Beach Volleyball History Benefits Transitioning from Indoor Volleyball National/Regional events Q/A Presented by: Mark Nalevanko – vh1vball Junior Beach.

Beach Volleyball

• History• Benefits• Transitioning from

Indoor Volleyball• National/Regional

events• Q/A

Presented by:• Mark Nalevanko – vh1vball Junior Beach Director – [email protected] • Kevin Wendelboe – Carolina Region/USAV President - [email protected]

• 1920s – First played on the beaches of Santa Monica, California• Players got tired of waiting on enough people to show up to play

games so they adapted to playing a 2 person version of volleyball• 1947 - First official two-man tournament held on Will Rogers State

Beach in California• 1960 – First time the Manhattan Beach Open is held. Longest

running beach volleyball tournament to this day.

History

• 1983 - First official players organization formed – Association of Volleyball Players (AVP) – hosting events across the country for next 25+ years

History (Part 2)

• Early 1990s – FIVB forms international pro beach tour

• 1996 – Sport makes debut in Olympics.

• 2011 – USAV and National Volleyball League (NVL) begin hosting pro beach events as AVP restructures

Sport Expands to Juniors…• 1994 – AAU hosts a junior beach volleyball tournament in

California kicking off formation of AAU Beach program• 2001 – First FIVB World Junior Beach Volleyball Championships• 2005 – USA Beach Junior Tour inaugural season• 2006 – vh1vball – outdoor volleyball organization based in

Raleigh holds junior beach tournaments for the first time• 2011 – Carolina Region/USAV starts a junior beach volleyball

tour• 2011 - Carolina Open stop added to the USA Beach Junior Tour

History (Part 3)

• First – Why play sand volleyball?– Quickly develop/improve all volleyball skills from being involved in

EVERY play.– Beach game is suited for players that don’t want to be specialists– You don’t have to be tall to be successful (Example: Holly McPeak,

one of the all-time greats was only 5’ 6” tall)

– Improved conditioning from running in the sand– Improved quickness from covering more court area– Improved vertical from jumping in the sand– Kinder on the body – sand is a low impact surface conducive to

repeatedly jumping/diving– Sport being added to NCAA program starting in 2012

Transition from Indoor Volleyball

• First – Why play?– IT’S FUN PLAYING OUTSIDE!!!

Transition from Indoor Volleyball

• Second – What’s the same?– Same principle skills of volleyball (serving, passing, setting,

hitting) all apply to beach volleyball with ball control being crucial

– Same rules (mostly)– Net Heights – Same September 1 age cutoffs used for junior divisions (based

in 2 year increments instead of every year currently)• 18U, 16U, 14U, 12U Girls and Boys

Transition from Indoor Volleyball

• Third – What’s different?– 2 players – No player rotation necessary, just Left Side/Right Side

positions– Shorter/Simplified court

• About 3 feet shorter and 1.5 feet narrower on each side• No front/back zones or center line under net

Transition from Indoor Volleyball

• Primary differences?– Dealing with outside elements (sand, sun, wind, rain)– Rules

• Tournament matches consist of best 2 out of 3. First 2 games to 21. Third game to 15

• Switch sides on multiples of 7 (games to 21) or 5 (games to 15)• Block counts as a contact• No open hand dinks/tips at the net• Sets over the net must be made directly forward or backward of where the

player is facing (no shoots to the side allowed)• No re-dos on the serve toss• Hand setting generally tighter (players discouraged to attempt overhead sets on

serve-receive)• Net violations tighter too (can’t touch the net while making any play on the ball)

Transition from Indoor Volleyball

• USA Beach Junior Tour– Website: www.usabeach.org– Schedule just released including a North Carolina event– Registration to open up around March 15th– Carolina Open – Raleigh/Cary – May 19-20, 2012

– Largest junior beach volleyball tournament in NC (close to 90 teams last year)–May 19 - Girls 18U, 16U Boys 18U–May 20 - Girls 14U, 12U Boys 14U

– Top 3 finishers in each division receive:• FREE ENTRY to National Championships in Milwaukee, WI – July 28/29• Chance to win a travel stipend valued at up to $500 (2 available)

National/Regional Events 2012

• Carolina Region Junior Beach Volleyball Tour– Website: www.carolinaregionvb.org/jrbeach– Over a dozen events planned (twice as many as last year)– More Sites

• Raleigh/Cary • Charlotte• Wilmington• Claremont (between Statesville and Hickory)• Wilson (about 30 minutes east of Raleigh)• Emerald Isle – Tour Championships

– Points awarded to players based on finishes with top-earners winning season-ending awards at tour championships post-tournament banquet

– Cost usually between $10-20 per person

National/Regional Events 2012

• Collegiate Sand Volleyball Makes Debut in Spring 2012 as Emerging Sport– Website: www.collegesand.org/– 15 schools already

• College of Charleston• Florida State• University of Alabama-Birmingham• University of Southern California• And others including several more in Southeast

– 10 years to get at least 40 schools sponsoring the sport to make it an official championship NCAA sport

– Dual format play (similar to tennis) with best of 5 matches played between teams

– Inaugural championships in Gulf Shores, AL (April 27-29)

NCAA Sand Volleyball

• USA Beach Volleyball– Website: http://

usavolleyball.org/volleyball-disciplines/beach-volleyball– Holds HP Beach camps (tryouts for national teams) across

country (closest in AL, FL)• USA Beach Junior Tour– Website: www.usabeach.org

• AAU Beach– Website : www.aaubeach.org

More Resources (National)

• Carolina Region Jr Beach Tour– Website: www.carolinaregionvb.org/jrbeach – Facebook: www.facebook.com/vh1vballjrs

• vh1vball Juniors (Raleigh)– Website: www.vh1vball.com/juniors.asp– Maintains the region’s facebook site plus a biweekly e-Newsletter

dedicated to junior beach volleyball• Blue Sky Volleyball (Cary)

– Website: www.blueskyvolleyball.com– Hosts both adult and junior beach volleyball events

• SportsLink (Charlotte)– Website: www.sportslinkus.com– Runs sports leagues of all kinds including adult and junior sand

volleyball

More Resources (North Carolina)

• What are the requirements/fees to sign-up for a tournament?– All events on Carolina Region Jr Beach Tour require USAV membership– USAV memberships from club team participation are good

throughout summer– 1 event ($5) or summer membership ($15) forms available at check-in

if needed– Cost of registration per event will vary from $10-20 per person

typically. Carolina Open is around $30 per person.• Where do I sign-up for an event?

– Most events will have a direct link from the Carolina Region Jr Beach Tour page (www.carolinaregionvb.org/jrbeach) to the host’s tournament site page.

– If Carolina Region is hosting the event, then registration will be available directly on the aforementioned webpage

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I find a teammate for an event?– Ask your indoor club teammates, school teammates, friends– Send an email to the tournament host about whether anyone

else is looking for a teammate• How to I get more formally introduced to the sport

(coaching/training)?– There are Carolina Region sanctioned training sessions in

Triangle area (Other areas may offer more opportunities soon)• March 24• April 7, 21 - FULL• May 5, 12 - FULL

– Some people hold private instructions. Email Mark at [email protected] to help get in touch with someone.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How are tournaments typically structured?– Teams are put into pools of 4-5 teams and play each team in their

pool in round-robin fashion– Top 2 teams (4 team pools) or Top 3 teams (5 team pools) advance to

a single-elimination playoff– If space/time permits, tournament director may offer a ‘Consolation’

playoff bracket for lower-placed teams after round-robin competition ends

– Finalists in each division receive awards (medals/trophies)

Frequently Asked Questions

– Others Questions???

Thanks for your support!