Volleyball - Ten Facts

Nestled between the Senior Boys line and Kiwi Cove, you can learn how to serve, set and hit during volleyball activity periods.

1. Beach Volleyball’s Olympic introduction came during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where it was a demonstration sport. During this display, it gained popularity, and officials decided to make it a true Olympic sport.

2. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, athletes played the first Olympic-level game of beach volleyball. Both men’s and women’s beach volleyball was added to the program, and both have been played at Olympic games every year since its debut.

3. Throughout all of the Olympic games that have included beach volleyball, Brazil has won the most medals. Their closest competitor is the United States.

4. The Outrigger Canoe Club in Hawaii was the first location to set up the first known beach volleyball court in 1915.

5. Beach volleyball clubs began appearing in Santa Monica during the 1920s and is now often credited as the birthplace of modern beach volleyball.

6. During a match, volleyball players on average jump about 300 times.

7. The first professional beach volleyball tournament (Olympia World Championship of Beach Volleyball) took place at Will Rogers State Beach in 1976.

8. Due to the soft nature of the sand, serious injuries are rare in beach volleyball.

9. While the rules of beach volleyball remained mostly consistent with the indoor version of the sport throughout the 1920s, the players at the Santa Monica Athletic Club started experimenting with just two players on either side of the court, which later became the format that was adopted for professional beach volleyball.

10. The two positions in beach volleyball are known as the Blocker and Defender.