AMERICA’S IMPRESSION OF THE BEACH CAME LARGELY CAME FROM THE WHOLESOME YET SOMEWHAT SILLY BEACH PARTY FILMS MADE POPULAR BY ANNETTE FUNICELLO AND FRANKIE AVALON.

BUT FOR THOSE WHO LIVED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, IT WAS A UNIQUE TYPE OF LIFE THAT WAS UNCONSCIOUSLY CAST AS STYLE AND WHOSE ALLEGED PRIVILEGED AMBIENCE HARKENED BACK TO TIME WHEN PRESIDENTS LIKE JOHN F. KENNEDY AND HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE JACKIE WERE THE PRIDE AND JOY OF A NATION WHO STUBBORNLY STAYED DRUNK ON AN AMERICAN DREAM THAT IN REALITY, WAS DEMANDING PEOPLE WAKE UP.

(Photos courtesy of Kevin Goff - www.kevincgoff.com)

WITH NEAR PERFECT WEATHER, THE BEACH WAS MORE THAN SAND. IT WAS A HEDONISTIC DESTINATION AND THE ENVY OF A NATION WHOSE IDENTITY WAS UNDERGOING CATACLYSMIC CHANGE.

FEW UNDERSTOOD BEACH CULTURE NOR CARED TO. NAYSAYERS DUBBED THE BEACH THE “GRAVEYARD OF AMBITION.” THEN AGAIN, MEETING YOUR EXPECTATIONS WASN’T WHAT THESE MEN AND WOMEN WERE ABOUT. IT WASN’T A MATTER OF REFUSING TO GROW UP. IT WAS A MATTER OF LIVING LIFE ON YOUR OWN TERMS. F!@# CONVENTION…

BEACH VOLLEYBALL AND ITS DISTINCTIVE CALIFORNIA CULTURE REPRESENTED AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE LIKE NO OTHER, A FUSE THAT, IF LIT AT ANOTHER TIME, PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE BLOWN UP AS IT HAD.

AND IT’S THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LIGHTING THAT FUSE…

(Photos courtesy of Kevin Goff - www.kevincgoff.com)

ASK MOST AMERICAN FOLKS IN THE 50s ABOUT VOLLEYBALL, AND MOST WOULD SAY IT’S “A GAME PLAYED BY GIRLS AT RECESS.” AND WHILE MILDLY TRUE, THIS UNDERDOG OF A SPORT “PLAYED AT FOURTH OF JULY PICNICS” WOULD UNDERGO A SEISMIC METAMORPHOSIS BOTH CULTURALLY AND POLITICALLY TO SURVIVE…FOR THE BETTER.

DESPITE THEIR CAREFREE FACADE, THE RACE TO LAY CLAIM TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S MUCH-BALLYHOOED BEACHES HAS BEEN RUNNING SINCE THEIR DISCOVERY.

ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED AS PUBLIC, WELL-HEELED PATRONS SYSTEMATICALLY PRIVATIZED PORTIONS OF THESE SAME BEACHES AND ERECTED MAGNIFICENT CLUBS.

MEMBERS-ONLY…

THE SPORT’S EARLIEST PIONEERS RISKED A GREAT DEAL TO TRANSFORM WHAT MOST PERCEIVED TO BE CULT-LIKE INTO SOMETHING MAINSTREAM.

FOR THE DEVOUT LIKE GENE SELZNICK, RON LANG, HENRY BERGMANN, KATHY GREGORY, AND RON VON HAGEN, THE BEACH VOLLEYBALL WAS RELIGION, THE BEACH THEIR CHURCH.

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LONG BEFORE BEACH VOLLEYBALL’S HIGHLY PUBLICIZED PROFESSIONALIZATION, A SELECT HANDFUL COMPETED FOR SOMETHING FAR MORE VALUABLE THAN CASH, IT WAS ABOUT RESPECT. IT WAS DURING A TIME WHEN THE BEST WERE ESSENTIALLY NAMELESS IF YOU DROVE MORE THAN A MILE FROM THE BEACH.

NONE OF THAT MATTERED THOUGH, THESE MAVERICKS PLAYED FROM DAWN TO DARK, HONING THE ART OF THE PASS, SET AND SPIKE. SURE THERE WAS THE OCCASIONAL TROPHY, A PAIR OF TRUNKS FROM SOME LITTLE SURF COMPANY BASED OUT OF AUSTRALIA CALLED QUIKSILVER AND MAYBE EVEN A FREE DINNER, BUT THE REAL THRILL WAS KEEPING CENTER COURT FOR THE NEXT GAME AND TO FEEL THE HEARTTHROB OF BEING THE BEST.

