2012
A total of 96 of the world’s
finest beach volleyball players,
24 two-person teams per gender,
artistically drove their way
across their special stage at
the fifth Olympic beach
volleyball competitions in
London.
The beach volleyball sessions
at Horse Guards Parade were very
well attended, with the 15,000
capacity stadium nigh on full
and attracting well-known fans
such as Beatles legend Sir Paul
McCartney and former UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan. In
all, over 425,000 revelers
enjoyed the most athletic beach
party anyone has ever seen in
one of the most historic and
iconic venues imaginable.
Throughout the tournament, Big
Ben kept time in the background
and the London Eye looked down
on the action.
On the sand, the players
lived up to the occasion –
especially the American pair
Kerri Walsh and Misty
May-Treanor, who won an
incredible third straight
Olympic gold medal on the
women’s side.
London Olympics
women’s medallists
Gold: Misty May-Treanor and
Kerri Walsh (USA)
Silver: Jennifer Kessy and April
Ross (China)
Bronze: Larissa França and Juliana
Felisberta Da Silva
(Brazil)
London Olympics men’s medallists
Gold: Julius Brink and Jonas
Reckermann (Germany)
Silver: Alison Cerutti and
Emanuel Rego (Brazil)
Bronze: Janis Smedins and
Martins Plavins (Latvia)
The first Continental Cup was
wrapped up in 2012. This new
Olympic qualifying process,
inaugurated in the lead-up to
the London 2012 Games, offers
countries another route to the
four-yearly tournament.
With a quota once again of
two teams maximum per gender,
per country, completing the
24-team fields for each gender,
the FIVB announced two years ago
that just 16 spots will be
filled through the Olympic
rankings – instead of 24, as in
the past. An additional spot was
given to Great Britain as the
host country, while the
remaining seven spots had to be
determined differently than in
the past four Olympic Games with
the introduction of the
Continental Cup and the FIVB
World Cup Olympic Qualification.
The five winners of
Continental Cup competitions
earned Olympic berths, with the
two remaining positions still up
for grabs among the second and
third placed teams from each
Continental Cup Final.
Those second and third placed
teams qualified for the FIVB
Beach Volleyball World Cup
Olympic Qualification tournament
in Moscow, Russia. The top two
National Federations per gender
from this competition took the
final two berths to the Games,
completing the beach volleyball
line-up.
Larissa and Juliana won their
fourth consecutive World Tour
title and seventh in the last
eight years by topping the
women's points championship. The
Brazilian duo, who ended their
run together following the last
event in 2012, broke the
all-time FIVB women’s record of
six career team titles
established by compatriots
Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar.
Larissa and Juliana joined
Shelda as the only players with
seven season titles (Shelda won
a final season crown in 2004
with Ana Paula Connelly).
In contrast, it was a
long-awaited first World Tour
title win for USA’s Jake Gibb
and Sean Rosenthal, who capped
the best international season of
their career by earning the
men’s 2012 points championship.
2011
All roads led to Rome in 2011 as the FIVB Beach
Volleyball SWATCH World Championships took place in the
Italian capital. The women's final featured a classic
battle between long-time rivals Brazil's Juliana
Felisberta and Larissa França and USA's Misty
May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. After three tightly
contested sets it was the Brazilian pair who clinched
their first World Championship. Emanuel Rego and Alison
Cerutti came out on top in the men's tournament, the
first time a Brazilian duo had won since 2005. They beat
compatriots Marcio Araujo and Ricardo Santos in the
final.
The World Tour was a two-way fight in both genders.
Alison and Emanuel edged 2010
champions USA's Todd Rogers and
Phil Dalhausser in the men's
contest, winning Grand Slam
events in Moscow, Gstaad and
Beijing along the way. The
women's event was clinched by
Juliana and Larissa, who held
off May-Treanor and Walsh with
Grand Slam victories in Stare
Jablonki and Gstaad.
