Beach volleyball is Los Angeles at its most.

Sure, surfing gets a lot of attention out here, but unlike walking on water, modern beach volleyball was born right on the Southern California coast. The sport balances beauty and brawn and in less than a century, it’s spawned a rich history of camaraderie, professionalism and a culture that could only take root in Los Angeles. 

Although volleyball adopted sand in 1915 at Hawai’i’s Outrigger Beach and Canoe Club, it wasn’t until the sport made its way to Santa Monica that beach volleyball began to resemble the exhilarating two-pair sport that we know today.

Santa Monica established itself as the official birthplace of the sport and the first beach volleyball tournament was played there in 1924. During the Great Depression, Angelenos continued to flock to the beaches where all it took was a cheap leather ball to meet new people and have a great time running around under the sun. 

What was an escape from the hardships of life quickly became a lifestyle on its own when beach volleyball went full Hollywood. In the early 1950s, cameras crowded the California coast to create “Beachmania” — an entertainment show and beauty contest for beach volleyball players. And, in 1955, the best players would play for a kiss from star actress Greta Thyssen. 

Even Wilt Chamberlain, arguably the NBA’s first pop culture superstar, began playing pickup matches in Santa Monica, sometimes with Bill Walton, and he was later enshrined in the International Volleyball Association Hall of Fame.

“[L.A.] is definitely an epicenter — you’ve got Hermosa, Manhattan, Santa Monica, you’ve got all these [Association of Volleyball Professionals] events, like pro events and sometimes [Fédération Internationale de Volleyball], the international tour and also another organization: [California Beach Volleyball Association],” said Lavender Billingsley, USC’s club beach volleyball social media manager. “I can definitely say that it’s kind of a culture, kind of a vibe … and you can play pickup games and it’s a really chill vibe.”

As Hollywood began to drive the direction of the sport, beach volleyball adopted what writer and former professional volleyball player Travis Mewhirter described as a “rebel” culture.

“It was volatile, mercurial, a sport run by testosterone-fueled men with an existence that embodied the California lifestyle: Sun, sex, drugs, alcohol, and money,” reads the Amazon description of Mewhirter’s book “Kings of Summer.”

The spirit of Los Angeles is magnificently embodied by the simultaneously fierce and relaxed nature of beach volleyball where fun, fitness and community are intensified and unleashed through sport. And, like most L.A. fads, beach volleyball has grown quickly and unexpectedly. 

The tradition has spread from Santa Monica to Brazil, where every match has a score of samba music and festivities, and even throughout the globe to places like South Africa and Latvia. Similar to beach volleyball’s presence in Los Angeles, the essence of each city is expressed on public beaches through the game’s style of play.

With increased global attention, beach volleyball has become much more than an opportunity to put on a hot pink trucker hat, to be hot or to look at other hot people while flinging your body along the beach.

In the words of American beach volleyball legend and three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings prior to the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony via The Washington Post, “Sometimes it’s just the beer and the bikinis that get people to come and watch, but it’s the competition that’s keeping them there.”

With the sport’s unfathomable athleticism and fast pace, beach volleyball was recognized on an international level just a few decades after its inception. Sports like surfing took centuries to be introduced to the Olympics, but beach volleyball made its Olympic debut in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Apart from competition ensuing on massive international platforms, beach volleyball continues to grow because the sport’s tournaments maintain the spirit of public play. From the amateur to professional level, tournaments typically transpire on public beaches. The best beach volleyball players in the world set up their tents beside older couples hunting for sand dollars, kids digging holes and folks playing beach volleyball recreationally. In fact, many of the in-person viewers are beachgoers who glanced over at the action and couldn’t help but get invested. 

“For the most part, it’s an easy enough sport to understand and track. When you go to the beach, sometimes you don’t know that there’s a tournament happening there, so you might go to play pickup [and] you end up staying around to watch,” Billingsley said. “Especially the pro events, it’s so open to everyone, and the more support, the better, essentially, to grow the sport overall.”

Considering the balance between competition and leisure, beach volleyball truly captures the essence of Los Angeles. It’s a sport that was born on public land and continues to be played where anyone can practice and experience it. 

Speaking of which, USC beach volleyball will start hunting down its fourth straight national title next week, and you should go to some matches because they’re the best things ever. You can watch USC’s duals, or smack a ball of your own on the sidelines, on campus at Merle Norman Stadium.

Leila MacKenzie is a sophomore writing about the relationship between public land and play in her column, “The Cage,” which runs every other Friday. She is also a sports editor at the Daily Trojan.