|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 19 October 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Magazine |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Beach volleyball takes Sri Lanka by storm by Shirajiv Sirimane
No complicated rules are involved and it does not consume a lot of energy either since a team has to score only 21 points to win. The players have no strict dress code nor does it need expensive sports shoes or knee guards and this is another reason for the sport to catch on. One can simply draw two large squares, plant two poles in the centre draw a sting across and then you are set to play Beach Volleyball.
The venue was Beruwela Beach Hotel Beruwela which created a carnival atmosphere with youths both local and foreign turning out in large numbers to witness the event. Though many tourists gather in Beruwela, Bikini clad foreign girls jumping and falling in the sand and pitting their strengh against local lasses in the hot sun was something new to the fisher folk and the youth of the area.
Originating from Hawaii over a decade ago today the sport has got Olympic recognition mainly due to its popularity. In Sri Lanka too the Confifi International Tournament is going to be an annual event according to Anil Udawatte General Manager Sales and Marketing, Confifi Group, overjoyed with the response of 55 teams that included teams from Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Germany and Sweden. The event was organised by Confifi Group Hotels and the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. The Sri Lanka Air Force men's team beat the Indian team while Hong Kong team beat Air Force men's team to take the champion trophies. The Sri Lanka Air Force men's team outclassed the high riding Indian team to clinch the men's title while he Hong Kong team beat the Air Force women to win the women's championships. The event was sponsored by Confifi Group of Companies and co sponsored by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd, Pepsi, Dialog GSM, Nowgem Jewellers and Travel Lanka. A total of US $ 3000 worth cash prizes including vouchers were awarded at this exciting event. ################ History of the Sport
William G. Morgan, an instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Mass., decides to blend elements of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball to create a game for his classes of businessmen which would demand less physical contact than basketball. He creates the game of Volleyball (at that time called mintonette). Morgan borrows the net from tennis, and raises it 6 feet 6 inches above the floor, just above the average man's head. In 1920s there were unconfirmed whispers of men's teams playing on the beach in Hawaii, but most accounts place the sport's origin in Santa Monica, California where the first Volleyball courts are put up on the beach at the Playground. Families play 6 vs. 6. In 1927 Beach Volleyball crosses the Atlantic Ocean. It becomes the principal sport in a French nudist camp founded in Franconville, a northwestern suburb of Paris and in 1930s the first two-man beach volleyball game is played in Santa Monica, California. The year 1930s Beach volleyball appears in Palavas, Lacanau and Royan (France), around Sofia (Bulgaria), Prague (Czechoslovakia), and Riga (Latvia) and while in 1930s the US, people escape the depression by going to the beach; 4 vs 4 and 3 vs 3 games are played. The year 1947 saw the first official two-man Beach Volleyball tournament is held at Will Rogers State Beach, California with no prize money. It is organized by Bernie Holtzman and won by Manny Saenz and Harris. The first tournament to offer a prize was held 1948 in Los Angeles, California. It awards the best teams with a case of Pepsi. Holly McPeak becomes the first woman to win $1 Million in prize money. Winning her 62nd career title, the 6th with Elaine Youngs, at the International volleyball governing body FIVB French Grand Slam in Marseille nets her $15,000 to bring her career total to $1,001,927. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
Beach Volleyball is the latest sport which has opened up for the youth
in Sri Lanka creating new horizons. The sport requiring only a ball, the
beach and two players either side, is fast catching up in Sri Lanka.
This was the reason for the recently concluded Confifi international
Beach Volleyball Tournament being a major success.
