Volleyball

The origin of Volleyball

In 1895, Willliam G. Morgan invented volleyball as an indoor sport for businessmen who found basketball to be too vigorous. The original rules were written by Morgan and printed in the Official Handbook of the Athletic League of the Young Men’s Christian Associations of North America in 1897.

In 1916, rules were given in conjunction by the YMCA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In 1922, the first nationwide tournament in the USA was overseen by the National YMCA Physical Education Committee in New York City. In 1928, the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA) was made and was recognized as the rules-making, governing body in the United States for volleyball. Since 1928, the USVBA, now called USA Volleyball (USAV) has held annual national men’s and senior men’s (age 35 and older) volleyball championships, excluding 1944 and 1945. Its women’s division was started in 1949, and a senior women’s division (age 30 and older) was added in 1977.

International volleyball competition began in 1913 with the first Far East Games, in Manilla. During the early 1900s and continuing until after World War II, volleyball in Asia was played on a larger court, with a lower net, and nine players on a team. The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) sponsored world volleyball championships (for men only in 1949; for both men and women in 1952 and succeeding years) leading to acceptance of standardized playing rules and officiating. Volleyball became an Olympic sport at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

European championships were long dominated by Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Soviet (later, Russian) teams. At the world and olympic level, Soviet teams have won more titles than those of any other nation. Their success was credited to widespread grassroots interest and well-organized play and instruction at all levels of skill. Japan, the Olympic champions in 1964, reflected the interset of private industry in the sport. Those working for the sponsoring company spent their free time to conditioning, team practice, and competition under demanding coaching. Encouraged by the Japanese Volleyball Association, the team made its mark in internation competition,winning the World Championship in 1962, 1966, and 1967, in addition to the 1964 Olympics.

The Pan American Games (involving North, Central, and South America) added volleyball in 1955. The USA, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba and Canada are the most frequent contenders for top honours in the Pan American Games. In Asia, Korea, China, and Japan dominate the competition. Volleyball, and especially beach volleyball, is played in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout the South Pacific.

A four-year cycle of internation volleyball events, recommended by the FIVB, began in 1969 starting with the World Cup championships; the second year being the World championships; in the third year being regional events (e.g., Asian Games, African Games, Pan American Games, and European championships); and the fourth year the Olympic Games

Beach volleyball, as the name implies, is usually played on a sand court with two player on each team and was introduced in California in 1930. The first official beach volleyball tournament was held at Will Rogers State Beach, California. This event was organized by Bernie Holtzman and was won by Saenez-Harris. The first FIVB-sanctioned world championship was held in 1986 at Rio de Janeiro. Beach volleyball was added to the 1996 Olympic Games which took place in Atlanta, Georgia.

References Used