Qualification for the London
2012 Olympic Games also
continued with the Beach
Volleyball Continental Cup.
Zonal tournaments were completed
in Asia, Africa, South America
and Europe in 2011 with the
teams decided for the finals in
2012.
The FIVB also launched a
ground-breaking new media
initiative through the Heroes
campaign. Top athletes,
including a total of 29 beach
volleyball players from six
nations are on hand to try to
help further promote the FIVB
and the sports of volleyball and
beach volleyball.
2010
The Continental Cup, a new Olympic qualifying
process for the London 2012 Games is launched, offering
countries another route to the four-yearly tournament.
The sub-zonal continental phase begins ahead of the
zonal phase and the Continental Cup finals in 2011 and
2012.
The 2010 Men’s World Tour is won by American duo Todd
Rogers and Phil Dalhausser winning Grand Slam events in
Rome, Gstaad, Kagenfurt and Stare Jablonki along the
way. It was the first time the US duo won the title as
well as the first time a pair from the United States
clinched top spot since 1992.
The women’s edition is picked up by Brazil’s Juliana
Felisberta and Larissa França for the fifth time in six
years. Except for USA’s Kerri Walsh and Misty
May-Treanor’s victory in 2002, Brazil have won every
edition of the tour since 1994.
2009
The FIVB unveils a dynamic “gladiator-style” visual for
the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Tour. The innovative visual
brilliantly encapsulates the drama, excitement and
powerful image of Beach Volleyball by focusing on two of
the stars of the sport captured in spectacular action
poses in front of a fan-packed coliseum. The visual is
created after invaluable input from SWATCH and feedback
from officials, federations, promoters, players and
sponsors.
The 2009
Men's
SWATCH FIVB World Tour
is won by Germany's Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann
who picked up their share of the
USD 7.7 million
prize money that was spread across the season. They also
won the SWATCH FIVB World Championship in
Stavanger, Norway rounding out a successful first
year for the team.
Juliana Felisberta Silva and
Larissa
Franca win the women's Tour, and
maintain Brazil's grip on the
competion whilst USA's Jen Kessy
and April Ross were victorious
at the Women's SWATCH FIVB World
Championship following in the
footsteps of fellow Americans
and former champions Misty
May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.
2008
The fourth Olympic beach
volleyball competition at
Beijing 2008 again sees 24 women’s and 24 men’s teams
competing against each other, this time over 14 days
(after six continuous days in Atlanta, 10 days in Sydney
and 12 in Athens) of action-packed fun on the sand.
There are a total of 108 matches, comprising 54 men’s
and 54 women’s. The 12,000-seat Chaoyang Park Beach
Volleyball Ground is the stunning venue for the Olympic
beach volleyball
tournaments.
Beijing Olympics women’s medallists
Gold: Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh (USA)
Silver: Jia Tian and Jie Wang (China)
Bronze: Zhang Xi and Xue Chen (China)
Beijing Olympics men’s medallists
Gold: Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers (USA)
Silver: Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes (Brazil)
Bronze: Emanuel and Ricardo (Brazil)
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour sees a record USD 8.325
million distributed in prize money and bonus pool money.
There are six Grand Slam events, 16 double-gender
events, five men’s single-gender events and four women’s
single-gender events.
The FIVB and SWATCH renew their beach
volleyball
sponsorship agreement, extending until 2012 a successful
partnership that first began in 2003. SWATCH will be the
official time-keeper and title sponsor of the 2009-2012
SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, the 2009 SWATCH
FIVB World Championships in Stavanger, the 2011 World
Championships and the yearly Junior and Youth World
Championships.
The FIVB and IMG Sports Media, the sports production and
distribution division of IMG Worldwide, announce a
four-year partnership, commencing in 2009, which will
see IMG Sports Media exclusively distributing key FIVB
tournaments worldwide as well as acting as the official
audio-video media rights and event consultant and TV
coordination agency of the FIVB. Under the terms of the
deal, IMG Sports Media will distribute all media rights
for beach volleyball's SWATCH FIVB World Tour (men's and
women's) and SWATCH FIVB World Championships (men's and
women's, 2009 and 2011).
