Beach volleyball the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was founded. At the professional level, the sport remained fairly obscure until the 1980s when beach volleyball experienced a surge in popularity with high-profile players such as Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, and Karch Kiraly. Kiraly won an Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball in its first Olympic appearance in 1996, adding that to the two Olympic golds he won as part of the USA men's indoor team, and has won 142 titles. In the 1980s, the sport gained popularity on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1986, the
South American Beach Volleyball Circuit to the round of 16, then quarterfinals, semifinals and the final game, however, never has a stop has had 24 teams entered. After a stop, each federation is given a score based on its best team's final ranking. After all stops have ended, the federation with the most points is declared the champion. South American Beach Volleyball Circuit The South American Beach Volleyball Circuit is a unisex sport competition for national teams in the sport of beach volleyball. The championship is held annually by the CSV (the South American volleyball federation) since 2005. The circuit has used the same format