star2city Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Women's Sand Volleyball added as NCAA sport The NCAA Division I legislative council this week added sand volleyball to the list of so-called emerging sports. The NCAA will spend the next year developing rules as well as regulations on financial aid and recruiting. Schools can sponsor varsity teams starting in the 2010-11 academic year. Beach volleyball was a TV hit at the 2008 Summer Olympics, although it remains to be seen how a game that banked on sex appeal will translate to the collegiate sports world. "It received the largest amount of prime-time coverage out of Beijing of any sport, in terms of the amount of minutes," said Jason Hodell, chief executive officer of AVP Pro Beach Volleyball. "Both the men's and women's gold-medal matches drew more than 20 million viewers." The NCAA hopes the sport's new name will broaden the sport's appeal across the country. "If you didn't live near a beach, it was difficult to find a place to play," Hodell said. "That's why all the professional volleyball players grew up near beaches." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choyt3 Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Women's Sand Volleyball added as NCAA sport Talk about a regional, "niche" sport. wow Maybe someone should tell them the tv ratings might have had something to do with the combination of the heat, humidity, the RAIN, and not so much the athletic ability of the girls. Some national radio shows referred to the matches as "wet t-shirt contest on prime time tv". (Not that there's anything wrong with that. (as my wife is looking over my shoulder)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmksioux Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Talk about a regional, "niche" sport. wow Maybe someone should tell them the tv ratings might have had something to do with the combination of the heat, humidity, the RAIN, and not so much the athletic ability of the girls. Some national radio shows referred to the matches as "wet t-shirt contest on prime time tv". (Not that there's anything wrong with that. (as my wife is looking over my shoulder)) Sand Volleyball may be regional, but indoor volleyball is played throughout the country. It wouldn't be too tough to transition from indoor to sand volleyball. I've played in sand volleyball leagues for a number of years here in GF and there is quite a bit of interest...I would guesstimate 80-100 females that are involved in the GF sand leagues each summer. Granted not many of the players are college caliber, but there have been a number of UND volleyball players that play in these leagues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I thought sand volleyball was just voyeurism gone Olympic. Those "uniforms" the women wear ... pretty soon you won't be able to print the Olypmic logo on them because there isn't enough material. Here's your next NCAA championship platform photo. Pretty sad when the NCAA starts selling that "product" (cough-sex-cough) now too. Oh, but I'm sure we'll hear it's about the student-athletes ... I think I'm going to call NOW and tell them that's "hostile and abuse" toward women. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeauxSioux Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Another "sport" trying to make it to the Olympics is ............ Pole Dancing. It's not what you might think. Often associated with strip clubs, pole dancing is also an increasingly popular way for women to stay in shape. "It's automatically assumed it has something to do with stripping," Lizz Schofield, owner of a Utah dance studio where "Pole Fitness" is in vogue, told KUTV.com, the Web site for a Salt Lake-area CBS affiliate. "But this is not stripping at all." Her studio has joined others around the globe in an effort to bring pole dancing to London. The petition does not indicate how many signatures it is seeking, but there were over 500 signatures as of Friday afternoon. I have a hard enough time watching any of the other "judged" sports, ie, gymnastics, diving, skating, boxing.... I'm sure not going to watch something as stupid as this. If you can't figure out the winner of a sport without a judge involved I don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undVBfan Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Sand Volleyball may be regional, but indoor volleyball is played throughout the country. It wouldn't be too tough to transition from indoor to sand volleyball. I've played in sand volleyball leagues for a number of years here in GF and there is quite a bit of interest...I would guesstimate 80-100 females that are involved in the GF sand leagues each summer. Granted not many of the players are college caliber, but there have been a number of UND volleyball players that play in these leagues. Actually there is a ton of difference between indoor 6's and outdoor 2's. Maybe not the way it's played here :-), but it's comparing apples and oranges. And if anyone wants to doubt the validity of the sport feel free to join a 2 person league, you'll figure out the differences and how tough it is. Passing, setting, blocking, hitting, strategy (both offense and defense) are VERY different. Regarding the outfits; the more fabric, the more places for sand to get stuck (not trying to be crude). I've been told the women, as a rule, would rather wear 2-pieces than a 1 piece swimsuit; I believe 1 piece outfits are legal in the AVP but no one wears them. And anyone watching just for the outfits is the type of person that would watch auto racing just for the wrecks. Neither sport needs those types of fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmksioux Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Actually there is a ton of difference between indoor 6's and outdoor 2's. Maybe not the way it's played here :-), but it's comparing apples and oranges. And if anyone wants to doubt the validity of the sport feel free to join a 2 person league, you'll figure out the differences and how tough it is. Passing, setting, blocking, hitting, strategy (both offense and defense) are VERY different. I have played and continue to play both. I realize that two person and six person indoor are basically two different games. I guess the point I was trying to make is that there is interest in sand volleyball... even in the frozen tundra of NoDak. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a regional "niche" sport since volleyball, in general, is played most everywhere in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undVBfan Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I have played and continue to play both. I realized that two person and six person indoor are basically two different games. I guess the point I was trying to make as that there is interest in sand volleyball... even in the frozen tundra of NoDak. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a regional "niche" sport since volleyball, in general, is played most everywhere in the US. Good point; written like someone who's played on the grass as well as the sand and hardcourt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmksioux Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Good point; written like someone who's played on the grass as well as the sand and hardcourt. Haven't had the opportunity to play in the "Weed Wacker" yet...always seems to fall on a weekend that I'm busy. I have played in Haybale a few times and thats always a good time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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