Stavanger, the Norwegian host of many Open and Grand
Slam World Tour events in the past 10 years, is named as
the venue for the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships
presented by ConocoPhillips.
2007
The SWATCH FIVB World Championships powered by 1to1
energy in the Swiss mountain resort of Gstaad are a huge
success, proving that beach
volleyball can be played
everywhere and not just by the sea. Tens of thousands
flock to the weeklong USD 1 million event. USA sweeps the
gold medals at the event, with Kerri Walsh and Misty
May-Treanor finishing first in the women’s event and
Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser claiming top spot in the
men’s.
There are 17 men’s and 17 women’s events throughout the
season on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour with prize money
and bonus pool of USD 8.15 million.
2005
The SWATCH FIVB Men’s and Women’s World Championships in
Berlin, Germany have USD 1 million prize money on offer. The event
is held in downtown Berlin through June 21-26 with the
best 48 men’s and 48 women’s teams competing for the
world crown. USA’s Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh
claim the women’s gold and Brazil’s Marcio Araujo and
Fabio Magalhaes the men’s gold.
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour features 31 events, including
a record 16 stops for women and 15 for men on five
continents. A total of USD 7.28 million in prize money
and bonus pool money is distributed.
2004
The Olympic
beach
volleyball competition runs over 12
days in Athens with 24 men’s and 24 women’s teams
competing. More than 60 countries take part in the
qualifying process on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour. With
its new 10,000-seat main stadium built in the style of a
traditional Greek amphitheatre, the
beach
volleyball
venue and its surroundings provide an amazingly
entertaining atmosphere in Athens. For the first time in
an Olympic Games, an entertainment programme is
implemented with the involvement of 12 dancers, DJs,
multilingual announcers and production managers.
Athens Olympics women’s medallists
Gold: Kerri Walsh and Misty May (USA)
Silver: Adriana Behar and Shelda (Brazil)
Bronze: Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs (USA)
Athens Olympics men’s medallists
Gold: Ricardo and Emanuel (Brazil)
Silver: Javier Bosma and Pablo Herrera (Spain)
Bronze: Patrick Heuscher and Stefan Kobel (Switzerland)
SWATCH and FIVB renew their agreement for SWATCH to be
title sponsor of the World Tour and World Championships
for an additional four years (2005-2008).
The season is a landmark for Beach Volleyball with 26
tournaments (14 men’s and 12 women’s events) in five
continents with a total of USD 5.3 million in prize money
and more than 750,000 spectators.
Three Grand Slam events are held in Berlin, Germany
(USD 600,000 prize money), Marseille, France
(USD 560,000), and Klagenfurt, Austria (USD 540,000).
The Under-18 Youth World Championships are held in
Termoli, Italy, and the Under-21 Junior World
Championships are held in Porto Santo, Portugal.
2003
SWATCH becomes title sponsor of the World Tour and
presenting sponsor of the World Championships, creating
a new logo/title as visual for posters, flyers, tickets
and introducing SWATCH technology such as electronic
scoreboards and speedball devices at all events.
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour takes in 22 events worldwide
(12 women’s and 10 men’s), including the 2004 Olympic
Games qualification tournaments, in four continents with
more than 700 athletes from over 50 countries playing
for record prize money nearing USD 5 million. More than
600,000 spectators flock to the tournaments. There are
four Grand Slam events, in Klagenfurt, Austria
(USD 520,000 prize money), Marseille, France
(USD 540,000), Berlin, Germany (USD 600,000), and Carson,
Calif., USA (USD 600,000).
