Olympic Beach Volleyball - Sport or Peep Show?

Beach volleyball players face difficulties their indoor-playing peers don't, namely sand, sun and wind. As a result, beach volleyball players must have exceptional ball skills and speed. Partners also have to be evenly matched. If they're not, an opposing team will take advantage of the weaker player.

They may garner more attention (at least the women players) for their skimpy regulation gear, but arguably, beach players need to be better athletes than indoor players. Their courts are not as big, but there are only two players, so they need to be able to cover a lot more ground. They also know that they'll touch the ball at least once per three-hit sequence.

Because of the extra space on the court, beach players also use a wider variety of hits. Aside from spikes and soft shots, they'll use other hits like carves (a half-speed spike) in attempt to catch the opposition out of position.

Beach volleyball emerged in the 1920s as a popular way for families to enjoy the surf and sand in parts of the United States, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria and France.

It became slightly sexier in the early 1960s, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy and the Beatles checked out the action at one Los Angeles beach.

Sponsors began taking an interest in the sport in the 1970s, turning it into a professional pursuit for men and women.

n 1986, the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) endorsed beach volleyball as an official discipline, and in 1987, the first men's world championship was held in Rio de Janeiro. Shortly after, the FIVB World Series began.

The first women's world championship was held in 1993. World Tour events now take place in North America, Europe and Asia.

In recent decades, beach volleyball has eclipsed traditional volleyball in popularity. The sport made its Olympic debut in 1996 to much fanfare; it was the third fastest event to sell out in Atlanta.

The United States' two-time Olympic (indoor) volleyball gold medallist Karch Kiraly and his partner, Kent Steffes, won the first men's gold. The silver went to Americans Mike Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh, while the bronze went to Canadians Mark Heese and John Child.

On the women's side, Brazil's Jackie Silva and Sandra Pires won the gold. Monica Rodrigues and Adriana Samuel, also of Brazil, took silver, while Australia's Natalie Cook and Kerri-Ann Pottharst took the bronze.

The excitement over scantily clad female competitors sparked a debate. Was beach volleyball a sport or a glorified peep show?

Participants wore modest bathing suits in the 1920s, but not anymore. At the 2000 Sydney Games, spectators ogled women playing in skimpy bikinis.

Ruben Acosta, the president of the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), defended the regulation bathing suits as being in step with the times. He also acknowledged the "uniforms" made the game more appealing to spectators. Critics wondered aloud whether the game or the players were on display.

The fuss upset some female players but not many. "If people want to come and check us out because they're scoping our bodies, I don't have a problem with that, because I guarantee they'll go home talking about our athleticism," American Holly McPeak told Sports Illustrated. "It's not such a bizarre notion. The sex appeal is unavoidable, but it's not the basis of the sport."

Americans and Brazilians dominate the sport. Brazilians won the gold medal in the men's competition and silver in the women's event at the 2004 Athens Games. American duos won gold and bronze in the women's event.

The Federation Internationale de Volleyball or the FIVB is authorized to set rules for the beach volleyball at the international level. Some of the rules followed during the beach volleyball matches are-

The beach volleyball court is divided into two halves by a net. The length and width of the court are specified by the FIVB rule-book.

Each team is given three chances to send the ball over the net to the opponent's court.

The sand on the court has to be leveled. The depth of the sand on the court is also predetermined by the FIVB.

The volleyball court should be appropriately marked during the game.

The dimension of the net used to separate the two halves of the court should be as per the FIVB rule-book.

The size and weight of the ball used during the beach volleyball games are determined by the FIVB in its rule-book.

During the game, the players are not allowed to wear any such object, which can cause injury to other players.

Generally there are three sets in the beach volleyball game. The point system used during the game is the rally-point system.

To win a set, the team has to make a two point lead over the opponent.

Ace: A serve that lands in the opponent's court without being touched.

Attack: An attempt by a player to win a point by hitting the ball over the net.

Attack line: A line three metres from the net that defines the limit from which a back-row player may advance to hit a ball from above the net.

Back-row player: Any of three players in indoor volleyball positioned at the back of the court.

Block: To stop an opposing player's spike by jumping at the net with arms in the air.

Boom: A spike straight down into the sand, in beach volleyball.

Centre line: The imaginary line that runs directly under the net and divides the court in half.

Chuck: Pushing or throwing the ball rather than hitting it, in beach volleyball.

Court: The playing area.

Crossing space: The zone above the net and between two antennae through which the ball must pass during a rally.

Dig: A defensive play in which both arms are placed together in an attempt to recover an attempted kill into the air before it hits the floor.

End line: The back boundary line of the court.

Facial: A boom or spike that hits an opponent in the face, in beach volleyball.

Fault: A foul or error that results in the loss of the rally.

strong>Front-row player: Any of three players in indoor volleyball positioned closest to the net.

Front zone: The area in indoor volleyball between the net and the attack line.

Ground: To hit the ball to the floor, preferably on the other team's court.

Heater: A hard-hit or spiked ball, in beach volleyball.

Hit: To touch the ball as an offensive player. A team is allowed three hits to get the ball back over the net.

Hold: To let the ball settle into the hands briefly while making a shot instead of releasing it immediately.

strong>Kill: A hard offensive hit that lands in the opponent's court to score a point.

Kong: A one-handed block, named after King Kong's manner of swatting biplanes in the original King Kong movie, in beach volleyball

Libero: A substitute defensive player in indoor volleyball who is especially adept at digging, in indoor volleyball.

Lip: A good dig.

strong>Match: A series of sets to determine a winner.

Missile: A spike or serve hit out of bounds.

strong>Rally: The continuous exchange of plays that decides each point.

Rotate: To move to the next position on the floor in indoor volleyball in a clockwise manner.

Screen: To impede the opponent's view of the ball during the serve.

Serve: The stroke used to put the ball in play at the start of each rally.

Set: The part of a match completed when one side has scored enough points to win a single contest. Also, to position the ball so a teammate can attack.

Setter: A player who excels in setting up teammates to attack.

Sideline: A side boundary line on a court.

Spade: An ace.

Spike: To smash the ball overarm into the opponent's court.

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