April 23, 2009
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - With the addition of sand volleyball as an emerging sport, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women's volleyball team will host The Collegiate Sand Invitational, or UMES CSI, this weekend, Saturday, April 25 at Winter Place Park in Salisbury Md.
Several local colleges, including rival Delaware State and independent athletes from nearby Salisbury University will go two on two with UMES athletes for bragging rights on the beach. The party-like atmosphere is free to the public, will feature matches from 9:00 a.m. until approximately 6:00 p.m. on two courts simultaneously and have food vendors, a live DJ and giveaways.
"I am running this tournament as a way to promote the sport, and create an event that is both fun and challenging for athletes and coaches," said UMES Associate Head Coach and tournament coordinator Eric Hammond. "Most of the competing athletes are specialized in their indoor roles, so this is a great opportunity for them get well-rounded experience and increase their overall skill set. Everyone involved is extremely excited to play in this format and surface, which, until recently, has been foreign to collegiate competition. Plus, it's sun, sand, sports and food- it's a must-attend event!"
The event, held in partnership with USA Volleyball and the Chesapeake Regional Volleyball Association, will feature doubles teams playing a round robin format before entering a double elimination bracket to decide the champion of CSI 2009.
Sand volleyball tournaments will begin to become more commonplace since the NCAA's decision to consider it an emerging sport. In a statement on their website, the NCAA announced on April 21, that "the Division I Legislative Council added sand volleyball to the list of emerging sports for women, clearing the way for schools to use the sport toward minimum sponsorship requirements and minimum financial aid rewards."
While the sport capitalizes on the immense popularity of professional beach volleyball and the AVP Tour, some worry that it will only provide additional opportunities for current indoor players as opposed to creating new opportunities for beach players.
Division II approved the sport in January but delayed its start until August 2010 to allow further development of rules regarding the length of playing and practice season, financial aid limits, uniforms, and the number of participants per team. The DI proposal should be made official on April 30 and will also start in 2010. If 40 institutions sponsor the event it will be eligible for NCAA Championship status.
"Although the sport doesn't start until the 2010-11 season and actually start play until the Spring of 2011, I am pleased that UMES is already making preparations for the possibly of adding the sport," said Head Volleyball Coach Don Metil.
The same NCAA article also made a case for the popularity of the sport, stating, "the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics originally recommended the addition of sand volleyball based on data from a 2007 report by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association citing more than 200,000 participants, nearly 35,000 under the age of 18. The same study showed that sand volleyball participation increased by 35 percent since 2006, compared with only a 2.3 percent increase in the indoor game. About half of Division I institutions have sand volleyball courts for recreational use, and sand volleyball has been an Olympic sport since 1996."
Although just added as a sport, sand volleyball tournaments have been held on a club level in the past. Just last weekend, April 18, the fourth annual Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championships were held in Riverside, Calif. in an event televised on CBS Collegiate Sports Network. They held their event in a team-style format with each program fielding four two-player teams. Best school overall finish is the champion. The same weekend the Southeastern Conference held a tournament in Siesta Key, Florida and this weekend there will be a third tournament in the same location titled the Collegiate Sand Volleyball Challenge.
