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BEACH VOLLEYBALLBeach Volleyball
Indoor volleyball has been a respected sport for a long time and then the new kid on the block came along. Beach volleyball is an old pastime but only became popular as a professional sport from the late 1990s. Until then, it was mostly played for fun in California, with some local tournaments taking place. It began in Santa Monica during the 1920s and gradually spread elsewhere. People mainly viewed it as a fun thing to do on vacation but then the media started to take an interest. Today, it is a highly competitive business with sponsors competing for a piece of the action.
It took a while for people to take this new sport on their TV screens seriously. Controversy still reigns, especially with regard to the rather skimpy sportswear worn by female players. The women's events are more popular in fact and most of the well-known competitors are female. Sometimes, the clothing worn has offended in some Islamic countries. All this attention has no doubt boosted the sport but it's fair to say that both men and women train hard and approach tournaments in a professional manner. Beach volleyball is an exciting spectator sport with lots of skill and quick thinking required.
There are slight variations to the rules as played in indoor volleyball, the most obvious being that indoor teams have six players and beach volleyball teams have just two. Beach players are allowed to play barefoot. The sport has proved most successful for the US and Brazil, with Australia catching up. The sport was included in the 1996 Olympic Games for the first time, for men and women. It's popular in lots of other countries too, including landlocked countries. Professional beach volleyball is played in China, Greece and Germany. There are also Youth Tournaments to help the development of the game.
The sport has produced quite a few celebrities now and is gaining in credibility. People who shunned it at first have been drawn in by the hard fought contests and abilities of the teams. There has been an attitude that beach volleyball is something that anyone can do. In fact, anyone can play baseball but it doesn't mean that you could do it well. Playing a friendly game with your friends is very different from representing your country and trying to get a Gold Medal. There is always an argument about what sports should be included in the Olympics. Beach volleyball is definitely here to stay.
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