Beach volleyball

History

Natural variation of volleyball, the beach based sport was invented in 1895 in the United States. Ready to play the sport on the sand of California beaches, the pioneers started their serves and spikes in 1920. Little by little, the idea started to win fans over in the United States and abroad, so much so that in 1947, the first official beach volleyball tournament was held. Three years later, the first circuit was played, made up of five stages played in different California beaches.

The success of the initiative led to the California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) being founded in 1960, which encouraged and consolidated the sport at the global level in the 1980s. With many former famous indoor volleyball players taking to the game, the first professional circuit was held in Australia. In 1996, at the Atlanta Games, the sport was officially included in the Olympic programme.

In Brazil, the sport stated being played in the 1930s at the amateur level, on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro. During the following decades, beach volleyball gained thousands of followers in the country, but was seen as a weekend game. This changed in 1986, when Hollywood Volley was held in Copacabana and Santos (state of São Paulo) with the participation of Brazilian and international athletes. After Hollywood Volley, the sport was made official by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the first world championship was played on Ipanema beach in 1987. The doubles team made up of Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos from the United States won the title, while Renan and Montanaro from Brazil - two former indoor volleyball stars - were the best placed athletes from the country, finishing in third. The opportunity for the sport to develop was thus provided and today, it stands out in the Brazilian sporting scene.
 
Curiosities

Difficult adaptation
Many former indoor volleyball stars start playing beach volleyball. However, adapting to the sport is not always easy. Up until today, only one former indoor athlete managed the feat of winning the gold medal at the Olympics in both varieties of the sport. American legend Charles Frederick Kiraly, commonly known as Karch Kiraly. He won the gold medal in indoor volleyball at the Olympics in Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988). Then, together with Kent Steffes, he scooped up the gold in beach volleyball at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Kiraly is considered by many the biggest volleyball player of all times.

Nudist beach
Beach volleyball was taken to France by a French entrepreneur, who had fallen in love with the sport during a trip to California.  In 1927, he decided to take the game to the nudist beach he used to go to in Francoville.

See also

Confederação Brasileira de Voleibol
Site: www.cbv.com.br
Federação Internacional de Voleibol (FIVB): www.fivb.org