# Beach Volleyball. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 18, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384 "2004-08-18T13:40:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/21 "2004-08-18T14:49:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Have you ever tried running on sand? It takes an enormous amount of calf strength. Have you ever tried playing volleyball with only 2 to a team? It takes an enormous amount of running and maneuvering. On sand. Yes, Virginia, it is a real sport. Yeah, I guess I was mistaken when I wrote “this is an easy sport played by bad athletes who are just out running around having fun.” :rolleyes: > [@tdn](#): > > For that, I ask for a cite. Keep up with the group. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/22 "2004-08-18T14:55:07Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Tennis was invented when the Romans would cut the gentials off their fallen enemies and swat them back at the armies as a method of demoralization. I was watching an A&E special on the ancient games, and they mentioned that if a runner jumped the gun on the race, he was disqualified, then publicly beaten and humiliated. And I’m glad **Trunk** has retracted his pitting, because beach volleyball is _hot_. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/23 "2004-08-18T14:59:43Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Yeah, I guess I was mistaken when I wrote “this is an easy sport played by bad athletes who are just out running around having fun.” :rolleyes: Well, then, what the fuck is your complaint about? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/24 "2004-08-18T15:12:30Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Well, then, what the fuck is your complaint about? The notion that we can just take any old Olympic sport, play it on sand between two people, and think that all of a sudden we have a new sport. The fact that it is traditionally played in the sand doesn’t change that. We have a lot of sports that were done a traditional way that we don’t do in the olympics. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/25 "2004-08-18T15:31:33Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > The notion that we can just take any old Olympic sport, play it on sand between two people, and think that all of a sudden we have a new sport. > > The fact that it is traditionally played in the sand doesn’t change that. We have a lot of sports that were done a traditional way that we don’t do in the olympics. Forgive me for still not getting it. Is it the sand you object to? Would it be better if they played it on concrete? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/26 "2004-08-18T15:34:22Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Forgive me for still not getting it. Is it the sand you object to? Would it be better if they played it on concrete? oh, jeez - you really are a twit, aren’t you? :smack: just let it go, okay? (and no, trying to 'splain it further will do _no_ good…) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/27 "2004-08-18T15:40:39Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > just let it go, okay? Probably good advice. I’m clearly not equal to the intellectual pressures of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/28 "2004-08-18T15:50:13Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Probably good advice. I’m clearly not equal to the intellectual pressures of this thread. Nah - that ain’t it - I assumed you were up to the intellectual pressures, but that constantly-ringing phone you mention in the other Pit thread you started was starting to get to your sense of humor…it would’ve gotten to mine. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/29 "2004-08-18T15:51:50Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > The notion that we can just take any old Olympic sport, play it on sand between two people, and think that all of a sudden we have a new sport. Guess what, genius–they didn’t invent Beach Volleyball for the Olympics. It’s been a real sport with real championships and real circuits and real financial support (from endorsements to prize money) for quite a while. The only way you can make a sport an Olympic one is to already be well-established in the international athletic community. This wasn’t some crazy drinking whim in the IOC. By your logic, we shouldn’t have the 200m race (T&F). Hey, it wasn’t in the original Olympics (1896), and it’s just running twice as long as the 100m and half as long as the 400m! Why bother? It’s just an excuse to give more unworthy athletes a shot at a medal (and to show off their legs, while they’re at it). And what’s up with the Pentathalon? Heck, I’ll just put together any 6 random sports and call it the Hexathalon! It’s the same exact thing, sorta! And weight-lifting and wrestling originally didn’t have different categories by competitors’ size! And swimming didn’t originally have relays! It’s just more excuses to make up new events that aren’t that much different than already existing events! Your OP is idiotic because there is no burgeoning Beach Basketball community, or Beach Handball, or Beach Soccer. There are no titles, no scholarships, no coaches. But that’s not true with Beach Volleyball. I guess I’m having a hard time seeing that Olympic spirit you claim you have, but that may be because it’s stuck too deeply up your ass. :rolleyes: Jerk. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/30 "2004-08-18T16:00:17Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Nah - that ain’t it - I assumed you were up to the intellectual pressures, but that constantly-ringing phone you mention in the other Pit thread you started was starting to get to your sense of humor…it would’ve gotten to mine. 