When was beach volleyball first played

Some 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. More than 95 National Federations have regular beach volleyball activities. Host Broadcasters present hours of news, highlights and broadcasting.

Some 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. Beach volleyball is included for the first time in the Goodwill Games held in St. Petersburg, Russia. USA pair Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos enter into beach volleyball legend by becoming world champions for the fifth time.

The Brazilian event sells out with thousands of people outside the stadium wanting to get in. The first international beach volleyball exhibition is held in Rio de Janeiro with 5, spectators. Jim Menges and Greg Lee win the tournament in front of 30, spectators. The first commercially sponsored tournament takes place in San Diego, California, with spectators.

A total of USD 1, in prize money is offered. The winners are Dennis Hare and Fred Zuelich. 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.

The first Manhattan Beach Open takes place. In Brazil, the first tournament sponsored by a newspaper publishing company takes place.

A tournament is held at State Beach, California. The best teams are rewarded with a crate of Pepsi. 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. The winner of each rally, irrespective of which team served, scores a point. Serves can be made from anywhere behind the end line and may be struck under or over arm with any part of the hand, fist, or arm. Service order must be maintained throughout the set. The server continues to serve until the serving team loses a point. A team may hit the ball three times to return it, but no player can hit the ball twice in a row, including if it hits one part of their body and then rebounds to another part.

Rallies can be lost by hitting the ball out of play or into the net or if a player touches the net with any part of his or her body while playing the ball. Shots may be blocked before they cross the net as long as the blocker does not touch the net.

The ball can be played off the net during a rally. Because weather affects play, teams swap ends every seven points during the first two sets and every five points during the third set. Each match is played over the best of three sets. To win a set, a team must have a two-point break over the opposition. The match continues indefinitely until this is the case. The first two sets are played to 21 points while the third, if required, is played to 15 points.

Both players on the team have to serve alternatively after every change in serve upon winning a point. Beach volleyball is a best-of-three set contest unlike indoor volleyball where matches can go on till five sets. The first two sets are played until one team reaches 21 points - as opposed to 25 in the indoor version for its first four sets - and the third and final deciding set, if required, is played to 15 points.

Each rally is worth a point and a team has to have a lead of at least two points while reaching the designated points tally - 21 in the first two sets and 15 in the third - to effectively win the set.

Hence, if the score is in the first two sets or in the decider, the set continues, even after the next point is scored, until one team builds a lead of two points over the other. In the event that neither team wins the first two sets and the game extends to a third and final set, as per rules of beach volleyball, a coin toss precedes it to decide which team serves first in the decider.

The defender guards the rest of the court and digs out spikes or chases looped up shots into the open areas of the court. They originally agreed to only use a quarter of the court but quickly expanded to half the court, and eventually decided to use the entire volleyball court.

The two-player game soon became popular on the beaches of Southern California. Beach volleyball spread to Europe in conjunction with World War II, as soldiers used the sport as a way to relieve stress and keep fit. Europeans took a liking to the game, and soon the sport was a staple on beaches across Europe.

Stateside, the sport of beach volleyball continued to prosper, but was still played predominantly in southern California where two-person format was the preferred style of play.

The Santa Monica Recreation Department held the first of four annual tournaments for two-player teams in the summer of The tournaments were a smash hit and soon cities across the southern California coast, including Santa Barbara and Long Beach, organized similar events.

The s and s was somewhat of a golden era for the sport. The game enjoyed unprecedented growth, spreading to Northern California, Florida, and even as far as Brazil. Women also began to get involved in the sport. In , beach volleyball was finally recognized as a legitimate sport with a set of standardized rules and sanctioned tournaments. However, there were a few exceptions.