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Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Volleyball
How long has beach volleyball been around? Apparently, a long time.
Volleyball emerged in the 1890s - along with a lot of sports - as a game designed from an amalgam of other ball games, to be played in YMCA gymnasia. As many YMCA gyms in fact forbade clothing - the meaning of the word, via the Latin, in the Greek γυμνός (naked) - it was a game men at least would already have been used to playing in the bare. With the equal explosion in health spas and open-air sports clubs, it is not surprising that it became a staple of the nudist camp when everyone had suddenly to start covering-up with the onset of more prudish times.
Wikipedia says that beach volleyball was first played in 1915 on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, while the modern two-player game originated in Santa Monica, California. It has been an Olympic sport since the 1996 Summer Olympics. Women’s beach volleyball is apparently a popular spectator sport, probably due to their skimpy outfits.
Thanks, Phil! I should have known that the beach version originated here in Hawaii. Volleyball is the national sport and the only one besides surfing that we're good at.
Also appearing in the 'questionable photo' is the famouns Scotty Bowers, second from right in the front row. (I also found that my comment was switched to this photo.)
Was that one of those Wyngate and Bevins productions that were initially a dodge for the censorship laws and then eventually used to provide a patina of respectability?
Man, I never had that much fun playing volleyball...we had to wear jocks and shorts in high school and college. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteMore bugs. I can't access the next few pages.
ReplyDeleteSame thing happened yesterday. I complained to Google, but it takes them days to fix anything.
DeleteDitto. You're right about that W&B photo. That's Monte Hansen at the top left.
ReplyDeleteGoogle Blogger has a glitch that is shifting comments to the wrong post. Thanks for the info.
DeleteVolleyball emerged in the 1890s - along with a lot of sports - as a game designed from an amalgam of other ball games, to be played in YMCA gymnasia. As many YMCA gyms in fact forbade clothing - the meaning of the word, via the Latin, in the Greek γυμνός (naked) - it was a game men at least would already have been used to playing in the bare. With the equal explosion in health spas and open-air sports clubs, it is not surprising that it became a staple of the nudist camp when everyone had suddenly to start covering-up with the onset of more prudish times.
ReplyDeleteI never knew the history of volleyball. Thanks.
DeleteWikipedia says that beach volleyball was first played in 1915 on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, while the modern two-player game originated in Santa Monica, California. It has been an Olympic sport since the 1996 Summer Olympics. Women’s beach volleyball is apparently a popular spectator sport, probably due to their skimpy outfits.
DeleteThanks, Phil! I should have known that the beach version originated here in Hawaii. Volleyball is the national sport and the only one besides surfing that we're good at.
DeleteAlso appearing in the 'questionable photo' is the famouns Scotty Bowers, second from right in the front row. (I also found that my comment was switched to this photo.)
ReplyDeleteWow! That does look like him, but this picture dates from much later than when Scotty was known to be modeling. Did he make a comeback in the 60's?
DeleteAlthough not all are represented in this image, this comes from the nudist film (and magazine) Nine Male Nudists.
ReplyDeleteWas that one of those Wyngate and Bevins productions that were initially a dodge for the censorship laws and then eventually used to provide a patina of respectability?
Delete