The FIVB World Championships presented by SWATCH returns
to Rio de Janerio, Brazil, with USD 800,000 prize money
and the top 48 men’s and 48 women’s teams from five
continents. TV distribution reaches more than 200
countries with over 100,000 spectators and 200
accredited media journalists. USA’s Kerri Walsh and
Misty May claim women’s gold, with Brazil’s Ricardo and
Emanuel taking men’s gold.
There are two Junior World Championship events:
Under-18s in Pattaya, Thailand, (August 27-31) and
Under-21s Saint Quay-Portrieux, France (August 7-10).
Nine exhibition events are held in Madeira in Portugal,
Japan, Italy, France, Switzerland, Italy, Mexico, Norway
and San Marino, one Challenger event played as the
Olympic test event in Athens, Greece (August 19-24) and
three satellite events comprising of one men’s event in
Lausanne, Switzerland, and a men’s and women’s event in
Lavandou, France. The Olympic test event is staged in
Augustin, Athens, to assess the competition, sporting
equipment, personnel, venue, sound results system, etc.,
leading towards the smooth organisation of the Beach
Volleyball Tournaments at the 2004 Olympic Games.
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour finally becomes a well
recognized TV property with 10 26-minute highlight
programs produced for all Grand Slam and Open events and
one 52-minute show for the World Championship event.
Promotional and public relation VIP packages and
promotional activities are made available to attract
audiences and special access passes for major events are
created.
The constant organisation of anti-doping tests to
guarantee the integrity of the athletes and maintain a
drug-free sport is maintained.
2002
A growth plan is launched by the FIVB with the aim to
establish beach volleyball as one of the most popular
summer sports by 2008.
The season schedules 21 tournaments (11 men’s and 10
women’s) over four continents and 12 countries with
total prize money of USD 3,350,000. The year sees two
Grand Slam events in Marseille, France, and Klagenfurt,
Austria.
FIVB introduces official annual Under-21 and Under-18
Beach Volleyball World Championships to encourage future
generations to play Beach Volleyball. The Under-21 World
Championships for men and women are held in Catania,
Italy, through July 10-14 and the Under-18 Beach
Volleyball World Championships run August 28 in
Xylokastron, Greece, with some 100 players from 20
countries.
A Challenger event is held in Kiev, Ukraine, through
July 23-28 and a Satellite event is held in Lausanne,
Switzerland, through August 15-18.
The Beach Volleyball World Council confirms that the
rally point system and a smaller court (16 metres x 8
metres) is to be adopted on the FIVB Beach Volleyball
World Tour and also used at the Athens 2004 Olympic
Games.
2001
There are 12 men’s and 12 women’s events including the
Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. Goodwill Games
prize money is USD 300,000. Total FIVB prize money is
USD 1,275,000 with a bonus pool of USD 1,000,000.
The USD 500,000 World Championships held in Klagenfurt,
Austria, see more than 120,000 spectators attend the
five-day competition. Brazil’s Shelda and Adriana Behar
win women’s gold and Argentina’s Mariano Baracetti and
Martin Conde claim men’s gold.
The first Junior Beach Volleyball Under-21 World
Championships are held in Le Lavandou, France, through
August 24-26, with 24 teams in both the women's and
men's events.
2000
Four years after the overwhelming success of the first
Olympic experience, beach
volleyball becomes even more
of a hit at Sydney 2000. The top 24 men’s and 24 women’s
teams in the world compete on Bondi Beach in a wonderful
stadium seating 10,000 spectators and with modern
facilities, offering a top-class event to the Olympic
family of players, fans, media, sponsors. Teams from
than 50 countries take part in the qualifying process.
Sydney Olympics women’s medallists
Gold: Natalie Cook and Kerri-Ann Pottharst (Australia)
Silver: Adriana Behar and Shelda (Brazil)
Bronze: Sandra Pires and Adriana Samuel (Brazil)
Sydney Olympics men’s medallists
Gold: Dain Blanton and Eric Fonoimoana (USA)
Silver: Zé Marco and Ricardo (Brazil)
Bronze: Jörg Ahmann and Axel Hager (Germany)
The Athens Olympic Games Organising Committee confirms
that Beach Volleyball is included in the Olympic Games
programme for 2004.
