Volleyball variations Volleyball variations Originated and popular in Kerala,India. A variation of the game rivaling the original sport of volleyball in popularity, beach volleyball evolved from the recreational games of volleyball played on many beaches around the world. It became an official Olympic sport in 1996. This version, rather than being played on indoor hard courts, is played on sand courts which may either be formed naturally or built specifically for the purpose. Instead of a team of six, each team consists of only two players, but otherwise the rules are almost identical with some exceptions including: This is a newer variation
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