Beach volleyball with more players, the most widely played version of the game, and the only one contested at an elite level, has only two players per team. Beach volleyball grew in popularity in the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930s as it was an inexpensive activity. The sport also began to appear in Europe during this time. By the 1940s, doubles tournaments were being played on the beaches of Santa Monica for trophies. In 1948 the first tournament to offer a prize was held in Los Angeles, California. It awarded the best teams with a case of Pepsi.
Beach Volleyball Major Series Beach Volleyball Major Series The Beach Volleyball Major Series (or Beach Major Series and formerly the Swatch Beach Volleyball Major Series) is an international series of beach volleyball tournaments which began in 2015. The tournaments consist of Tour Stops and form part of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. The series concludes with the FIVB World Tour Finals. Each tournament in the series has a prize pool of USD$300,000 per gender, except for the World Tour Finals which has a prize pool of USD$400,000 per gender. The Beach Volleyball Major Series arose out of a joint-venture between Austrian companies Red