The World Tour features 26 events with USD 4 million in
prize money. The women's tour sees a tremendous increase
in the number of tournaments from seven in 1999 to 12 in
2000.
The FIVB assigns the 2001 World Championships to Austria
(August 1-5) and reaches an agreement with Turner Inc.
to include beach volleyball in the 2001 Goodwill Games
in Brisbane, Australia (August 29 to September 4).
A new rally scoring system is tested at a Challenger
and two Satellite events for eventual future
implementation.
1999
The World Tour is the only international circuit
recognised by the IOC for qualification in the Olympic
Games. The qualification process consists of a period
which begins January 1, 1999, and ends August 15, 2000.
The World Tour includes 12 men's and six women's open
events with USD 3.66 million in prize money.
The Men and Women's World Championships are organised in
Europe for the first time, in Marseille, France. The
event distributes USD 600,000 in prize money and is held
in a special facility for 5,000 spectators. By the end
of the competition the total number of spectators
reaches nearly 50,000. Brazil’s Shelda and Adriana Behar
take women’s gold while compatriots José Loiola and
Emanuel win men’s gold.
Beach volleyball is included for the first time in the
Pan American Games, which are held in Canada.
1998
There are 25 FIVB beach
volleyball tournaments (World
Tour and Goodwill Games) with USD 3,900,000 in prize
money and FIVB bonus pool.
New World Tour Open organisers spring up with events in
Argentina, Canada, China and Czech Republic. Chile and
Bulgaria organize Challenger events.
Men and women players are rewarded at the same level for
the first time with USD 170,000 prize money per open
event.
The Goodwill Games features beach
volleyball
competitions from July 22 to August 2 in New York's
Central Park with the world's eight best men's and
women's teams.
Beach volleyball is included in major sports
competitions such as the South East Asian Games, Central
& Pan-American Games, Universiade.
FIVB offers new opportunities to mid-level players and
organisers by introducing lower event categories:
Challenger, Satellite and amateur tournaments, in
addition to major World Tour competitions such as Grand
Slam and Open events.
More than 120 National Federations have regular beach
volleyball activities.
1997
There are 22 FIVB World Tour tournaments with
USD 3,900,000 in prize money and FIVB bonus pool.
Ericsson and Nike present the Men's and Women's Beach
Volleyball World Championships at the UCLA Campus in Los
Angeles, USA. Both genders are rewarded equally with a total
of USD 600,000 in prize money. The event is broadcast in
more than 120 countries.
Austria, Italy and France host women's World Tour events
for the first time and Bulgaria and Czech Republic
organise inaugural Challenger events.
A new competition format with single elimination bracket
and rally scoring system is tested in Marseille,
France and Los
Angeles, USA.
1996
The first Olympic beach
volleyball competition is held
at Atlanta 1996. Twenty-four men’s teams and 18 women’s
teams compete for Olympic medals on Atlanta Beach in
July in a 10,000-seat stadium, with over 107,000
spectators selling out the six-day event. Some 600
athletes representing 42 countries take part in the
Olympic qualifying process. Karch Kiraly becomes a
three-time Olympic gold medallist and first Olympic
champion in volleyball and
beach volleyball.
Atlanta Olympics women’s medallists
Gold: Jackie Silva and Sandra Pires (Brazil)
Silver: Mônica Rodrigues and Adriana Samuel (Brazil)
Bronze: Natalie Cook and Kerri-Ann Pottharst (Australia)
Atlanta Olympics men’s medallists
Gold: Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes (USA)
Silver: Mike Dodd and Mike Witmarsh (USA)
Bronze: John Child and Mark Heese (Canada)
There are 27 FIVB beach
volleyball tournaments (World
Championships Series and Olympic Games) with USD
4,300,000 total prize money and FIVB bonus pool.
