The sport of volleyball has changed throughout the years. Volleyball is now over 100 years old. When it was first introduced in 1895 by an instructor at the YMCA, it was called Minonette. It was not until later it was renamed “volleyball,†when it was pointed out that the ball would “volley†across the net. The game of volleyball originated in the United States but has become popular all over the world.
When volleyball was first introduced as a sport, it began as a YMCA based game and the games and tournaments were held within YMCA squads. In 1928 it became clear that more regulations over the game were needed. An association was formed to determine rules and organize tournaments. The first U.S. open was organized and finally opened up to non-YMCA squads.
In the 1930s the first two-person team beach volleyball games were first observed. They were usually just impromptu games played at the beach. Eventually, though, two-person team beach volleyball became a recognized version of the game, and in 1965 the California Beach Volleyball Association was formed and standardized the rules of beach volleyball. The first men’s tournament was held in 1948. It was not until 1993 that the first women’s beach volleyball world championships were held.
Although women began playing volleyball from its conception in 1985 in informal settings such as schools, it was not until 1949 that the first United States women’s indoor volleyball championships were held, and in 1952 the first international women’s championships were held.
By the 1960s, volleyball had grown in popularity all around the world to the point that it was first introduced as an Olympic sport in 1964 in Tokyo. It was not until 1984, though, that the United States won their first Olympic medals for volleyball with the men’s team winning the gold and the women’s team winning the silver.