Why Do Female Beach Volleyball Players Wear Bikinis — Not Functional Performance Wear?

When it comes to comfortable, functional, high-performance sportswear, a bikini isn't the first outfit that comes to mind. And yet, female beach volleyball players don this minimal-fabric gear to compete in the high-stakes matches we see in the Summer Olympic Games.

The two-piece bathing suit may seem sexist to some. After all, male beach volleyball players typically wear shorts and tank tops to spike the ball over the net.

So what's the deal? Why do female beach volleyball players wear no more than a bikini on the sand during the most important matches of their lives?

There are two reasons female volleyball players wear bikinis during competition on the sand that will come as a shock to many fans.

First, according to what Corinne Calabro, communications director for USA Volleyball, told USA Today in 2017, bikinis are what plenty of athletes want to sport for, well, their sport. More on that in a moment.

But also consider that secondly, official guidelines don't actually stipulate that beach volleyball players have to wear two-piece bathing suits.

“The athletes are allowed to wear long sleeves, they’re allowed to wear shorts, tank tops,” Corinne explained. “But we’ve gotten a lot of athletes on record saying they prefer to wear a two-piece because there are less places for sand to hide. They don’t view it as swimwear or anything like a fashion statement. For them, that’s their uniform.”

Beach volleyball has been a part of the Summer Olympic Games since 1996, per Women's Wear Daily. And where the intense sport came from is a big reason that the athletes wear bikinis — which used to be the required uniform — if you ask Olympic medalist April Ross.

“Beach volleyball was a sport that was developed in Hawaii and Southern California and on the beaches of Rio," she explained. "You play, and it’s hot, and then you go and jump in the water.”

In 2012, however, the rules changed so that the beach volleyball uniform for women could be "more inclusive."

The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), said in a statement at the time, “Many of these countries have religious and cultural requirements, so the uniform needed to be more flexible."

Although women are allowed to wear more modest gear as of the 2012 rule change, some still favor a bikini.

“The original way to play beach volleyball was in a bikini and board shorts, and I don’t know what else they want us to wear,” iconic beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings told The Huff Post in 2016.

“When it comes to beach volleyball, we’re playing in 100-degree-plus weather,” Kerri added. “I think we’ve just gotta educate the public, take it with a grain of salt, and make sure that we’re working hard and not playing up the sex appeal because it’s inherent anyway.”