2013

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has announced that two major events in 2013 will be held in Seattle, Washington.

The 2013 AVCA Annual Convention will take place December 18-22 at the Washington State Convention Center.

AVCA’s 2013 Under Armour All-America Volleyball Match & Skills Competition will be held in Seattle, at the Key on Friday, December 20.

Information on both these events is expected to be made available by summer 2013, and will be carried on AVCA’s website, http://www.avca.org/.

About AVCA: The mission of the American Volleyball Coaches Association is to advance the sport of volleyball and its coaches. The association serves the following sectors of the sport:

  • Collegiate volleyball for women at the NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III, as well as two-year colleges and institutions at the NAIA and NCCAA levels

  • Collegiate men's volleyball at the NCAA Division I-II, Division III and NAIA levels.

  • Boys and girls volleyball at the high school and middle school levels.

  • Club volleyball directors and coaches

One of AVCA’s interests is sand volleyball. AVCA’s website notes that participation in beach volleyball has grown by over 25% in the last two years and over 300,000 girls under the age of 18 are participating in the sand sport (according to the 2009 Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association's research).  The addition of Sand Volleyball to the NCAA's Emerging Sports List for women  will add 12-14 collegiate participation opportunities for women, and, over time, college scholarships will be available in NCAA Divisions I and II.

Once the number of varsity teams crosses the 40-school threshold, which is anticipated to occur in the spring of 2014, the NCAA will begin making plans to transition Sand Volleyball to championship sport status.  It is also anticipated that the sport, which is internationally known as Beach Volleyball, will undergo a name change at that time.

The opportunity for juniors play is also expanding rapidly.  The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) hosts a whole series of junior beach events.  For information, go to www.AAUBeach.org.

USA Volleyball is also part of a group that hosts a series of youth beach events called the USA Beach Junior Tour, which concludes with their USA Beach Junior Tour Open Championships.  More information on that tour can be found at www.USABeach.org.

For information on all AVCA’s activities, go to http://www.avca.org/

(Click to Expand)