Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)

RECAP: 2018 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships

06/29/2018

More than 2,700 boys and girls teams take part in the largest volleyball tournament in the world

Marquee AAU event brings more than $52 million in economic impact to Central Florida during 12-day event

ORLANDO, Fla. (June 29, 2018) – The AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships again proved hugely successfull. Taking place at the world-class facilities of ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and the North and South Concourses of Orange County Convention Center, more than 35,000 participants descended on the Central Florida area for 12 days of unparrelled volleyball action.

Denver Spikes

Opening Ceremonies on June 16 again took place at the Baseball Complex at ESPN Wide World of Sports. The parade of athletes was raucous as ever with the teams marching into the stadium. The torch was lit by players from Spikes Volleyball Club (Denver, Colo.) who were playing in honor of one of their fallen family members, Zoe Anderson, who was killed in a boating accident shortly after team tryouts last summer. READ MORE

Maddie Poppe AAU

Maddie Poppe, Season 16 winner of American Idol, suprised the crowd at the ceremonies with a few songs. READ MORE

An event that set the Guinness Book of World Records in 2012, continues to grow -- more than 2,700 girls and boys teams from 46 states and 13 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Israel, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Peru, Ecuador, Canada, & Spain) competed for a national championship from Sunday, June 17 through June 28, 2018.

The twelve-day event brings more than $52 million in economic impact to Central Florida annually with an estimated 10,000 coaches and 600 college coaches approximately 15,000 matches attending the largest volleyball event in the world.

“We were thrilled to once again welcome more than 120,000 attendees to the Central Florida area for this great event,” said Dr. Roger J. Goudy, President/CEO of the AAU. “The AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships, we believe, is the best event in the world for youth athletes. Thanks in large part to the relationships we have built throughout Central Florida, including Visit Orlando and Walt Disney World Resort, these athletes will also have an opportunity to also experience the best vacation destination in the world in the process.”

Domincians

The event culminated with the World Championship Final between Sports Performance (IL) vs. Dominican Republic. The Domicans dominated the tournament going undefeated on their way to the world title.

Select championship games aired live on ESPN+ and the WatchESPN application from ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which has become the worldwide leader in ESPN3 content production. Additional games were streamed live on Sports Network Live.

Complete list of streamed games here.

AAU Cares

For the third straight year, AAU partnered with Feeding Children Everywhere to pack meals for underserved youth in the community reaching our goal of 40,000 meals packed this year. The total for the past three years is 160,000 meals packed at the volleyball event. READ MORE

For the second year, AAU volleyball and The Side Out Foudnation encouraged participants to 'Dig Pink' -- on June 18, 22 and 26 -- to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. The club that raised the most money and earned a free entry into next years’ tournament was Motion Volleyball Club.

New this year was Alex's Lemonade Stand where teams dedicated their AAU season to helping kids with cancer by participating in the Champion Program.;turning their season's stats into lifesaving research dollars.

Visit www.aauvolleyball.org for complete results.