By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published Mar 24, 2014 at 4:14 PM

The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) has officially announced its 2014 schedule and it features Milwaukee as one of seven tournaments across the country from May through September.

It is the first time the tour has been in Milwaukee since 1998 when beach volleyball legend Karch Kiraly took home one of his record 148 tournament titles.

The tour reaches Bradford Beach July 4-6.

Other tournament venues include St. Petersburg, Fla.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Atlantic City, N.J., and Huntington Beach, Calif.

The AVP is the exclusive domestic beach volleyball home of the nation’s top athletes, including Olympic gold medalists Kerri Walsh-Jennings (2004, 2008, 2012), Todd Rogers (2008) and Phil Dalhausser (2008); Olympic silver medalists April Ross (2012) and Jen Kessy (2012); two-time Olympians Jake Gibb (2008, 2012) and Sean Rosenthal (2008, 2012); and Olympian Nicole Branagh (2008).

"On behalf of my partners, sponsors and supporters, we are honored and humbled to host the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour at Bradford Beach," said local volleyball promoter Todd Gawronski of G1, Inc. "We are excited to showcase the world’s best beach volleyball teams and provide a great weekend of sports and entertainment to those who will be visiting Milwaukee."

Tickets for the 2014 AVP tournaments are free to the general public, although VIP ticket packages are available at AVP.com.

Each of the AVP’s seven tour stops will feature three days of world-class beach volleyball competition featuring Olympic champions and world-renowned athletes competing in an unmatched beach-party atmosphere filled with, music, food and interactive activities.