Benny Hill and bikinis... it's bonkers but brilliant! Beach volleyball hits Horse Guards Parade (and comes with a very strange soundtrack)

By JANE FRYER

Intermission: The dancers emerged onto the court between matches, as the MC whipped the crowd into a frenzy

Maybe it’s the troupe of bikini-clad cheerleaders who keep dashing out to dance the conga and writhe on all fours.
Or it could be the Benny Hill theme tune that blasts out every time the linesmen rush forward to rake the sand off the red court lines.
Or perhaps it’s the DJ yelling: ‘This isn’t Wimbledon, you’re allowed to make some noise here!’
Whatever it is, women’s beach volleyball is not your average Olympic sport.

Victorious: Zara Dampney, left, from Great Britain celebrates with her teammate Shauna Mullin, right, after defeating Canada in their Beach volleyball match on Sunday

And when Great Britain’s Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney jog through the drizzle and a tunnel of cheerleaders into the amazing purple 15,000-seat temporary stadium in Horse Guards Parade, it feels a long way from Chariots Of Fire.
When Olympic tickets went on sale in the ballot, beach volleyball was one of the most oversubscribed events, second only to the 100 metres final. A year on, it remains the hot ticket of the Games.
Or, at least, the women’s beach volleyball does. No one seems quite so interested in the men.
It could, of course, be due to the fact that the women display mesmerising skill, above and beyond their male peers.

The British pair, the country's first female representatives in this sport at the Olympics since 1996, impressed on their way to a 17-21 21-14 15-13 victory

Sights and sounds: The Olympic beach volleyball tournament kicked off yesterday in the historic heart of the UK capital. However, spectators' eyes were firmly fixed upon the athletes and their toned bodies

But it is more likely to be because men play in singlets, baseball hats and baggy knee-length shorts while the women wear very, very, very small bikinis. Or at least they do when the temperature is above 16C. Regulations dictate that when it’s colder than this, they can wear shorts.
Yesterday afternoon, with thermometers bobbing at a perilous 17C, this revelation was a source of grave concern amongst a group of four men drinking pink champagne from plastic glasses at the bar until the men’s matches had finished.

A true taste of British summer: Dark skies during Men's Beach Volleyball Preliminary match between Spain and the Netherlands

‘Why would they do that to us? Why would they ruin our Olympic experience? This is the only thing we wanted tickets to!’ gasped Jonathan, a shipbroker from London.
Fortunately, his fears were never realised. As a beach volleyball virgin, I have no idea whether London in the rain has the same je ne sais quoi as the sun-kissed beaches of Ipanema, or Santa Monica. Though I assume the cheerleaders don’t usually stand shivering in dressing gowns between dances.
But it doesn’t matter. It is the noisiest, most colourful, bonkers, flesh-revealing thing you can imagine. A bit like the old Saturday night TV show Gladiators, but louder, more shouty and in bikinis with lager.

Nail biter: The Spaniards came from behind to beat their Dutch rivals 14-21 21-16 15-11. Elisa Baquerizo embraces teammate Liliana Fernandez, rear, after their win

And it’s really fun to watch. Every time a point is scored the music blasts – anything from Queen to The Proclaimers, Beyonce to The Rolling Stones.
The rules are brilliantly simple. There are two players on each team and the aim is to ‘ground’ the ball on your opponent’s side of the net, or prevent them from returning it. The first team to reach 21 points wins the set and the best of three sets wins the match.
Players can ‘flick’ the ball to each other up to three times on their side before ‘spiking’ it across the net.

Italy's Marta Menegatti returns the ball during a beach volleyball match against Russia earlier today, before the rain started falling

Bonkers: A group of dancers use beach balls during their routine to keep spectators entertained at the beach volleyball

And yes, Federation Internationale de Volleyball really do stipulate that the bottom half of female competitors’ kit can feature ‘no more than 6cm of cloth at the hip’ – unless it’s cooler than 16 degrees.
So it’s vital to have a body that is tanned, smooth and hairless. There’s nothing that moves, wobbles, ripples or bulges. And they all wear make-up and jewellery and patriotically painted nails.
The bodies come at a price. For Dampney and Mullin it was more than four hours of training six days a week for the past five years. They don’t drink alcohol or eat sweets.

Beach party vibe: Cheerleaders' dance performances were greeted with cheers as enthusiastic as any those granted any of the sporting prowess on display


Long-limbed: Greek and Swiss players struggle for the ball during their match









source: dailymail