(Photos courtesy of Kevin Goff - www.kevincgoff.com)

BY DEFINITION, SAND IS A GRANULAR MATERIAL COMPOSED OF MINERAL PARTICLES AND FINELY DIVIDED ROCK. ROCK, THAT, ON AVERAGE, TAKES OVER 80 MILLION YEARS TO BECOME SAND.

IT’S COMMONLY KNOWN THAT VERY LITTLE, IF ANYTHING AT ALL, CAN BE GROWN IN SAND. AS A NURTURING AGENT, IT’S SIMPLY NOT FERTILE ENOUGH AND DOES LITTLE TO EXPLAIN HOW OUT OF A THIN STRETCH OF IT BASED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPROUTED THE SPORT OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL.

THEN AGAIN, LIFE IS A SURVIVALIST ENDEAVOR, A BEGUILING AND OFTEN VIOLENT, EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS. THE GOOD NEWS IS, LIFE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY…

NO PROFESSIONAL SPORT WOULD BE WITHOUT ITS VERSION OF THE SUPER BOWL OR WIMBLEDON. IN THE EARLY 1960s, BEACH VOLLEYBALL WAS THE MANHATTAN BEACH OPEN. LEGENDARY MATCHES PLAYED WELL INTO THE EVENING IMMORTALIZED MERE MEN. THE CROWDS WERE MASSIVE, AND THE PROXIMITY TO THE PIER WAS PICTURESQUE. AT FIRST, SEVERAL NORTH BAY PARTNERSHIPS DOMINATED, THEN AS THE SPORT PROFESSIONALIZED, MORE SOUTH BAY GUYS ROUNDED THE OUT ACTION AND BEGAN DEFENDING THEIR TURF.

BY THE 80s, THE MANHATTAN OPEN HAD A BECOME QUITE THE WARFIELD. LOCATED IN THE SOUTH BAY’S BACKYARD, MANHATTAN BEACH WAS THE HOME TO ONE OF THE ERA’S MOST POWERFUL DUOS, MIKE DODD AND THE CITY’S ADOPTED SON, TIM HOVLAND. FROTHING AT THE MOUTH WERE THE LOCALS WHO COULDN’T WAIT FOR THE NORTH BAY’S SINJIN SMITH AND RANDY STOKLOS TO MAKE IT TO THE FINALS. AND MAKE IT THEY WOULD, MEETING 7 TIMES. EACH FINAL WAS AS THRILLING AS IT WAS NASTY. THE AUDIENCE LOVED TO ANTAGONIZE RANDY AND SINJIN, WHO IN STORIED RESPONSE WOULD TURN AND GIVE IT RIGHT BACK AND DOUBLY SO IF THE HECKLERS WERE PART OF COMPETITOR BRENT FROHOFF’S POSSE, THE APTLY NICKNAMED, “FRO’S BROS.”

THEATRICS ASIDE, THE MANHATTAN BEACH HOLDS A GREAT PLACE IN EVERY BEACH VOLLEYBALL PROFESSIONAL’S HEART. THERE’S SIMPLY NOT ANOTHER EVENT QUITE LIKE IT.

(Photos courtesy of Kevin Goff - www.kevincgoff.com)

LIKE MARRIAGES, PLAYER PARTNERSHIPS COME IN A VARIETY OF FORMS AND COULD LEAVE EVEN THE MOST SEASONED TELENOVELA PRODUCER FROTHING AT THE MOUTH WITH THE AMOUNT OF DRAMA THAT REGULARLY ENSUED. DIVORCES WERE APLENTY, MANY FEELINGS WERE HURT AND EVEN MORE WORDS WERE EXCHANGED.

AT TIMES, TANDEMS ARE FORMED UNDER THE AUSPICES THAT A FORMER PARTNER WILL RECOVER FROM INJURY OR RETURN FROM A LUCRATIVE STINT PLAYING OVERSEAS, WHILE AT OTHER TIMES, YOU’LL SEE ARRANGEMENTS MADE MOMENTS BEFORE A MATCH, AND EVEN IF SUCCESSFUL THERE’S ALWAYS A HINT OF CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM MOVING FORWARD. BOTTOM LINE, IF YOU COULD AFFORD TO KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN, YOU ALWAYS DID, CAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN, AS CEMENTING A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP COULD BE PREMATURE.

