Beach Volleyball

Beach Volleyball

Beach Volleyball has been played for many years, and organizations such as the California Beach Volleyball Association have helped in furthering the sport. Beach Volleyball is now available to everyone and it is even played in the Olympics. In the early twenty's, "Ð'... in Santa Monica, California, the first Volleyball courts were put up on the beach at the Playground [in Santa Monica]" ("History of Beach Volleyball"). Most games consisted of families playing six on six ("History of Beach Volleyball"). In 1930, the "first two-man beach volleyball game was played in Santa Monica, California" ("History of Beach Volleyball"). In 1965, the "CBVA - California Beach Volleyball Association [was] founded. Tournament organizers met to coordinate the schedules and define the rules of the game" ("History of Beach Volleyball"). In Atlanta, in 1996, "twenty-four men's teams and sixteen women's teams represent[ed] their countries in the first ever Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournaments" ("History of Beach Volleyball"). Beach volleyball has been a success with the California Beach Volleyball Association and in the Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournaments.

"The California Beach Volleyball Association continues to thrive by offering an abundance of volleyball to sport enthusiasts" ("Golden State Gem"). "The CBVA has prospered over the last forty years and has developed into the largest single-entity regional beach organization in the United States, with over five thousand participants expected to play in over one hundred tournaments this season" ("Golden State Gem"). The CBVA makes beach volleyball available for everyone. "Ð''The most important fact is we provide play for all levels from beginner to AAA,' said CBVA marketing director Scott Hubbell, who lauded the longtime sponsorship commitment of Bud Light. Ð''That's the number one property we offer the Volleyball community. We are able to provide beach Volleyball for everybody. If you want to come down and play beach Volleyball, we will have a level for you'" ("Golden State Gem"). Although there are many levels for people to participate in, to stay in shape during the winter months is not an easy task.

In "OFF-SEASON BEACH CONDITIONING", Michelle Lovitt says that, "It takes a lot of hard work and determination to be a successful beach Volleyball player." Although some may think that beach volleyball players only worry about volleyball in the summer, "beach volleyball athletes log many hours preparing for the upcoming season. It is crucial to their success to work out and stay in shape throughout the year and not just during the summer months" (Lovitt, Michelle). Lovitt says, "Remember, the stronger and better conditioned an athlete is, the quicker they will recover between anaerobic efforts such as chasing down an errant ball or blocking and retracting off the net multiple times during a long rally." With a strict practice and workout regimen during the off months, more success will be the result for the beginning summer matches.

"Angie Akers, the 2002 AVP Rookie of the Year, [said that she thought] Ð''with beach Volleyball I think it takes a good three months of training every day to get your legs to where you can move in the sand and feel comfortable'" (Pryor, Erin). Akers "desire[s] to win a tournament and qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China" (Pryor, Erin).

Kerri Walsh is another amazing beach volleyball player who "has unquestionably positioned herself as one of the most dominating women's beach volleyball