A variation of volleyball played on sand first appeared on the beaches of Santa Monica, California in the 1920s. The first beach volleyball tournament took place in 1947 and the first circuit was launched in the 1950s, involving hundreds of players on Californian beaches. The first professional players’ union was established in the 1980s and the first international tournament sanctioned by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) was held in 1987.
