Did you sit at home during the summer of 2008, watching Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh, Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs playing beach volleyball during the Olympic Games, and dream of how one day that could be you?

Or, maybe you have watched the AVP Tour on national television and had visions of one day traveling across the country, playing volleyball in the sand, and actually getting paid for it?

Curious about how, as an indoor player, you could one day get the opportunity to play professionally, or for Team USA, on the beach?

Well, the transition may have just gotten a little easier, as the NCAA recently passed the addition of Sand Volleyball to the Emerging Sports List for women. What this means is, beginning in August 2010, Sand Volleyball will be a collegiate sport in NCAA Division II; a year later, Division I will begin adding teams. The NCAA will sponsor a championship when 40 schools in the two divisions add the sport at the varsity level.

As of this writing, the University of Southern California is the only team who has announced they will add Sand Volleyball; however, several schools in Florida’s Division II Sunshine State Conference are expected to add teams; and, as the recession subsides, the list is expected to grow quickly.

Participation in beach volleyball has grown by over 25% in the last two years and over 300,000 girls under the age of 18 are participating in the sand sport (according to the 2009 Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association’s research). The addition of sand volleyball as a collegiate sport will add 12- 14 collegiate participation opportunities for women, and, over time, college scholarships will be available in NCAA Divisions I and II.

The concept of Sand Volleyball as a collegiate sport was transformed from an idea into a reality by the formation of the Collegiate Beach Championship in 2007 by CBS College Sports Network. The University of Nebraska won the fi rst championship; the University of Texas claimed the 2008 title and the University of Southern California won in 2009. This innovative, made-for-TV event introduced the college community to the beach game and enthusiasm for the sport grew very quickly.

The opportunity for juniors play is also expanding rapidly. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) hosts a whole series of junior beach events starting in April and culminating with their annual national championship in Manhattan Beach, Calif., July 17-18, 2010. For information go to www.AAUBeach.org. USA Volleyball is also part of a group that hosts a series of youth beach events called the USA Beach Junior Tour, which concludes with their USA Beach Junior Tour Open Championships August 22, 2010 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. More information on that tour can be found at www.USABeach.org. The Next Emerging Sport for Women Now part of the “Alt Games”, short for Alternative Games, the Collegiate Beach Championship will be in its fourth year in 2010, featuring teams from across the country battling on the beaches of Santa Barbara, Calif. This year’s event includes the opportunity for participating players to get a day of coaching and training from the AVP. The winning team will receive an automatic qualifi er position in the AVP Huntington Beach Open.

The NCAA requires 40 participating teams for a sport to move from the Emerging Sports List to full NCAA sponsorship, which includes a championship. With the popularity of Sand Volleyball already at an all-time high, many believe this will not take much time at all. Even if full sponsorship was to take several years, giving women more choices and more opportunities to play volleyball is a win for the sport.