Beach volleyball is a team sport played on a beach court divided by a net by two teams of two or more players. The goal of the game, similar to indoor volleyball, is to send the ball over the net and land it on the other side of the court. Each team also works together to keep the opposite team from putting the ball down on their half of the court. Beach volleyball most likely began in 1915 on Hawaii's Waikiki Beach, whereas the contemporary two-player game began in Santa Monica, California. It has been an Olympic sport since the Summer Olympics of 1996. The worldwide governing organization for the sport is the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), which conducts the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships and the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour:
The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) organizes the worldwide professional beach volleyball circuit for both men and women (FIVB). The first tour took place in 1997, succeeding the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Series, which began in 1989 for men and 1992 for women. Events on the World Tour are graded from 1 to 5, with 5-star tournaments giving the maximum prize money. The 2018 World Tour features 47 foreign tournaments with a total prize pool of more than $7 million. Competing in the World Tour and other FIVB-recognized competitions like the Summer Olympics earns players FIVB Ranking Points, with higher-star events worth more points.
Regional competition:
Continental Tours and Championships are also organized by the five regional regulatory bodies:
The AVC Beach Volleyball Tour, which culminates in the Asian Beach Volleyball Championships, is organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) (since 2002).
The Africa Beach Volleyball Championship is organized by the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB).
Since 1993, the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) has organized the European Beach Volleyball Tour, which comprises Satellite and Masters's tournaments and culminates with the European Beach Volleyball Championships. The Satellite and Masters tournaments have been combined into the FIVB World Tour beginning with the 2018 season, although are still organized by the CEV.
The NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit is organized by the North, Central America, and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) (since 2007).
The South American Beach Volleyball Circuit is organized by the Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol (CSV) (since 2005).
Multi-sport events:
Beach volleyball has competed at the Summer Olympics since 1996 for both men and women. It is also competed in the Commonwealth Games (since 2018), Pan American Games (since 1999), Central American and Caribbean Games (since 1998), Asian Games (since 1998), Pacific Games (since 1999), African Games (since 2011), and Asian Beach Games (since 2008).
4x4 beach volleyball:
4x4 beach volleyball is a variation of the popular two-man beach game in the United States and Brazil. FIVB-sanctioned matches are best of three sets, contested to 21 points (15 points in a tie-break in the third set), with four starting players and up to two substitutions in a team. The World Beach Games include a 4x4 competition.
Naturist volleyball:
Naturists were among the first to play the game. Regular club games have been documented since the 1920s. Given the outdoor aspect of naturism, a beach volleyball variant was obvious. By the 1960s, practically all nudist clubs had a volleyball court. Since 1971, a huge (over 70 team) nude volleyball tournament has been conducted each fall at White Thorn Lodge in western Pennsylvania, and numerous smaller tournaments are hosted around North America each year.
