Orlando, Fla., June 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is ready to host the world’s largest AAU Volleyball tournament on June 17-29, the 48th AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships at the award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). The stage is set for more than 3,445 teams, comprised of 56,000 participants from around the world, including several elite teams ranked across the nation.
The 12-day event, June 17-29, features 40 boys’ and girls’ divisions ranging from ages 10 years old to 18 years old. The divisions will be set in waves starting with the 10-14 and under girls in the first wave (June 18-21), along with the 18U Open and Premier divisions. The second wave (June 22-25) will feature the 15U, 17U and Boys divisions, while the 16U and 18U Aspire and Classic will wrap up the tournament in Wave Three (June 26-29).
The 48th AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships is expected to bring more than $173.2 million in economic impact to Central Florida with an estimated 14,000 coaches and 600 college coaches attending the largest volleyball event in the world. 171 courts will spread across all three concourses at the OCCC- North, South and West. This is set to be the largest sporting event ever to be held at the OCCC.
“We look forward to this event every year as hands-down our largest event of the year, and we could not pull this off without the partnerships with the Orange County Convention Center and Visit Orlando,” said Jennings “Rusty” Buchanan, President/CEO of the AAU. “Central Florida is the premier vacation destination in the world and what better place to bring our athletes and families to give them the opportunity of a lifetime here in Orlando.”
This top-notch event has been recognized over the years as a three-time winner of Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism Award, Best Single Amateur Sporting Event by Sports Travel Awards, as well as the Best Sporting Event by Connect Sports. The AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships 16U division also still holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest volleyball event, a feat AAU Volleyball first set in 2012.
All games will be streamed live on AAU Volleyball’s livestream partner, BallerTV, one of the world's premier live and on-demand streaming service dedicated to youth athletes. You can view the live stream here: ballertv.com/events/aau-volleyball-nationals-2021.
As part of the AAU Cares initiative, AAU is partnering again with the Side-Out Foundation as an official Dig Pink Campaign location to raise money for breast cancer research. All participants are encouraged to wear pink for AAU’s Dig Pink Days, June 19, 23 and 27. More for information on the 2021 Dig Pink Campaign click here.
Visit www.aauvolleyball.org for more information. You can also follow the event on Twitter at @AAUVolleyball, Instagram at @AAUVolleyball and on www.facebook.com/realaauvolleyball, as well as the hashtag #AAUVBNatls.
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ABOUT THE AAU:
Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of Sports For All, Forever is now shared by more than 700,000 members and 150,000 volunteers nationwide. The second-largest sport in the AAU, volleyball, has more than 150,000 members annually with more than 300 licensed AAU indoor and beach volleyball events. The AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships is the marquee annual event for the fastest-growing sport in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). The 2019 event featured approximately 2,805 girls’ and boys’ teams across 38 divisions of competition. Over the years, this event has featured international teams from Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Israel, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Spain and Virgin Islands.