Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo / Pavel1964
When the NCAA approved the first Beach Volleyball National Championship to be held in 2016, it was seen as a reflection of the meteoric rise in popularity that has caused colleges from around the country to add the sport as a varsity program. Easily categorized as a coastal sport, though, would the landlocked nature of so much of the country prove challenging to the continued growth of the game? Rapid expansion into states such as Nebraska, Tennessee, and Illinois indicate that the popularity of beach volleyball will not easily be impeded. Now that young athletes are noticing there are opportunities to play at the collegiate level, the demand for competitive youth beach volleyball is reaching new heights, while adults looking for new recreational opportunities are turning to the game with increasing frequency.
Several cities are seizing the opportunity to be at the forefront of this recent wave of popularity, finding ways to add courts in creative recreation and business settings. City officials are noticing the need for facilities to host high-level junior events and are looking to revitalize existing neighborhoods or enhance their current public green space by adding beach volleyball. The sport is also an excellent way to stay active; think of a young professional group that forms a league at a local bar/beach volleyball complex, or parents who meet up to play quads at the park and bring their kids along to play in the sand.
Several case studies provide a glimpse at the ways some communities are looking to transform their economic situations by capitalizing on the growth of the game.