🙂 Ya know… Come to think of it, the two events did coincide. I wonder if bludgeoning clueless cube dwellers with their own phones can become an Olympic sport. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/31 "2004-08-18T16:06:27Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Ya know… Come to think of it, the two events did coincide. > > I wonder if bludgeoning clueless cube dwellers with their own phones can become an Olympic sport. …only if you do it (wait for it…) in the SAND!!! 😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/32 "2004-08-18T16:16:37Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Your OP is idiotic Oh, it is? I didn’t notice. I guess that I’ll have to tell the **Committee To Get Beach Handball Officially Recognized By The IOC** that they can all go home now. > [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Guess what, genius–they didn’t invent Beach Volleyball for the Olympics. It’s been a real sport with real championships and real circuits and real financial support (from endorsements to prize money) for quite a while. The only way you can make a sport an Olympic one is to already be well-established in the international athletic community. This wasn’t some crazy drinking whim in the IOC. > [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I guess I’m having a hard time seeing that Olympic spirit you claim you have, but that may be because it’s stuck too deeply up your ass. :rolleyes: Jerk. Yeah, _I_’m the one with something stuck my up ass. . . ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/33 "2004-08-18T16:27:21Z")
Of all the sports to complain about this is way down on the list. Pairs, synchronized diving? Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/34 "2004-08-18T16:28:33Z")
[This is all the reason needed to have Olympic beach volleyball on TV. Lots of it, too.](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5705620/) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/35 "2004-08-18T16:37:17Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [This is all the reason needed to have Olympic beach volleyball on TV. Lots of it, too.](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5705620/) See, it is a sport! My cardio-vascular system is getting a workout just looking at that picture! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/36 "2004-08-18T17:59:03Z")
Trunk, I’m totally with you. That shit is asinine. And what’s with the random bursts of really crappy distorted pop music? What the hell WAS that? I like seeing scantily-clad women as much as the next guy, but y’know what? - that’s why they have strip clubs. Or HBO, for that matter. Besides, I like to see _cute_ women, not leathery skanks with pancake tits. Nothing against the athletes, because they’re _athletes_ - it’s not a beauty contest. But c’mon - even the fencing women were cuter than that. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/37 "2004-08-18T18:35:43Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Trunk, I’m totally with you. That shit is asinine. And what’s with the random bursts of really crappy distorted pop music? What the hell WAS that? I like seeing scantily-clad women as much as the next guy, but y’know what? - that’s why they have strip clubs. Or HBO, for that matter. Besides, I like to see _cute_ women, not leathery skanks with pancake tits. Nothing against the athletes, because they’re _athletes_ - it’s not a beauty contest. But c’mon - even the fencing women were cuter than that. Alright we win, I actually agree with **Blowero** about something. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/38 "2004-08-18T18:55:05Z")
Beach volleyball strategies and skills are different than standard volleyball. An excellent player in volleyball isn’t necessarily an excellent player in beach volleyball and vice versa. **Trunk’s** argument is based on his perception that these two similar sports are different variations of the same thing. That’s way to simplified. Unlike tennis/doubles tennis this isn’t the same sport with more/less players. Playing on the sand court requires different skills, strategies and physical abilities. As far as the T&A on the court, that’s another subject. Since the scoring is objective instead of judged the apparel of the participants doesn’t affect the outcome of the game. (A judge can’t give or take away points via a bias over an outfit). ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/39 "2004-08-18T18:57:31Z")
I agree too. If I want soft-core porn, I HAVE the internet, thanks. I guess beach volleyball mildly irritates me because it’s just such obvious pandering. I realize the days of the Olympics being all about the athletic prowess and the spirit of competition and whatnot are long gone, but it just feels like a bunch of executive types sat around and tried to think of something to appeal to the Al Bundy types out there, and came up with beach volleyball. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384/40 "2004-08-18T18:57:32Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > Dude, most of those female gymnasts are under the age of consent in most states. And the ones that aren’t, typically still look like they are… eeew. Which is why I limited my lustful statement to “ **a few**.” There a couple of them who are in their 20s, and stone-gorgeous! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beach-volleyball/260384.md?page=3)