Beach volleyball the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was founded. At the professional level, the sport remained fairly obscure until the 1980s when beach volleyball experienced a surge in popularity with high-profile players such as Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, and Karch Kiraly. Kiraly won an Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball in its first Olympic appearance in 1996, adding that to the two Olympic golds he won as part of the USA men's indoor team, and has won 142 titles. In the 1980s, the sport gained popularity on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1986, the
Beach volleyball the third hit. Similar to a pass, the ball can be set with either a forearm pass technique, known as a bump set, or an overhand pass technique, known as a hand set. Due to the stricter standards for ball rotation when hand setting in beach volleyball than in indoor volleyball, as well as the environmental factors that make it harder to hand set a ball "cleanly", the bump set is more common in the beach game. When hand setting, the player's hands must contact the ball simultaneously. If a referee determines that a double-hit has occurred, the point will