Region Helps Arizona Add High School Sand Volleyball

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 19, 2011) – Thanks in part to USA Volleyball’s Arizona Region, Arizona has become the first state in the U.S. to make competitive sand volleyball a high school sport for the 2012 spring season.

On Oct. 17, the Arizona Interscholastic Association (A.I.A.), by a unanimous 11-0 vote, formally adopted a proposal brought forth by the Arizona Region of USA Volleyball.

"Beach volleyball is an exciting sport to play and to watch,” Arizona Region Commissioner Harold Cranswick said. “The Arizona Region of USA Volleyball is excited to partner with the A.I.A. to be the first state in the United States to offer beach volleyball at the high school level.  The decision of the AIA to pilot this sport will mean more opportunities for young people to participate in sports.”

“I think it shows the traction that the sport is likely to have going forward as more and more NCAA institutions adopt sand volleyball,” USA Volleyball CEO Doug Beal said. “Arizona could easily become the model for the direction other states will follow in making this a sanctioned high school sport.”

The region got the idea to add sand volleyball at the high school level after the NCAA added it as an emerging sport for women.

“We looked around and couldn’t find any other states with high school sand volleyball,” said Eric Hodgson, outreach director of the Arizona Region.

Hodgson and Cranswick first brought the proposal to add sand volleyball to the A.I.A. in September of 2010. At the time, the proposal was met with interest, but put on the back burner.

In September of 2011, the region returned to the A.I.A. with a firm plan and schools that were ready to sign on. Meanwhile, the A.I.A. was dealing with several districts not in compliance with Title IX, the federal law banning gender discrimination in schools.

A.I.A. Associate Athletic Executive Director Chuck Schmidt took up the cause and helped get it passed.

“The A.I.A. is looking forward to working with USA Volleyball in creating this groundbreaking opportunity for our students,” Schmidt said.

When asked what advice he might give other USA Volleyball regions who might want to bring sand volleyball to their high school associations, Cranswick said, "One of the things we did last year was to create a position that we called region outreach director. Eric Hodgson filled that role. He has used that position to reach out to people in the community and build some relationships. I think it’s those relationships that allowed us to work together with the A.I.A. and move this idea forward."

The pilot season will begin Feb. 6, 2012 with a three-week training block. Matches will begin the week of Feb. 27 for six weeks. On Friday, March 23, an invitational tournament will be held for all participants. The eight-team final bracket will be played the week of April 9.

Teams will be made up of 12 girls forming five doubles teams ranked 1 to 5 and will compete against another school’s same ranked teams. Two alternates will be on the roster for match day due to injury or sickness. Rules will be consistent with college and international rules. Players will wear uniforms similar to those of indoor volleyball players.

The Arizona Region will work with the A.I.A. to train the officials in the differences of the beach game from the indoor. The Region will also pick up the cost of the courts for the invitational tournament held in March. In addition, the Region will help where needed with match and tournament management.

"The Region sees this as complementary to our existing programs," Cranswick said. "It is one more way for our juniors to get better at the sport. It is our mission in the region to create opportunities for players, coaches and officials and this does that.

"We’re pretty excited about having something like this happen. It’s groundbreaking and I think there’s a lot of excitement that will come out of it."

Victory Lanes Sports Park located in north Phoenix has agreed to waive its entry fee and court costs for this first year to get the program off to a good start in its pilot year. Victory Lanes owner Mike Krueger will open the park for high school practices and matches daily during the season from 3-6 p.m. The park sports eight lighted sand courts with adjustable nets and lines and professional quality sand on their courts.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, mobile, sand volleyball