Beginning in the spring of 2017, beach volleyball will become an official high school sport in the state of Florida.
The Sunshine Sports Athletic Conference and USA Volleyball partnered on the initiative, which was announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes after Florida governor Rick Scott signed a bill allowing high schools in the state to join athletic conferences outside the Florida High School Athletic Association without facing any penalty.
“We believe that partnering with the Florida Region of USA Volleyball is a logical choice, as they are the established expert in this sport and will help give the SSAC and its members a great platform to grow beach volleyball,” said Stuart Weiss, president of the conference in a release.
According to CBS Miami, the FHSAA already sanctions indoor volleyball for both boys and girls, with boys playing in the spring and girls in the fall. For now, beach volleyball will only be offered to girls.
The league’s beach volleyball season will be governed by USA Volleyball rules and regulations, and copy much of the NCAA formula for matches. Games will feature at least of three pairs of girls per team, and be best two out of three.
The first beach volleyball championship will be held in April 2017.
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