The rise of beach volleyball
The National Collegiate Athletic Association beach volleyball culminated in two intense matches on a custom-made sand court behind the cozy Subic Park Hotel at Moonbay Marina yesterday noon. It was a sign that the sport has hit the tipping point to being a consistent mainstream sport.
Beach volleyball was played for fun and gained popularity in countries like Brazil for decades, until it was discovered by mainstream American athletes. Even NBA greats like Wilt Chamberlain took to the sport to find new challenges upon retirement. Chamberlain, the monolithic scoring machine, became the poster boy for the sport a little ahead of its time. Roughly 30 years ago, former US Olympic volleyball players wanted to stay in the sport with less physical strain. Playing on sand caused less strain on the knees, ankles and lower back, and had a more fun atmosphere. And since the sport was relatively new, they were considered pioneers.
In the Philippines, two- and four-man playground versions of volleyball were played in schools and playgrounds in the middle of the 20th century. Prior to basketball’s meteoric rise starting in the 1970’s with the transition from the Manila Inter-Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) to the Philippine Basketball Association, it looked as if this permutation of the sport would become a trend. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way. Luckily, staunch supporters like Shakey’s have invested in a highly successful women’s volleyball league to build on the rise of the collegiate version sport on Universities Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and NCAA. That risk has finally reaped dividends, and the country’s dominant pizza chain now “owns” a large chunk of the sport. Players now have a place to play after graduating from college for the better part of the year. The growth of the mother sport created a demand for more by-products, and beach volleyball was a happy recipient of all the new attention and sponsors’ revenue.
What were the challenges beach volleyball had to overcome to finally stand alongside other sports? Firstly, volleyball had not been built up as a mainstream commercial sport yet. Secondly, conservative schools and families were not too comfortable with their daughters (and some, with their sons) being in public in what is essentially skimpy swimwear. Third, it had to start in the big cities, and when these big colleges went recruiting in the provinces, parents were reluctant to let their daughters be shepherded to places they feared would be corruptive influences. That trend started to reverse in the 1990’s. And as volleyball became a more appealing way to earn scholarships (thanks to professional television coverage by ABS-CBN and other networks, parents saw it as a way for their children to get a free education. And beach volleyball, by extension, soon started getting more attention. Requiring less players, it’s also easier to stage. That’s also the reason why traditional tour organizers like Subic Park Hotel have taken the plunge and begun supporting beach volleyball.
A confluence of circumstances also catapulted beach volleyball to prominence. The rise of very talented, attractive female players, the rise of the De La Salle-Ateneo rivalry for consecutive years, and compelling matches, sparked a recruitment binge that will propel all forms of volleyball forward. On a side note, it’s parallel to women’s basketball in the US. Until the 1990’s, women’s basketball was an afterthought, until the team bound for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics went on a world tour and amassed a very impressive record, including wins against strong foreign men’s teams. Basketball since then has also grown, with three-on-three now a staple sport, as well. As a result, women’s basketball now has a fair share of the market.
Volleyball players have now risen to become broadcasters: Gretchen Ho has a daily program on ABS-CBN News Channel, Michele Gumabao has been getting high marks as a broadcast analyst for six-man and beach volleyball, and other collegiate stars are now joining the profession. Ateneo Blue Eagle Kiefer Ravena’s mother Mozzy, herself a former varsity volleyball player, has earned a position of respect as a commentator. With all these developments, the sport is now solidly entrenched in mainstream media. This will, in turn, create a snowball of support through news coverage, print features, and more attention from advertisers. And beach volleyball will be carried along to greater growth.