Beach volleyball According to current FIVB rules, female beach volleyball players have the option of playing in shorts or a one-piece swimsuit. Most players, however, prefer the two-piece bikini. Competitors such as Natalie Cook and Holly McPeak have confirmed the FIVB's claims that the uniforms are practical for a sport played on sand during the heat of summer, but British Olympian Denise Johns claimed that the regulation uniform is intended to be "sexy" and to draw attention. Other players have argued that the bikini is tied to the sport's "beach culture". During the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, a study was conducted on
Beach volleyball the 2010–11 academic year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began sponsoring women's beach volleyball, which it initially called "sand volleyball", as an "emerging" sport. Initially, it was sponsored only for Division II, with Division I added the following academic year. NCAA competition follows standard beach volleyball rules, with competitions involving five doubles-teams from each participating school. Beach volleyball became a fully sanctioned NCAA championship sport in the 2015–16 school year, following votes by leaders of all three NCAA divisions to launch a single all-divisions national championship. At the end of June 2015, the NCAA dropped the name of "sand