ULTIMATELY, WHAT EACH PAIRING SEEKS IS A WINNING CHEMISTRY WITH SKILL SETS THAT BEST COMPLEMENT ONE ANOTHER. IN TERMS OF PERSONALITIES, IT WAS COMMONLY KNOWN AMONG THE WOMEN THAT YOU HAD TO LIKE ONE ANOTHER TOO, SOMETHING LESS EMPHASIZED AMONG THE MEN WHEREIN EVEN THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PAIRINGS TOLERATED ONE ANOTHER SO LONG AS THEY WON.

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DESPITE ITS PUBLIC ACCESS, THE SAME TERRITORIALITY THAT DROVE A WEDGE BETWEEN SURFERS ALSO CREPT INTO THE WORLD OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL. MANY OF THE BURGEONING SPORT’S TOP PLAYERS WERE EITHER FROM THE NORTH BAY OR SOUTH BAY. ON THE SURFACE, THIS MAY APPEAR TRIVIAL, BUT IT GOT VERY PERSONAL.

TRUTH BE TOLD, IT WAS THE AUDIENCE THAT COULD BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY REACH OUT AND TOUCH YOU THAT MADE YOU REALIZE THE CONFINES OF ENEMY TERRITORY. THROUGHOUT THE 70s AND 80s, FANS WERE EXPECTED TO STAY QUIET LIKE THOSE AT A TENNIS MATCH. TRY EXPECTING THAT OF FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN DRINKING ALL DAY IN THE HOT SUN.

SOME WOULD ARGUE THAT IT WAS THE HEAD REFEREE’S WHO WERE THE GREATEST VICTIMS OF ABUSE. SURE, BOTCHING A CALL WOULD CATCH YOU A LENGTHY EARFUL FROM PLAYERS, YELLOW CARDS BE DAMNED, BUT THESE ROWDY CROWDS WERE INCONSOLABLE. FANS WERE EJECTED, SOME ARRESTED. ONE INCIDENT SAW A RENOWNED PLAYER “INTERACT” WITH THAT OF A HIGHLY INTOXICATED, BELLIGERENT FAN.

ALL IN ALL, A BEACH VOLLEYBALL EVENT BACK THEN WAS PLAYED BY A SET OF RULES THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY HAVE TO SHIFT OR ENDURE SPONSOR DISAPPROVAL. THEN AGAIN, VIEWERSHIP NUMBERS DID NOT REFLECT SUCH BEHAVIOR AS UNDESIRABLE. RATINGS WERE STEADILY RISING AND PRIZE MONEY WENT UP BY 300% BETWEEN 1987 AND 1988.

THE BEACH WAS A SOULFUL OASIS, IF NOT AN ALL-OUT REFUGE FAR REMOVED FROM THE CALAMITOUS HEADLINES, ALTHOUGH SOME WOULD ARGUE THAT IT WAS EQUIVALENCY OF PUTTING ONE’S HEAD IN THE SAND.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL DREW A WIDE SWATHE OF COLORFUL CHARACTERS. EACH HAD A DIFFERENT STORY. SOME WERE BEACH VOLLEYBALL ROYALTY. OTHERS DEFIED FAMILIAL EXPECTATIONS. WHILE OTHERS FOUND SOLACE AFTER SERVING THEIR COUNTRY. WHAT BONDED THEM WAS THIS THIN STRIP OF DECOMPOSED EARTH, A LOVE FOR A SPORT, AND IT’S TRULY ORIGINAL LIFESTYLE THAT GREW OUT OF IT.

THROUGHOUT TIME, MUSICIANS HAVE GRAPPLED WITH IMBUING SOCIAL COMMENTARY INTO THEIR SONGS, THOUGH SOME ARGUE THAT THE ARTISTS OF THE 70s WERE THE FIRST TO SPEAK THEIR MINDS, DAMN THE REPERCUSSIONS, LIFE WAS SIMPLY TOO SHORT.

