NCAA Approves "Sand" Volleyball

[PlanetFrnd]

YES!!!!

Sand Volleyball Added To List Of Emerging D-I Sports For Women - NCAA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Sand Volleyball Added To List Of Emerging D-I Sports For Women

An emerging sport needs 40 sponsoring institutions to be eligible for NCAA championship status

April 22, 2009
By Michelle Brutlag Hosick
The NCAA News

The Division I Legislative Council added sand volleyball to the list of emerging sports for women, clearing the way for schools to use the sport toward minimum sponsorship requirements and minimum financial aid awards.
The sport is expected to create additional athletics opportunities for female student-athletes, though some administrators and coaches worry that it may simply provide additional opportunities for current indoor volleyball players.

Division II approved sand volleyball as an emerging sport at the January Convention, though delegates delayed the addition of the sport until August 2010 to allow further development of rules regarding the length of the playing and practice season, financial aid limits, uniforms and the number of participants per team, among other factors. The Division I proposal, which will be considered adopted at the close of the Division I Board of Directors meeting April 30, also takes effect in August 2010.
The Legislative Council initially considered the proposal in January, though members voted to seek membership comment after questioning the logistics of the sport in colder climates and wondering about rules development.

The Championships/Sports Management Cabinet opposed the legislation because of uncertainty about playing and practice seasons and financial aid, but the Administration Cabinet supported the proposal.

The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics originally recommended the addition of sand volleyball based on data from a 2007 report by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association citing more than 200,000 participants, nearly 35,000 under the age of 18. The same study showed that sand volleyball participation increased by 35 percent since 2006, compared with only a 2.3 percent increase in the indoor game. About half of Division I institutions have sand volleyball courts for recreational use, and sand volleyball has been an Olympic sport since 1996.

NCAA APPROVES ?SAND? VOLLEYBALL | With Leather - The Cleveland Steamer of sports blogs

The NCAA has granted ?sand? volleyball emerging sport status, paving the way for colleges to compete at the varsity level in 2010-11.

The organization will spend the next year developing rules that will govern play, including regulations on financial aid, playing dates and recruiting. [...]
The sport, known on the professional and Olympic levels [and everywhere else on the planet] as beach volleyball, will be called sand volleyball to make it more attractive to landlocked schools.

The real question, of course, is whether the NCAA will allow women to wear bikinis. Because if so, this chick is on the varsity team. And if you thought there were a lot of beach volleyball posts during the Olympics, buckle up for 2010. This place is gonna be ground zero of college beach volleyball pictures. Er, analysis and insight. College beach volleyball analysis and insight. Yeah, that?s what I meant.

 

[JCOSU86]

 

[LitlBuck]

I can see now where this thread might be heading

 

[Mike80]

I already watch all of the Women's gymnastics and women's volleyball on the Big Ten network, adding sand volleyball is like giving a crack rock to me the junkie :groove3:

 

[Steve19]

This is great news. It is a worldwide sport, the USA already is competitive, and it seems to promote warm international relations.