A brief history of indoor volleyball William G. Morgan, a YMCA instructor, started volleyball in 1895. He wanted to create an activity that was less rough than the then new game of basketball, yet still retained athletic features for the health of his older members. It was known then as Mintonette, and took some of its rules from games such as tennis and handball. The original rules were significantly different from the game we know today, such as no restrictions on the number of times a ball can be contacted before sending back over the volleyball net, and ladies were allowed to catch the volleyball before sending back into play. After its first exhibition match in 1896, it became known as volley ball. It spread quickly throughout other YMCA locations around the country. It later became referred to as Volleyball (one word spelling). Through the years rules have been refined and between 1949 and 1952, World Championship matches were held for both men's and women's leagues. Volleyball was added to the Olympic games in 1964, and its popularity has increased ever since. |  |
A brief history of beach volleyball
Beach volleyball is a variation of standard indoor volleyball that started in Santa Monica, California in the 1920s. This variant had a casual appeal to those wanting exercise and entertainment on the beaches of California. A few years later, beach volleyball became popular in Europe and eventually was the subject of tournaments. Professional leagues were difficult to get started at first and it wasn't until the late 1990s that the professional game of beach volleyball developed a world wide following. In 1996 beach volleyball was inducted as an official Olympic game with Brazil, The United States, and Australia being the only countries to take home gold medals.