AS THE 80s ROLLED IN, MORE THAN JUST THE MUSIC REFLECTED A PERIOD OF GREAT INCOME DISPARITY AND A FOCUS ON AFFLUENCE. DRUGS LIKE COCAINE WERE AS COMMON AS CANNABIS IS TODAY, AND IT HELPED FUEL TELEVISION SHOWS LIKE MIAMI VICE AND MOVIES LIKE THAT OF WALL STREET MADE POPULAR BY MICHAEL DOUGLAS’ CHARACTER GORDON GEKKO.

FLAUNTING WEALTH WAS PART AND PARCEL OF THE TIMES AND A DELIBERATE BY-PRODUCT OF PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN’S TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS. BEACH VOLLEYBALL’S METEORIC RISE MIGHT NOT HAVE OTHERWISE HAPPENED WERE THIS PERFECT STORM OF CIRCUMSTANCES NOT IN MOTION.

SAND AND SURF ARE WHAT MAKE THE BEACH. THEY’RE KINDRED SPIRITS THAT BIRTHED SPORTS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SHAPING AN ENTIRE ERA’S POPULAR CULTURE.

FINANCED BY HOLLYWOOD MOGULS, THE I.V.A. (INTERNATIONAL VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION) WAS THE UNITED STATES FIRST, SHORT-LIVED ATTEMPT AT PROFESSIONAL CO-ED INDOOR VOLLEYBALL.

ITS DEMISE CAME AT THE HANDS OF MULTIPLE FACTORS, THE MOST NOTABLE BEING A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTER THAT CENTERED AROUND DRUG TRAFFICKING.

NBA LEGEND, WILT CHAMBERLAIN FELL IN LOVE WITH BEACH VOLLEYBALL WHILE REHABBING A KNEE INJURY IN THE EARLY 1970s. LATER, ALONG WITH BEACH LEGEND, GENE SELZNICK, WILT SPONSORED SEVERAL TRAVELING TEAMS THAT PROMOTED THE SPORT AND WAS ALSO INSTRUMENTAL IN FOUNDING THE I.V.A. (INTERNATIONAL VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION).

(Photos courtesy of Kevin Goff - www.kevincgoff.com)

PRESIDENT CARTER SAW FIT TO HAVE THE UNITED STATES BOYCOTT THE 1980 RUSSIAN OLYMPICS, BUT IT WOULDN’T HAVE MATTERED TO THE MEN’S NATIONAL INDOOR VOLLEYBALL TEAM, WHO AGAIN FAILED TO QUALIFY…FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE TIME.

ON THIS TEAM WERE A SMALL NUMBER OF TALENTED, BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS, MOST NOTABLY SINJIN SMITH AND TIM HOVLAND, WHO HAD SEEN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH HEAD COACH DOUG BEAL GROW CONTENTIOUS.

IN THE COMING YEARS, BOTH SINJIN AND TIM WOULD DEPART THE TEAM FOR A MULTITUDE OF REASONS, ONE BEING A GENERAL DISLIKE FOR HOW “ENTITLED” THE BEACH PLAYERS WERE.

AMID A DEEP RECESSION, STRIKES WERE NOT UNCOMMON. THE UNITED AUTO WORKERS (UAW) AND AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS WERE AMONG THE MOST PUBLICIZED.

THEN WITHIN TWO YEARS OF ONE ANOTHER, BOTH THE NFL AND MLB PLAYER UNIONS STRUCK. OWNERS AND PLAYERS WERE CAST IN UNFAVORABLE LIGHT. PARTIES ULTIMATELY SETTLED, AND PLAY EVENTUALLY RESUMED, BUT THE DAMAGE TO THEIR PUBLIC IMAGES TOOK YEARS TO FIX.

TAKING A PAGE FROM THAT PLAYBOOK, SEVERAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS STRUCK AMID ONE OF THE TOUR’S BIGGEST EVENTS IN 1984. AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN PLAYBOY MAGAZINE ENTITLED “VOLLEYBALL GODS” CHRONICLED THE EVENT IN HYPERBOLIC DETAIL AND CAST SERIOUS SHADE ON ITS TOP TIER OF PLAYERS, AND LARGELY RIDICULED A “LIFESTYLE” SPORT THAT WAS STILL STRUGGLING TO GAIN CREDIBILITY.

