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2011-08-22 • 5920 views • 3 replies

1920's There are unconfirmed whispers of mens 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 at the Playground. Families play 6 vs. 6.
1930's The first two-man beach volleyball game is played in Santa Monica, California. Beach volleyball appears in Palavas, Lacanau and Royan (France), around Sofia (Bulgaria), Prague (Czechoslavakia), and Riga (Latvia). n the US, people escape the depression by going to the beach; 4 vs 4 and 3 vs 3 games are played. 
1947 The first official two-man Beach Volleyball tournament is held at Will Rogers State Beach, California with no prize money. It is organized by Bernie Holtzman and won by Manny Saenz and Harris.
1950's In Brazil, the first tournament sponsored by a newspaper publishing company takes place. The beginning of "Beachmania": Beach Volleyball becomes an entertainment show with Beauty Contests included in the official program.
1965 First rules of beach volleyball are written down.
1975 Winston Cigarettes becomes the first commercial company to sponsor a tournament which takes place in San Diego, California with 250 spectators. A total of $1,500 in prize money is offered with Dennis Hare and Fred Zeulich winning the event.
1976 Olympia Beer presents the Inaugural Professional Championships of Beach Volleyball at Will Rogers State Beach with a $5,000 first prize. The event is won by Jim Menges and Greg Lee. It is estimated that close to 30,000 spectators enjoy the competition. 
1980 The first sponsored tour in the US begins with seven events on the calendar and $52,000 prize money. The tour includes stops in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Laguna Beach ($5,000), Manhattan Beach ($10,000), The King of the Beach ($12,000), and The World Championships ($15,000).
1990 he first FIVB Beach Volleyball International Circuit offering $140,000 in total prize money, named the World Series, is created with mens tournaments in Brazil, Italy, and Japan. The Brazillian event sells out with thousands of people outside the stadium wanting to get in. Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos are the Men's World Champions. 
1995 The FIVB Final Beach Volleyball Rankings serve as a basis to qualify the best pairs in the world for the Olympics. Some 600 athletes representing 42 countries take part in the Olympic Qualification season. 
1996 The first Olympic Beach Volleyball competition takes place from July 23 to 28 in Atlanta Beach, in a 10,000-seat stadium. Twenty-four mens teams and eighteen womens teams compete for Olympic medals as over 107,000 spectators attend the event. AVP teams dominate the men's Olympic competition with a gold and silver medal sweep. Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes take home the gold as Kiraly becomes a three-time gold medalist and the first indoor and outdoor Olympic champion in volleyball.
 

#beachvolleyball #history

Beach Volleyball history
11 years ago
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Very interesting article!

Do you play beach?
kapitan_bombaAuthor 910 9
11 years ago
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Often?
1 month ago
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Your article is very curious and interesting

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