11th Season
The WPVA, which just concluded its 11th season of competition, has sanctioned 154 tournaments starting with the inaugural women's professional event held on May 16 & 17, 1987 at Newport Beach, California. The Evian Tour has been staged at 64 sites in 23 states and three international sites (including Puerto Rico and Japan). Karolyn Kirby is the tour's all-time money winner ($461,509). Kirby has a record 61 career wins and 140 top 12 finishes, of which 105 were top four finishes, in 144 career starts. Elaine Roque has played in the most events (149).

Competition
Beach volleyball is played between two-person teams on a 9x18 meter outdoor sand court. Games are played to 15 points. Each participant earns WPVA event points for double elimination tournament finishes throughout the season. These points are then combined with her partner's to determine their ranking, or seeding for the next event. Players have the option to change partners for each tournament.

Rules of the Game
In its official form, beach volleyball is played on a rectangular court 18 meters (59 feet, 0.75 inches) long and 9 meters (29 feet, 6.375 inches) wide. For women, a net 2.24 meters (7 feet, 4.125) high is suspended across the court. The ball weighs approximately 280 grams (8.759 ounces) when inflated and is made of supple leather. Beach volleyball is played between two person teams on an outdoor sand court. Each team is allowed 3 alternating hits when returning the ball. Games are played to 15 points and a team must win by two points.

Sponsors
Evian Natural Spring Water concluded its third season with the WPVA and second as the tour's title sponsor. Coors Light was the tour's title sponsor for four seasons (992-95), and was a sponsor for a total of seven years. Other 1997 sponsors included Alberto VO5, Sportcraft, First USA and Wilson. Official WPVA suppliers are AllSport Photography and St. Johns Hospital Medical Care.

Television
Television coverage continued to grow in 1997 with ABC covering five events (Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Atlantic City, N.J.; Huntington Beach, Calif.; Chicago and Hermosa Beach, Calif.). ABC produced five shows, including four "same-day" telecasts, in 1996. CBS Sports produced four "live" shows in 1995 from Hermosa Beach, Newport, R.I., Huntington Beach, and Kauai, Hi. Seven events in 1997 were taped by Echo Entertainment of Encino, Calif., for distribution by Prime Network that covers over 43 million households through the FOX sports network. The 1997 season marked the eighth-straight season the WPVA has received national television coverage for all events.