[VERVE]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

I'm sorry but this is really ridiculous. I'm sure because you play in a semi competitive beach league that your fitness level is that of an olympians and therefore you can equate your experience with theirs. Beach volleyball at the top level is incredibly physically demanding and requires A LOT of athleticism. Is getting "bruised" the criteria for being an olympic athlete? I don't see too many swimmers with bruises.

So what if they have dancing girls in between sets, the olympics are supposed to be fun, and sure if its cheesy but who cares, does that diminish the "spirit of the games" somehow? Does everything have to be somber and serious? Did you watch how many dancers performed in the opening ceremonies, does that touch a chord with you too?

In fact the beach volleyball has been one of the hottest tickets around this Olympics, I think Paul McCartney attended some beach volleyball as well.

Why pick a bone with beach volleyball? Why not archery, or ping pong, or shooting or speed walking? All of those seem to require a lot less athleticism than beach volleyball in my opinion.



In fact it's quite the opposite as most indoor volleyball players would have a tough time cutting it in beach. I could play an entire set of indoor volleyball and touch the ball maybe three times. Middles get subbed out when they're back row and a pass specialist called a 'libero' comes in and plays their position back court. What i'm leading to is that indoor there are position players, setter, power, middle, libero, and a middle would be a terrible setter and vice versa. However in beach volleyball you have to be everything, a good passer, setter, hitter, blocker, and have great D. Indoor you can hit the ball as hard as you can but in beach you need to have precise shot placement, where a well placed roll shot is more effective than slamming the ball as hard as you can, and is harder to do. Also a lot of beach volleyball players come from national indoor programs.

Sorry, having played both sports (amature) and watching the performances of others at high level matches, there is no comparison. Beach volleyball does not come even close to the level of competition as hardcourt volleyball.