BY 1983 AND WITHOUT POINTING ANY FINGERS, SEVERAL TOP-TIER BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS FELT THIS BLOSSOMING LIFESTYLE SPORT WAS BEING MISMANAGED AND SOUGHT CONTROL OF ITS DESTINY. DECISIONS FROM THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZE MONIES TO THE TYPE OF BALL BEING USED LED TO A NASTY RIFT MADE PUBLIC BETWEEN BETWEEN THE TOUR’S PROMOTION COMPANY AND THIS CONSORTIUM OF VOCAL PLAYERS.

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF RENOWNED SPORTS AGENT LEONARD ARMATO, OUT OF THIS CAME A UNIQUE HYBRID OF PLAYER-RUN UNIONS CALLED THE ASSOCIATION OF VOLLEYBALL PROFESSIONALS (AVP). AS AN ORGANIZATION, ITS DECADES-LONG TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS ARE ONE OF SPORT’S WELL-DOCUMENTED TALES, ONE THAT WOULD FOREVER RESHAPE PROFESSIONAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL’S HISTORY.

AFTER A SIXTEEN-YEAR ABSENCE, THE 1984 OLYMPICS IN LOS ANGELES WERE A LANDMARK MOMENT THAT BROUGHT MUCH-NEEDED ATTENTION TO INDOOR VOLLEYBALL SEEING ITS MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TEAMS BRING HOME GOLD AND SILVER, RESPECTIVELY.

AS A RESULT OF THESE VICTORIES AND IN OBVIOUS CONJUNCTION WITH WHERE THE MEDALS WERE WON, PROFESSIONAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL WOULD SOON REAP THE BENEFITS. VOLLEYBALL, AS A COLLECTIVE SPORT, HAD FINALLY GOTTEN THE RECOGNITION IT NEEDED TO FLOURISH.

(Photos courtesy of Kevin Goff - www.kevincgoff.com)

PER A SOURCE WHO WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS:

“TO SURVIVE, LET ALONE EARN RESPECT AS A NEW SPORT, IS A THANKLESS JOB FOR THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO EAT A STEADY DIET OF SHIT WITH A SMILE, THEN ALSO HAVE THE CAPACITY TO TURN AROUND AND DISH IT OUT IN A JUSTIFIABLE FASHION. AND THAT’S BECAUSE PROFESSIONAL SPORTS ARE A BUSINESS., MADE TRUE BY ONE INDISPUTABLE POINT; YOU MUST HAVE THE MEDIA BEHIND YOU. WITHOUT IT, YOU ARE JUST A GAME…A GAME PLAYED AT THE FOURTH OF JULY PICNIC…WITH YOUR AUNT GERTRUDE.”

SOLD AS A SEXY, LIFESTYLE SPORT, MARKETING BEACH VOLLEYBALL WAS IN LARGE PART BUILT ON THE BACK OF TELEVISED BIKINI CONTESTS.

AS ITS PARTICIPANTS WERE PARADED, FEMALE AUDIENCE MEMBERS GREW INCREASINGLY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THIS EXPLOITATION. SPONSORS BEGAN TO QUESTION THE SPORT’S SUSTAINABILITY, AS DID A SMALL NUMBER OF PLAYERS LIKE THE OUTSPOKEN KENT STEFFES, WHO OPENLY DEMANDED MORE OF THE SPORT’S UPPER BRASS EN ROUTE TO BECOMING ONE OF THE ALL-TIME BEST PLAYERS.

LOS ANGELES’ SPORTS LANDSCAPE WAS OVER-SATURATED. ATTRACTING VIEWERSHIP WASN’T WHAT IT IS TODAY; THERE WAS NO INTERNET. NO YOUTUBE. NO INSTAGRAM. TO THRIVE, YOU NEEDED BROADCAST TELEVISION.

FROM LOS ANGELES LAKERS MAJORITY OWNER JERRY BUSS, CAME FLEDGLING REGIONAL NETWORK, PRIME TICKET. COMBINED WITH ESPN, BEACH VOLLEYBALL NOW HAD A SECOND BROADCAST PARTNER WITH WHICH TO GROW THEIR UNIQUE BRAND OF SPORT.

AND GROW IT DID.

AS PROFESSIONAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL ROLLED INTO THE 1980s, ONLY A HANDFUL OF PARTNERSHIPS COULD SUSTAIN THE TOURING SCHEDULE THAT ATE UP SIX CONSECUTIVE MONTHS.

