The world’s top beach volleyball players will head to Chicago this summer as the city hosts the prestigious 2025 Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) League Championship at the iconic Oak Street Beach. Scheduled for Saturday, August 30 – Sunday, August 31, the event promises to deliver high-energy action as teams from across the country compete for the coveted title.

Chicago’s Oak Street Beach, renowned for its scenic views along Lake Michigan, is set to transform into an elite sports venue, providing a thrilling backdrop for fans and athletes. This marks a significant return for the championship to one of the city’s most beloved beaches, known historically for hosting vibrant beach volleyball tournaments.

“Each of these venues was hand-selected to deliver something truly special, not just for the players but for our partners, the fans, and the cities we’re coming to,” said AVP Commissioner Robert Corvino in a press release. “From the Intuit Dome to Central Park in New York City to Oak Street Beach in Chicago, the 2025 AVP League is putting beach volleyball on some of the biggest stages in sports and entertainment. It’s the kind of exposure this sport deserves, and we can’t wait to bring the energy to every venue.”

The Chicago championship will culminate an ambitious, coast-to-coast tour for the AVP League, which will see elite franchises such as Palm Beach Passion, Brooklyn Blaze, LA Launch, and Miami Mayhem compete fiercely. The season-long battles leading up to Chicago’s championship weekend promise to generate intense rivalries and unforgettable moments for fans nationwide.

Adding to the excitement, AVP has partnered with global sports and entertainment leader Wasserman to elevate the fan and sponsorship experiences. Chris Foy, Executive Vice President at Wasserman, noted the enthusiasm behind this collaboration. 

“We’re excited to collaborate with the AVP to take the partner experience to new and unforeseen heights and help bring the sport to premier venues across the country,” said Foy in a press release. “These are incredible locations that reflect the rising profile of the AVP League and its incredible athletes. With these venues, a compelling linear TV schedule, and world-class athletes, we’re very bullish on the future growth of the AVP.”

Fans can follow the ongoing AVP weekly matches on The CW Network and additional matches on CBS Sports Network. 

As anticipation builds, both local and visiting fans can follow updates and behind-the-scenes content via AVP’s social media and website.

Chicago, already renowned for its passionate sports culture, is ready to embrace the AVP Championship, making Oak Street Beach the center of the beach volleyball universe this August.

MALIBU, Calif. – Head coach Merrill Moses and the Pepperdine men’s water polo team have announced the fall 2025 schedule, which features nine home contests at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
 
“We are looking forward to a great 2025 season,” Moses said. “We have one of the most demanding schedules Pepperdine water polo has played in a very long time and we’ll be playing against most of the top teams in the Country. The West Coast Conference is one of the most competitive conferences in water polo and we are excited to represent Pepperdine in the WCC for a third year. We hope that our fans, family, alumni, friends and the Pepperdine community come out to watch as many games as possible and support our team next season. I look forward to seeing you on the pool deck cheering loudly for the Waves!”
 
Pepperdine is set to face off against five of the eight teams that made the 2024 NCAA Tournament, including the defending national champions UCLA, national runner up USC, national semifinalist Stanford and national quarterfinalists California Baptist and Princeton.
 
The Waves will open the season at the Triton Invite at the end of August before their home opener against USC on Sept. 7. Other marquee home games include Princeton (Oct. 12) – who made the NCAA Tournament last year – and UC Irvine (Nov. 1) who finished in the top-10 of the final 2024 rankings.
 
Pepperdine’s home West Coast Conference matchups are Pacific (Oct. 17), Air Force (Oct. 19) and Loyola Marymount (Nov. 8), while road WCC contests have California Baptist (Oct. 9), San Jose State (Oct. 24) and Santa Clara (Nov. 14) on the slate.
 
Non-conference road games against teams who finished in the top-10 in the final 2024 rankings include UCLA (Sept. 13), California (Sept. 27), Stanford (Sept. 28) and Long Beach State (Oct. 3).
 
Additionally, Pepperdine will play in three neutral tournaments including the Triton Invite to open the year (Aug. 30-31), the MPSF Invite (Sept. 19-21) and the Julian Fraser Tournament (Oct. 25).
 
Tickets for the Waves’ home contests will be available at a later date. For more information, Follow @PeppWaterPolo on X and check out pepperdinewaves.com and Facebook (/PeppWaterPolo) for releases and more information. Find the Waves on Instagram @peppwaterpolo.
 
