Beach Volleyball

Commonweath Games chiefs are to vote in November on whether to include Beach Volleyball in Commonweath Games, along with it Twenty20 cricket can be taken a step nearer to inclusion at the event. So Beach Volleyball could make its debut at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which proved such a hit at the Olympics.

Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net. The objective of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent. A team is composed exclusively of two players, who must always be in play and who cannot be subjected to any substitutions or replacement. At the moment the ball is hit by the server, each team must be within its own court, but there are no determined positions on the court, such that no positional faults can be committed. The sport originated in Southern California and Hawaii, beach volleyball now receives worldwide popularity.

The Commonwealth Games Federation executive board, meeting in Kuala Lumpur, will make a series of recommendations about the sports schedule to their general assembly in St Kitts this November. Beach volleyball, which made its Olympic debut in 1996, will be a category two sport, meaning it can be included at the discretion of the organizing committee.

Rugby League has been added as a category three sport, while Twenty20 cricket is also in contention, a 50-over tournament appeared during the 1998 Games, will be further discussed following consultation with international governing body, the ICC.

The list of category one sports, which must be included in every Games schedule, remains unaltered – aquatics (swimming, diving, synchro swimming), athletics, badminton, men’s boxing, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, men’s rugby sevens, squash and weightlifting.

Meanwhile, the two candidate cities for the 2018 Games, who will follow next hosts Glasgow, will present their official bids later today.

Gold Coast in Australia are the frontrunners, with Queensland premier Anna Bligh heading their delegation in Malaysia, while Sri Lanka’s Hambantota are consider outsiders.

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Tags: Beach Volleyball, Commonweath Games, CWG 2018, Olympics, Sand Volleyball