Beach Volleyball History Benefits Transitioning from Indoor Volleyball National/Regional events Q/A Presented by: Mark Nalevanko – vh1vball Junior Beach Director – mark@vh1vball.com Kevin Wendelboe – Carolina Region/USAV President - crvb@bellsouth.net

History 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 (Part 2) 1983 - First official players organization formed – Association of Volleyball Players (AVP) – hosting events across the country for next 25+ years 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

History (Part 3) 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

Transition from Indoor Volleyball 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)

National/Regional Events 2012 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

NCAA Sand Volleyball 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)

More Resources (National) 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 (North Carolina) 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

Frequently Asked Questions 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 mark@vh1vball.com 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)

Thanks for your support! Others Questions??? Thanks for your support!