France and Portugal organise men's Grand Slam events and
Puerto Rico holds a women's Grand Slam.
More than 95 National Federations have regular beach
volleyball activities.
1995/96
There are 27 FIVB beach
volleyball tournaments (the
“World Championship Series”), with USD 3,500,000 in
prize money & FIVB bonus pool.
Host Broadcasters present 100 hours of news, highlights
and broadcasting.
The “FIVB Final Beach Volleyball Ranking” serves as a
basis to qualify the best pairs in the world for the
Olympic Games. Some 600 athletes representing 42
countries take part in the Olympic qualification season.
More than 50 National Federations have a
beach
volleyball National Council to promote the sport in
their countries.
1994/95
Twelve FIVB beach
volleyball tournaments take place
(World Series and Goodwill Games) with USD 1,440,000 in
prize money and FIVB bonus pool.
Brazil, Chile, France, Japan, Puerto Rico, USA and Chile
host FIVB beach
volleyball competitions.
Beach volleyball is included for the first time in the
Goodwill Games held in St. Petersburg, Russia.
1993/94
Six FIVB beach
volleyball tournaments (World Series)
take place with USD 880,000 in prize money and FIVB bonus
pool.
Brazil, USA and Chile host women's FIVB
beach volleyball
events.
IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, ACOG President
Billy Payne and IOC members are among the 140,000
spectators in one week who attend the February FIVB
Beach Volleyball finals held in Rio de Janeiro.
September
24, 1994: Recognition is given to beach
volleyball as an Olympic discipline at the IOC meeting
in Monte Carlo, Principalty of Monaco.
1992/93
Six FIVB Beach Volleyball World Series tournaments are
held with USD 950,000 in prize money and FIVB bonus pool.
The first women's FIVB
Beach Volleyball World Series tournament takes place in
Almeria, Spain.
USA pair Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos enter into
beach
volleyball legend by becoming
world champions for the
fifth time.
A Beach Volleyball Department is created within the FIVB.
1991/92
Seven FIVB Beach Volleyball World Series tournaments are
held with a total of USD 600,000 in prize money and FIVB
bonus pool. Australia and Spain host FIVB
beach
volleyball events for the first time.
1990/91
Four FIVB Beach Volleyball World Series events are held
with USD 200,000 in prize money and FIVB bonus pool.
France, Italy, Japan and Brazil host men's FIVB beach
volleyball events.
September 1990: The first FIVB Beach Volleyball World
Council gathers in Lausanne to determine a growth
programme for beach volleyball.
1989/90
Three FIVB Beach Volleyball World Series events are held
with USD 140,000 total prize money.
The first FIVB beach
volleyball international circuit,
named the World Series, is created with men’s
tournaments in Brazil, Italy and Japan. The Brazilian
event sells out with thousands of people outside the
stadium wanting to get in.
Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos become 1989/90 men’s
world champions.
1989
An FIVB men’s tournament is held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, with USD 50,000 prize money. USA’s Sinjin Smith
and Randy Stoklos are the winners.
1988
An FIVB men’s tournament is held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, with USD 51,500 prize money. The winners are
USA’s Karch Kiraly and Pat Powers.
1987
The first international FIVB-sanctioned
beach
volleyball
tournament is held on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, with USD 22,000 prize money. Sinjin Smith and
Randy Stoklos of USA win the tournament.
1986
The first international beach
volleyball exhibition is
held in Rio de Janeiro with 5,000 spectators.
Brazilian volleyball champions such as Renan, Badá,
Montanaro, William, Jackie Silva, Isabel Salgado, Vera
Mossa, Regina Uchoa, along with 1984 Olympic Volleyball
champion Pat Powers and King of the Beach Sinjin Smith,
both American, become leading figures in the worldwide
growth of beach
volleyball.
