Beach Volleyball - Uniform Controversy

Uniform Controversy

In 1999, the FIVB standardized beach volleyball uniforms, with the swimsuit becoming the required uniform both for men and women. This drew the ire of some athletes.

According to FIVB rules, female beach volleyball players have the option of playing in shorts or a one-piece swimsuit. Most players, however, prefer the two-piece bikini.

Competitors such as Natalie Cook and Holly McPeak have confirmed the FIVB's claims that the uniforms are practical for a sport played on sand during the heat of summer, but British Olympian Denise Johns claimed that the regulation uniform is intended to be "sexy" and to draw attention.

During the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, a study was conducted on the camera angles during the beach volleyball games. Twenty percent of the camera angles were focused on the chest area and seventeen percent of the angles were focused on the buttock area. This implies that the look of the players is having a greater impact on fans than their actual athleticism.

Some conservative cultures have expressed moral objections to the swimsuit as a uniform. At the 2007 South Pacific Games, rules were adjusted to require less revealing shorts and cropped sports tops. At the 2006 Asian Games, only one Muslim country fielded a team in the beach volleyball series, amid concerns the uniform was inappropriate.

In early 2012, the International Volleyball Federation announced it will allow shorts (maximum length 3 cm (1.2 in) above the knee) and sleeved tops at the London 2012 Olympics. Richard Baker, the federation spokesperson, said that "many of these countries have religious and cultural requirements so the uniform needed to be more flexible". And in fact the weather was so cold for the evening games at London 2012 that the players sometimes had to wear shirts and leggings.