STARTING IN 1982 AND CONTINUING FOR OVER A DECADE, THE PARTNERSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ST. JOHN “SINJIN” SMITH AND RANDY STOKLOS PRODUCED A STILL UNBROKEN COMBINED NUMBER OF TOURNAMENT WINS.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, THEY WERE THE UNDISPUTED FACES OF THE SPORT, CAPITALIZING BOTH ON AND OFF THE SAND, A MATTER OF CONTENTION AMONG THE LESSER-KNOWNS WHO MADE IT A POINT TO TRY AND KNOCK THEM OFF THEIR THRONES.

OF THE MYRIAD OF OPPONENTS, PERHAPS THE GREATEST THREAT TO THEIR DOMINANCE WAS THE LETHAL COMBINATION OF TIM HOVLAND AND MIKE DODD. LIKE SINJIN AND RANDY, THEY WERE A COMBINATION OF FIRE AND ICE THAT PRODUCED AN OUTSTANDING WIN/LOSS RECORD. ADDING THIS RIVALRY WAS THE FACT THAT THEY WERE FROM THE SOUTH BAY, SO A BIT OF THE PERSONAL WAS THROWN IN FOR GOOD MEASURE.

VIA CABLE TELEVISION, THE EXCITING WORLD OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL HAD STARTED TO TAKE HOLD IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, PARTICULARLY THAT OF BRAZIL, WHEREUPON VOLLEYBALL’S GLOBAL SANCTIONING BODY, THE FIVB (FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE VOLLEYBALL) HOSTED THE WORLD’S FIRST TRUE INTERNATIONAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL MATCHES. IN ATTENDANCE WERE SOME OF THE AVP’S MARQUE PLAYERS.

THE AVP SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE WRITING ON THE WALL.

WHAT STARTED AS A PURE, INNOCUOUS GAME BORN ON THE BEACHES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WOULD EVENTUALLY GRADUATE INTO AN ALL OUT INTERNATIONAL TUG OF WAR BETWEEN THE FIVB AND THE AVP, WITH BEACH VOLLEYBALL’S FUTURE DANGLING IN THE BALANCE. CAUGHT BETWEEN WERE ITS PLAYERS AND FANS WHO SPONSORS FEARED, ONCE FED UP, COULD JUST AS EASILY CHANGE THE CHANNEL AND WATCH SOMETHING ELSE. LOYALTIES WERE CALLED INTO QUESTION. EGOS WOULD BE BRUISED.

FOUNDED IN 1947, THE FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE VOLLEYBALL BECOMES THE INTERNATIONAL GOVERNING BODY OF ALL FORMS OF VOLLEYBALL. BY 1969, THE FIVB HAD DEVELOPED A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC). IT’S THIS PARTNERSHIP THAT WOULD LATER PROVE TO BE THE THORN IN THE AVP’S SIDE AMID THE HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL QUALIFICATION PROCESS FOR THE 1996 U.S. OLYMPICS.

TO MOST, THIS THORN HAD A NAME AND IT WAS RUBEN ACOSTA HERNANDEZ, WHO WAS APPOINTED PRESIDENT OF THE FIVB IN 1984, A MAN WHO CLEARLY PUT HIS SIGHTS ON THE EXPLOSIVE POTENTIAL OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL’S INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION AND THAT OF THE FIVB’S FULL CONTROL OF IT.

SHARING MR. ACOSTA’S VIEWS ON EXPANDING THE BEACH GAME INTERNATIONALLY WAS THE SPORT’S OUTSPOKEN FACE AND UNABASHED AMBASSADOR, SINJIN SMITH. AND IT’S THIS RELATIONSHIP THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY DRIVE A WEDGE BETWEEN SINJIN AND THE AVP, IRONICALLY ENOUGH, AN ORGANIZATION HE HELPED CREATE.

THOSE CLOSE TO THE MATTER SAY SINJIN WAS CAST AS A PARIAH. THEN AGAIN, WITH BEACH VOLLEYBALL FLOURISHING WITHIN TODAY’S WELL-HEELED INTERNATIONAL MARKET, MAYBE HE COULD LOOSELY BE VIEWED AS A MAVERICK. THOUGH THERE ARE THOSE IN THE SOUTH BAY WHO WOULD DISPUTE SUCH POINTS. SUCH ARE BARBS OF RIVALRY THAT NEVER DIE.

