SINGAPORE – Mention “beach volleyball”, and many people will probably think of hot bods in bikinis or beach shorts getting a nice tan as they play a fun but not-so-serious version of the indoor game.

This is the sort of misconception of beach volleyball that the Volleyball Association of Singapore (VAS) wants to dispel as it seeks to promote the sport to schools, and eventually make it a co-curricular activity (CCA).

According to the VAS, which governs both indoor and beach volleyball in Singapore, the latter attracts many people who play it for leisure on weekends. However, not many take it up seriously nor aim to play it at elite level.

On the other hand, indoor volleyball is played by 92 primary and secondary schools, 13 junior colleges and all polytechnics and local universities. This offers the VAS a possible talent pool to tap for beach volleyball.

The VAS is now embarking on a campaign to drive home the message that beach volleyball is a competitive sport, and perhaps even more so than indoor volleyball because of the uneven surface of the sand and exposure to weather conditions for example, and that players, especially girls, do not have to be dressed in bikinis in order to play.

“What we are trying to do is follow the footsteps of the indoor volleyball programme in Singapore,” said Shermin Low, who looks after marketing and events at the VAS.

“To build an elite crop of athletes, we need a broad base of students who have starting playing the sport from young.

“Beach volleyball is currently not welcomed in schools, because the mindset here is generally conservative. Parents just don’t want their kids to be wearing what they consider to be skimpy outfits that show too much flesh.”

The VAS plans to reach out to schools this year to conduct talks and workshops on beach volleyball for physical education teachers. It will also use these workshops to promote their domestic beach volleyball events and encourage schools to take part.

It also eventually plans to organise inter-schools and national age-group beach volleyball tournaments annually.

And according to Low, there will be rules governing the attire allowed at these events.

“Most international competitions have rules that say that female players need to wear sports bras and bikini bottoms, while male players have to be in tank tops and board shorts,” she said.

“However, we will not have these rules at domestic tournaments. We want to let the schools know that at local competitions, both the girls and the boys can be in their singlets and shorts.”

The VAS is also hoping that the recent fortunes of its men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams, and the possibility that the sport will feature at next year’s South-east Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, will also generate more interest and awareness of the sport.

Both the men’s and women’s teams competed in their first tournament outside of Asia last week, when they went to the FIVB World Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The men’s pair of Benjamin Yio and Mark Shen, and the women’s team of Gladys Lee and Eliza Chong had booked their World Championships spots for the first time by finishing in the top eight at the Asian qualifiers. Both teams did not make it past the first round of the world meet though.

“The improvement made by our national teams, and also the buzz that beach volleyball might be included in the 2017 South-east Asian (SEA) Games is giving the sport a lift in Singapore,” said Low.

“But we must continue to prove to Sport Singapore that we are growing beach volleyball, and that the sport has potential to do well to get more funding. SportSG supports the VAS’ plans, and encourages us to be self-dependent as well.

“The reality is that indoor volleyball still gets more funding from VAS so we need to continue to find sponsors and money for beach volleyball to grow the sport here.

“What we take comfort in is that we actually require significantly less funding to send our beach volleyball players overseas for example – we just need two players and a coach for one team. In contrast, an indoor volleyball team features six players and a coach.”

National women’s beach volleyball player, Ong Wei Yu, 21, added that the players themselves and their parents are all chipping in to help the teams.

“I joined the national team three years ago, because the sport is fun and quite challenging,” she said.

“The local beach volleyball scene is slowly becoming more vibrant. Some of our parents helped us to set up a Facebook page to reach out to the public better, and one of the players also managed to get an equipment sponsor. We now have Nuke Optics providing free sunglasses for the national teams.”

Ong and her teammates are excited about the possible inclusion of beach volleyball, an Olympic sport, at the 2017 SEA Games, after it was left out of the 2015 edition which was held in Singapore. The sport last featured at the 2011 Games. Singapore has never taken part in beach volleyball at the SEA Games.

According to national assistant coach Teo Chiek San, that omission cost the national beach volleyball squads dearly.

“After the disappointment of beach volleyball being left out of the 2015 SEA Games, six veteran members of the national team quit the sport completely,” he said.

“We are rebuilding the national squad now. There is a healthy number now and I am excited about how the sport will grow in the next few years.”

Logan Tom, a four-time Olympian and double Olympic silver medallist in indoor volleyball, who also plays beach volleyball, was surprised that the sport is not that popular in tropical Singapore.

The 34-year-old American, here last week as a guest of the Singapore Olympic Foundation, and also attended the SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship Awards, said of the VAS’ efforts to promote the sport: “It will take time because people have to see what you are doing, before they want to be a part of it.

“I also understand the problems about playing in bikinis. When I first started playing beach volleyball, it was difficult for me especially when there are photographers with big, long lenses taking pictures.

“But I have to look at myself as an athlete, and so do young athletes and their parents. It is all about how you perceive and carry yourself, and that will rub off on your parents too.

“Asian countries can excel in beach volleyball too, because you don’t need the tallest players in the game. Because of the elements of weather and the tough surface, the game needs more thinking players.”

DO YOU KNOW?

- According to new rules by the International Volleyball Federation passed at the 2012 London Olympics, female competitors can now choose to wear shorts and sleeved tops instead of bikinis. This is out of respect for the cultural beliefs of some participating countries.

- The national men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams compete in about nine tournaments every year, including five overseas ones. They train three times a week for about three hours each time at the beach volleyball court at the Singapore Sports Hub, and also at the courts in Yio Chu Kang.