1982
Beach volleyball becomes popular on the beaches of
Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The USA tour becomes national with tournaments held from
Denver to New York and Clearwater, Florida.
1980
The first sponsored tour is organised in USA with seven
events in the calendar and USD 52,000 prize money.
1977
Pro beach volleyball tournaments are held in Santa Cruz,
Lake Tahoe and Los Angeles, USA.
1976
The inaugural championships of beach
volleyball are
staged at State Beach, Pacific Palisades in California
with USD 5,000 prize money. Jim Menges and Greg Lee win
the tournament in front of 30,000 spectators.
1974
The first commercially sponsored tournament takes place
in San Diego, California, with 250 spectators. A total
of USD 1,500 in prize money is offered. The winners are
Dennis Hare and Fred Zuelich.
1950s and ’60s
Beach volleyball becomes part of the California
lifestyle, much like surfing. The sport is associated
with the beach, the sun and modern music. Even the
Beatles come to Sorrento Beach, California, and pass the
ball around and Marilyn Monroe talks about
beach
volleyball.
Open tournaments are held on eight beaches in
California: Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, State, Manhattan,
Corona del Mar, Laguna, San Diego and even on Lake
Tahoe's shores. The first Manhattan Beach Open takes
place.
President Kennedy attends the first official
beach
volleyball event in Sorrento Beach, Los Angeles.
1957
Bernie Holtzman and Gene Selznick win an event that
features Greta Tyson, star of “Pyjama Tops,” as “Queen
of the Beach.”
1950s
The first circuit is organised on five beaches in
California: Santa Barbara, State, Corona del Mar, Laguna
and San Diego.
In Brazil, the first tournament sponsored by a newspaper
publishing company takes place.
1948
A tournament is held at State Beach, California. The
best teams are rewarded with a crate of Pepsi.
1947
The first official two-man beach
volleyball tournament
is held at State Beach, California, with no prize money.
It is organised by Bernie Holtzman and won by Saenez-Harris.
American soldiers play beach
volleyball on the European
shores for the first time.
1930
Beach volleyball appears in Palavas, Lacanau and Royan
in France; around Sofia, Bulgaria; Prague, Czech
Republic; and Riga, Latvia.
The first two-man
beach volleyball game is played in
Santa Monica, California.
1920s, ’30s & ’40s Families are reported to be
seen playing six against
six. There are also rumours that six-man teams are
playing on Hawaiian beaches.
All you needed is a bathing suit, a net, a ball and sand
to play beach
volleyball. The fever catches on rapidly
in the USA where people can escape the depression by
going to the beach.
1895-1920
The game of volleyball which gave “root” to
beach
volleyball is invented in 1895 by American William G.
Morgan, the Physical Director of the Holyoke Y.M.C.A.
Morgan blends elements of basketball, baseball, tennis
and handball to create a game for his classes of
businessmen that want a new game with less physical
contact than basketball.
The original name of the game is Mintonette, which is
derived from badminton, since the nature of the game is
to volley a ball back and forth across the net. Morgan
agrees to change the name to volleyball. The game is
invented just four years after basketball.
In 1900 Canada becomes the first country outside of the
USA to take up volleyball, followed by Cuba in 1906,
Japan in 1908, China in 1911, France in 1915 (during
World War I on the beaches of Normandy and Brittany).
The true birth of beach
volleyball most likely begins
on the beaches of Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, also in 1915,
then in Italy, Russia and India in 1917 and the rest
of Europe in 1918 via the American Expeditionary Forces.
The year 1920 sees the first annual double
championships of Philadelphia held at Germantown YMCA
and in 1922 the first Volleyball Federation is founded
in Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria.
There are unconfirmed whispers of men’s teams playing on
the beach in
Hawaii, but most accounts place the sport's
origin in Santa Monica, California, where the first
volleyball courts are put up on the beach. |