The complete schedule is as follows (home games in bold):
 
Aug. 30-31 at Triton Invite (at UCSD)
Sept. 7 vs. USC
Sept. 11 vs. Whittier
Sept. 11 vs. UCSB
Sept. 13 at UCLA
Sept. 19-21 at MPSF Invite (at UCLA/USC)
Sept. 27 at California
Sept. 28 at Stanford
Oct. 3 at Long Beach State
Oct. 9 at California Baptist*
Oct. 12 vs. Princeton
Oct. 17 vs. Pacific*
Oct. 19 vs. Air Force*
Oct. 24 at San Jose State*
Oct. 25 at Julian Fraser Tournament (at Santa Clara)
Nov. 1 vs. UC Irvine
Nov. 2 vs. Cal State Fullerton
Nov. 8 vs. LMU*
Nov. 14 at Santa Clara*
Nov. 21-23 at WCC Championships (at Air Force)
           
            *West Coast Conference Game
 

IMSA has received Telly Awards for two pieces of original digital content.

The Daytona Beach, Florida-based sanctioning body won a Telly Award for Campaign Sports with its with “Win the Weekend” YouTube docuseries. The category covers branded content campaigns or series pertaining to sports. The organization also won within the General Sports category, Branded Content pertaining to Sports, for its “Sights and Sounds” series.

The Telly Awards honors excellence in video and television across all screens and is judged by leaders from video platforms, television, streaming networks and production companies. These two projects were selected from a field of more than 13,000 entries.

You can see the full playlist of “Win the Weekend” here, the TangentVector-produced series for IMSA, via IMSA’s official YouTube channel.

You can watch “IMSA Sights and Sounds: A Celebration of the 2024 Season,” produced by CoForce, here, also via IMSA’s official YouTube channel.

For more information, visit imsa.com.

The Trump administration is taking a strong stance on the participation of transgender athletes in California public schools, demanding a ban on their involvement in girls’ sports.

The U.S. Department of Justice argues that allowing these athletes to compete is unconstitutional, citing the 14th Amendment, which prohibits sex-based discrimination.

The federal demand follows last weekend’s events where a transgender high school junior claimed the state title in girls’ track and field events.

RELATED STORY | California track-and-field championships draw limited protest over trans student’s participation

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting people who were assigned male at birth from participating in women’s sports.

“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said at the time.

Currently, the California Interscholastic Federation permits students to participate in sports according to their gender identities. However, the Justice Department has given California schools a deadline of Monday to submit written notifications regarding their plans to comply with the proposed ban.

Failure to comply could result in the threat of legal action from the federal government or a loss in federal funding.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana volleyball head coach Jennifer Jacobs has announced the signing of Sierra Fried to the incoming class of 2025 for the Vikings.
 
Sierra Fried | DS/Setter | La Crosse, Wis. | La Crosse Central High School
Coach Jacobs on Fried: “Sierra will be a great addition to our program! An athlete talented in multiple areas of the game, she will bring a competitive edge to the gym. We are excited to have her light with us!”
 
High School: A four-year letterwinner, three-year starter and two-year captain for the Riverhawks, Fried dominated her senior season with 245 kills and 317 digs alongside 30 aces. She accrued First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Tribune honors while securing MVP and Offensive Player awards. Fried also was named All-Conference Honorable Mention and took home the MVP award her junior season
 
Personal: Sierra is the daughter of Laurie and Barry Fried and her older brother Bennett plays basketball for the Vikings. She plans to major in Sport Management with minors in Coaching and Entrepreneurship while at Augustana
 

–GoAugie.com–

WANTAGH, NY — A mainstay of Jones Beach returns next month with the 46th Annual Volleyball Tournament.

The Saturday, July 19 event is comprised of six-player co-ed teams.

Rain or shine, the tournament will begin at 9:00 a.m. at Central Mall Field 4.

The first round will be played as a round robin with the top two teams from each bracket advancing to the quarterfinals.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the 1st and 2nd place teams. The 3rd and 4th place teams will receive merchandise.

It’s free to register is FREE and is open until the roster is full.

Players must be 14 years or older to participate with all skill levels are welcome.

For an application, email: LIParksRecreation@parks.ny.gov. You can send the completed application to that same address or mail it:

Volleyball Tournament
Attn: Giustina Del Bianco
P.O. Box 247
Babylon, NY, 11702

A $10 vehicle use fee will be in effect for all players signed up, all spectators, and all general beach attendees.