By the time the game of basketball made its first appearances at the Olympic Games, another sport invented in the United States was already commonplace on the beaches of California, France, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.
Beach volleyball, a sport originating at the Playground in Santa Monica, California in the early 1920s, quickly spread around the globe until finally earning a spot in the Olympic Programme in 1996.
While the first beach volleyball games were generally six-on-six family affairs, the game evolved into a highly competitive, yet still recreational pastime. Beauty contests were included as part of the official program of the first beach "tour" in California and early tournament winners received cases of soft drinks as prizes.
Prizes became much more lucrative with the first commercially sponsored tournament's in the 1970s, and by the 1980s prize money reached the $50,000 mark for each FIVB World Series Championship.
A demonstration sport at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, beach volleyball was awarded full-medal status for the 1996 Olympic Games in September 1992.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for
the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard
Thomas.
| The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July). |