AS THE CALIBER OF ATHLETE INTENSIFIED, SO DID CHANGES TO THE GAME ITSELF. THE MOST IMPACTFUL WAS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JUMP SERVE. CLOCKED AT OVER EIGHTY MILES PER HOUR, THESE PROJECTILES REVOLUTIONIZED HOW TEAMS OPERATED AND QUICKLY RETIRED THOSE THAT COULDN’T COPE.

BLOCKING AT THE NET WAS ANOTHER CHANGE WHOSE USAGE IMPACTED MANY FACTORS, PARTICULARLY THAT OF HOW PARTNERSHIPS WERE FORMULATED. SUDDENLY, A PREMIUM WAS PUT ON THE EXECUTION OF THIS ACT AND UNDOUBTEDLY LED TO THE GAME GROWING INTO SOMEWHAT OF A TALLER MAN’S GAME, ALA BASKETBALL.

BY THE MID-1980s, BEACH VOLLEYBALL APPAREL WAS AWASH IN NEON AND THE WORLD HAD DEVELOPED QUITE THE THIRST FOR IT. BRANDS LIKE SIDEOUT, REDSAND, QUIKSILVER, MOSSIMO AND FILA ALL CAPITALIZED AS DID THEIR ATHLETIC AMBASSADORS.

LIKE MOST SPORTS, PARTICULARLY MOTORSPORTS, ATHLETES TURNED INTO CORPORATE BILLBOARDS. ADVERTISING SPACE WAS SCARCE. CAPS, SHORTS, WATCHES AND EYEWEAR WERE AMONG THE MOST PRIZED PIECES OF REAL ESTATE.

WITH FULL SUPPORT OF THE IOC BEHIND HIM, FIVB PRESIDENT RUBEN ACOSTA HAD THE THE STATE OF GEORGIA SCRAMBLING TO PRODUCE A BEACH VOLLEYBALL EVENT CAPABLE OF MEETING HIS LOFTY EXPECTATIONS.

AS CONSTRUCTION WOES PERSISTED, THE QUALIFICATION PROCESS PROVED CONTROVERSIAL. THE AVP WAS MADE TO FEEL SMALL AS THE FIVB ENFORCED THE IOC’S RULING THAT THEY CONTROL THE OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION PROCESS.

AS THE UPPER BRASS BETWEEN THE AVP AND FIVB BATTLED IT OUT, OVERSHADOWING THE ENTIRELY OF THIS SPORT’S MOMENTOUS INTRODUCTION WAS A DISPUTE MADE PUBLIC BETWEEN THE SPORT’S TWO BIGGEST STARS AND FORMER PARTNERS, KARCH KIRALY AND SINJIN SMITH. BUT AS THEY SAY, “EVEN BAD PUBLICITY IS GOOD PUBLICITY.” BEACH VOLLEYBALL VIEWERSHIP WAS PHENOMENAL. THIS WAS THE ROCKET THE SPORT HAD BEEN WAITING TO CATCH.

AND WHILE THE 1996 ATLANTA OLYMPICS HAD UNDOUBTEDLY MARKED A CHANGE IN THE SPORT OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL, SOMETHING FAR GREATER EXTENDED BEYOND THE USUAL MILESTONES. IT ALSO MARKED A POINT IN TIME THAT SAW, PER ESPN, “FEMALE ATHLETES BEING MARKETED LIKE NEVER BEFORE. AFTER THE GAMES, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED AND CONDE NAST STARTED THEIR OWN WOMEN’S SPORTS MAGAZINES AND FOUR DOMESTIC PRO LEAGUES LAUNCHED (FAST-PITCH SOFTBALL, SOCCER, AND TWO FOR BASKETBALL).

NOT ALL OF THEM SURVIVED, BUT WOMEN’S SPORTS HAD CLEARLY ARRIVED.”

AFTER THE ‘96 OLYMPICS, PROFESSIONAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL APPEARED TO BE SKYROCKETING, WHEN IN ALL ACTUALITY IT WAS PLUMMETING DUE TO GROSS MISMANAGEMENT AND INFIGHTING. THE FUTURE OF THE AVP HUNG IN THE BALANCE.

OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, SPORTS VIEWERSHIP HAS BROADENED. OF THOSE VIEWERS, 49.7% ARE WOMEN. SO, WHERE THERE’S DEMAND, SUPPLY WILL FOLLOW. GONE ARE THE DAYS OF THINKING WOMEN ARE LESS ATHLETIC, LESS COMPETITIVE, OR ARE UNWILLING TO GET DIRTY. ANTIQUATED THINKING LIKE THIS HAS GONE THE WAY OF THE DODO BIRD.

