ORDER ON THE COURT - Media Beach

ORDER ON THE COURT

Pro Beach
Volleyball:
A Rally for Respect and Recognition

Pro Beach Volleyball: A Rally for Respect and Recognition

ORDER On The COURT
MEDIA BEACH

PRESS KIT

Despite Pro Beach Volleyball’s sun, fun, and buns image, the sport struggles to succeed. Order On The Court is a benchmark book that digs deep into the U.S. sport to uniquely expose all the behind-the-scenes chaos, conflict, and even comedy that have endured the test of time, yet threaten its future.

* BOOK COVER (Click to Enlarge)

                * PRESS RELEASE (August 25, 2008)

                * TABLE OF CONTENTS

                * SAMPLE CHAPTER - "IF YOU GOT IT, FLAUNT IT"

NEWS ANGLES (September 2008)

1) Why is the sport's inherent sex appeal a turnoff to fans?

2) A vast majority of the 200 athletes on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tour earn barely enough prize money to break the U.S. poverty level of approximately $11,000 annnually.

3) AVP management is facing several major, financial hurdles this 2008 season as it struggles for profitability. Can it ride this OIympic wave of momentum to sustain itself for another year?

4) What is the AVP"s hidden secret that it tries so desperately to downplay and avoid confronting? (Hint: This dilemma is caused by nature.)

5) The best U.S. Women's Team (Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh) and Men's Team (Todd Rogers/Phil Dalhuasser) are the top ranked teams in the world yet have been assigned a #2 seeding at the Games - due to a peculiar Olympic qualifying rule.

REVIEWS

"From the minute I began reading Tom Burke's book Order On The Court I could not set it down. The author captures your attention as he shares extraordinary information on both the history and current state of the Association of Volleyball Professionals beach volleyball tour."

- Art Couvillon, author of the Sands of Time beach volleyball book series

APPEARANCES

Tom will be signing his Order On The Court book at the Volleyball Superstore in Manhattan Beach on Saturday, Sept. 21st from 10:00 - 11:00.

Tom discussed the Olympics and AVP pro beach volleyball on the national
Sports Junkies radio show on August 7th. All the Junkies agreed that the sport, despite it beach party image, requires stamina and skill.

ABOUT the AUTHOR

Tom Burke is a freelance journalist whose coverage of Beach Volleyball has been featured within international, national, and regional publications – ranging from Olympic Games pageantry to grass roots austerity. As an accredited United States Olympic Committee journalist, he has covered all Summer and Winter Olympics Games sports with focus on the extreme sports.

An avid player, he has served as the director/coach for a junior beach volleyball program. This background and interest steered him into these sand trenches on Crocs-wearing treks to uncover this fascinating world of fast action, sex appeal, and beach life.

Sample Articles:

Beach Volleyball Magazine Article (June 2007)
Beach Volleyball Magazine Article (August 2007)

Contact:
He can be reached via e-mail, and is available for TV, radio, and print interviews before, during (in Beijing), and after the Olympics.