China-Born Light Volleyball Games officially Introduced to the United States
Los Angeles, February 18—A light volleyball game was held today in the stadium of Citrus College in the City of Glendora, 26 miles east of Los Angeles, which marked the first times for this new sport to showcase in the United States.
12 teams with nearly 120 players competed in the games, which was witnessed by Matt Cacciato, President and CEO of Los Angeles Sports Council, Olivia Cheng, Senior Director of Marketing and Brand Engagement at LA28, the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028, and formerly professional volleyball players of China and the U.S.
The Volleyball Sports Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China also sent a congratulatory message to today’s games.
Light Volleyball, originated in China in the 1980s, is a mass sport which integrates sports, recreation, and entertainment. The play and score rules of the light volleyball games are similar to the contested volleyball games, though the light volleyball is slightly bigger, lighter and softer, the net is lower, and the games require a relatively smaller court.
Wang Taiyu, Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles said :” I am very happy to see this sport being developed in the United States. Los Angeles has also formed the light Volleyball Association and held the first light Volleyball Classic. I hope that this sport will be popularized in the United States and become a driving force for the people of China and the United States. As a bridge of friendship between China and the United States, we will contribute to the stability and improvement of Sino-US relations and our volleyball movement. ”
“I expect more and more friends to understand and like the light volleyball games, and I hope the games today will lay a foundation for more sport exchanges between the United States and China,” said Li Hua, President of the Light Volleyball USA Association.
“We have been asked about the adaptation of a popular sport, and we are one hundred and ten percent behind it because it just means more people can participate,” said Matt Cacciato. “It is an evolution of sports, and really captures the human spirits, the competitive spirits. We are going to see this in the Olympics in 2028, if not in Paris.”
With age and other barriers addressed, the light volleyball games has become more and more popular in China in recent years, and has been successfully introduced to Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. The Light Volleyball USA Association was established in December 2023 to promote the games in the United States.
It is learned that light Volleyball has been listed as one of the main sports in the 15th National Games of the People’s Republic of China, which will be co-hosted by Guangdong Province, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR in 2025.
