| Volleyball - An
Introduction
Volleyball has come a long way from the dusty-old YMCA
gymnasium of Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA, where visionary,
William G. Morgan, invented the sport back in 1895. It has
seen the start of two centuries and the dawn of a new
millennium. Volleyball is now one of the big five
international sports, and the FIVB, with its 218
affiliated national federations, is the largest
international sporting federation in the world.
Over the last decade particularly, volleyball has
witnessed unprecedented growth. With the success of its
world competition such as the World Championships, Olympic
Games, the US15$ million World League, Grand Prix, World
Cup, and World Grand Champions Cup, the level of
participation at all levels internationally continues to
grow exponentially.
The beach volleyball phenomenon, although hugely
visible, is still just in its infancy. From the first FIVB
World Tour event just over ten years ago, to the
overwhelming spectator and television success of 'Beach'
at the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, beach
volleyball has opened up Volleyball to a completely new
market.
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