AS IT PERTAINS TO BEACH VOLLEYBALL, AFTER DECADES OF DISPUTES, THE RESPECTIVE SANCTIONING BODIES ARE BEHAVING A GREAT DEAL BETTER IN THE SANDBOX. TOURS CONTAIN BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, AND THE PAY IS EQUITABLE.

FACT IS, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DOESN’T HAVE A MONOPOLY ON BEAUTIFUL BEACHES AND BEAUTIFUL BODIES ANYMORE THAN IT DOES ON A SPORT THAT GREW FROM ITS LEGENDARY SANDS.

BY SHARING THE SPORT, BY INTRODUCING IT TO OTHERS, BY PROMOTING IT BEYOND OUR BORDERS THAT’S THE FERTILE GROUND THAT ENABLES GROWTH IN AN OTHERWISE BRUTAL FORM OF MATTER THAT DOES NOT LEND ITSELF TO NOURISHING…

THE SAND.

OF THE COUNTRIES THAT PARTICIPATE ON TODAY’S VOLLEYBALL WORLD BEACH PRO TOUR, BRAZIL HAS CONSISTENTLY PROVEN TO BE THE TOUR’S MOST DOMINANT FORCE, THOUGH THREATS ARE MATERIALIZING…

WITH THE BEACH GAME’S ROOTS HAVING COME FORM THE UNITED STATES, MOST WOULD ASSUME THAT IT’S THE AMERICANS WHO ARE KNOCKING ON THE DOOR. NOPE. THEY’RE THE UNDERDOGS.

SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH AND WITH EACH HAVING LESS THAN A TENTH OF BRAZIL’S POPULATION, IT’S THE NETHERLANDS AND SWITZERLAND THAT HAVE STEPPED UP.

ANOTHER FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH IS THE SMALL MUSLIM NATION OF QATAR WHOSE MEN’S TEAM BROUGHT HOME GOLD FROM THE 202 TOKYO OLYMPICS. TO WATCH THESE GUYS PLAY IS NOTHING SHORT OF PEAK ATHLETICISM.

ALL IN ALL, 38 COUNTRIES ARE REPRESENTED.

DESPITE THE PANDEMIC, THE TOKYO OLYMPICS PRODUCED SOME OUTSTANDING BEACH VOLLEYBALL PERFORMANCES. IN 2024, PARIS PLAYS HOST. IN THE 18 MONTHS PRIOR, THERE’S A QUALIFICATION PROCESS THAT RUNS EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH THE FIVB. GET READY.

AS ATHLETES, WOMEN ARE AS FORMIDABLE AND FUN TO WATCH AS MEN, SO IT BEGS THE QUESTION, WHAT TOOK THIS REALIZATION SO LONG? WELL, THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS AND A MATURING WORLD AT LARGE HAD FINALLY MET.

THE SPORT OF PROFESSIONAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL’S SURVIVAL HINGES UPON THE CONTINUED EXTENSION OF ITS GLOBAL REACH. ONCE UNREPRESENTED COUNTRIES LIKE MOZAMBIQUE AND KENYA ARE NOW GETTING STRONGER AND ATTRACTING A ROBUST FANBASE.

THEN THERE’S THE UNHEARD OF NATION OF VANUATU, A STRING OF 13 BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS NORTHEAST OF AUSTRALIA. SINCE THEIR FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE OLYMPIC STAGE AT SEOUL 1988, THE WORLD’S BEEN ROOTING FOR THEM. FORMER PLAYERS LIKE MILLER PATA HAD BEEN ON THE FIVB TOUR FOR OVER 14 YEARS, WINNING MEDALS AND AWARDS LIKE THE WORLD’S MOST INSPIRATIONAL PLAYER ON THE FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR IN 2015 WHILE CAPTURING THE NATION’S FIRST-EVER TEAM MEDAL (BRONZE) AT THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES IN 2018.

WITH AN EYE TOWARDS THE FUTURE, AMBITIOUS COUNTRIES LIKE THESE ARE DETERMINED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND SERVE AS A MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION.

INVENTED ON ITS BEACHES, BEACH VOLLEYBALL IS COMING HOME AS PART OF THE 2028 OLYMPIC GAMES. LET THE GAMES BEGIN.