Beach ParaVolley is the adaptive discipline of beach volleyball for athletes with disabilities, recognized by the international federation World ParaVolley. The game continues to grow around the world with aspirations to be included in the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games. To support its inclusion, USA Volleyball is working to grow the game across the country.
In support of this goal, the Department of Veteran Affairs has awarded an Adaptive Sports Grant to USA Volleyball to develop and offer free programming to disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces.
USA Volleyball has identified five beach volleyball clubs to partner with and to conduct outreach activities with local VA facilities and other veteran service organizations to encourage disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces to learn and play the sport. Grant funds will be used to cover the costs of court rental, coach fees, equipment, and individual membership costs for the military members.
Sessions will be offered starting in March 2022 through August 2022 as local weather conditions allow. Additionally, USAV is creating new online learning modules for coaches, staff and athletes on topics such as coaching wounded warriors, disability awareness and etiquette, the various playing skills and techniques used by the players, and competitive team strategies.
Similar to the commonly known 2v2 format of beach volleyball, beach ParaVolley is played in a 3v3 format. Outside of this difference, the rules of the game are nearly identical. For more information regarding the rules of the game, review the published beach ParaVolley rules (PDF).
Disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces are encouraged to contact one of the listed beach volleyball clubs below for more information and to start playing.
Glen Burnie, Maryland (Baltimore)
REGISTER
Bay Area Volleyball Academy (BAVA)
Bachman Sports Complex
570 E. Ordnance Rd.
Glen Burnie, MD 21060
bayvolleyball.com
Email: bayvolleyball@gmail.com
Phone: 410-443-6677
Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
REGISTER
Surface Beach VBC
Drkulas 32 Bowl
6710 Cahill Ave.
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
surfacevbc.com
Email: espoppelman@surfacevbc.com
Phone: 651-261-1483
Canton, Georgia (Atlanta, GA)
REGISTER
S3 Volleyball
Badger Creek Park
464 Blalock Rd.
Canton, GA 30115
s3volleyball.com
Email: bryan@s3volleyball.com
Phone: 404-641-0214
Syracuse, New York
REGISTER
Syracuse Volleyball Club
The Beach at Sharkey’s
7240 Oswego Road
Liverpool, NY 13090
www.ireva.org/paravolley
Email: beth.sharkeys.beach@gmail.com
Phone: 315-481-5327
Phoenix, Arizona
To register for the Phoenix program, contact Michelle May at the Phoenix VA. Email: michelle.may2@va.gov
Stealth Beach Volleyball
Victory Lane Sports Park
22603 N. 43rd Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85310
stealthbeachvolleyball.com
Email: brett@stealthbeachvolleyball.com
Phone: 480-734-8236