Lausanne, Switzerland, December 19, 2016 – Beach volleyball is growing from strength to strength and with the start of the 31st edition of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour just a few weeks away, it's a perfect time to look at the birthplace of the sport - Southern California in the United States.
USA is the second most successful country on the World Tour - behind Brazil - and has provided the most number of players ever since its inception in 1987. The sport of beach volleyball was born in Hawaii and Santa Monica in 1915 when most accounts place the sport's origin in Santa Monica, California, where the first volleyball courts were put up on the beach.
The Olympic Channel has produced a feature on beach volleyball as part of a series that explores seven locations in the United States that have deep connections to Olympic and Paralympic sports.
The Channel visits the sports’ spiritual home of South California where the beaches stretch down the coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego and where players come and show their skills from morning till dusk.
The report features interviews with USA beach volleyball stars Kerri Walsh-Jennings, April Ross, Sinjin Smith, Casey Patterson and Mike Dodd, who all talk about what playing in South California means to them and how it has shaped their careers.
The 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour will start with the Fort Lauderdale Major Series tournament in Florida, USA that runs from February 7-12.