The History of Beach Volleyball

The game of volleyball was invented in 1895 by William Morgan at a YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts. At the time, he wanted a game that businessmen could play that wouldn't be as physically gruelling as basketball, tennis and other sports. Morgan could not have foreseen the growth of the game, as it turned into a highly competitive indoor sport and then branched out into the beach version.

  1. Identification

    • Beach or sand volleyball is usually played on a court that is 52 feet, 6 inches long and 26 feet, 3 inches wide. It is noticeably smaller than a standard indoor court, which measures 16 by 8 meters, 60 feet long and 30 feet wide.

      The game is most often played by teams of two players, although as many as six can play on each side. All tournaments sanctioned by international and national volleyball bodies are played by two players per side.

      A net divides the court in half. It is 7 feet, 11-5/8 inches high in men's and coed games, and 7 feet, 4-1/8 inches tall in women's games.

    Timeframe

    • Although invented in 1895, the game of volleyball remained an indoor-only sport until at least 1915, when some reports say a game was played in the sand at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Honolulu, Hawaii.

      The Association of Volleyball Professionals, which organizes most of today's beach games, says the first sand games were played in the 1920's in Santa Monica, California. The games took place on a playground, with families of six playing each other.

    Early History

    • California was the first location where beach volleyball became popular. During the Depression, many people took to the beach to relax and have fun playing the simple game. Teams were made up of two to six players.

      Later in the 1930's, the game began being played elsewhere. It even crossed the Atlantic and could be found as far away as France, Bulgaria, Latvia and Czechoslovakia.

      In 1947, Will Rogers State Beach in California held the first official two-player beach volleyball tournament; it offered no prize money. A year later, a case of Pepsi Cola was awarded to the winners of a tournament in Los Angeles.

      The first tournament to be played outside of California was held at Lake Tahoe in 1976.

    Modern Era

    • As the game grew, tournaments offered bigger and bigger prizes, but it wasn't until the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was formed in 1983 that guarantees were made to players and the game of beach volleyball became recognized as a "real" sport.

      The AVP tour began in 1984 and quickly drew big crowds. Bolle Sunglasses became the first major sponsor of the game in 1985, when total prize money was $275,000.

      In 1990, beach volleyball made it first television appearance when NBC broadcast the (taped) Hermosa Beach tournament. A year later NBC aired the first live event from Milwaukee.

      In 1993, the International Olympic Committee approved beach volleyball as an Olympic sport. And three years later, at the Olympics in Atlanta, a crowd of more than 100,000 watched the American men's doubles team of Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes win the gold medal.

      Now the game of beach volleyball is played almost everywhere, regardless of whether there's a beach or sand has to be brought in. The AVP tour is regularly broadcast and draws bigger crowds every year.

      At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the American men's and women's team won gold medals.

    Fun Fact

    • In the 1950's, beach volleyball was still something of a novelty. At "Beachmania" in California, it was offered as an entertainment show, complete with beauty contests.