Making Changes

It appears that the schedule hasn't been followed very meticulously as of late. It's difficult to keep writing at the front of my mind when we're practicing twice a day. The more playing and practicing we do, the more other aspects of life seem to downgrade slightly. Sometimes you'll get home and all you want to do is sleep, never mind shopping, cleaning, or writing blogs. Unfortunately, that means I took you all out of the loop, so it's time to get my head back in the game. But I may have to alter the timetable a tad, bring it down to twice a week. There's only so much I can think to talk about in a week anyhow. And don't you all be afraid to yell at me if I miss a day, you won't hurt my feelings. much.

So what's the schedule? I haven't decided yet whether it will be a fixed schedule or not yet. I'll mostly just maintain at least two blogs per week. Yes, at least. So if I'm ever feeling it, I might even write and extra one. Or maybe two, but let's not get carried away. And how does that affect All Request Saturday? I will still answer any and all questions, but Ill answer then when I get them, so you no longer have to wait until Saturday to get the answers you seek.

Speaking of which, I think I'll answer a question that is overdue for an answer even by my old schedule. It's another from beach volleyball superfan, Jay Nutall. Thanks for the continued and everlasting support, Jay.
You already know the men's side of beach volleyball very well. What one or two key things from the women's side of the game might be of greatest advantage to you? - Jay Nuttall

I'm not sure if I've interpreted this quite how you meant me to, but here's my answer.
Number one has got to be bikinis. Milou, I know you might disagree, and you've written at least one paper arguing the FIVB clothing regulations, but bikinis do make a difference. There's a reason beach volleyball has been the most watched Olympic sport over the last few Olympic years. Yes, it is an exciting game to watch. The changes made to the ball, court size, and point system makes rallies longer, and the game faster paced. But when it comes down to it, a ton of people are watching because it's the hottest sport on earth, and I'm not talking about the temperature. If it were played by men and women in snowsuits, viewers would be much less likely to take a second look when passing through the channels. Plus, the fact that a bunch of scantily clad, athletically built women will be at all of our tournaments doesn't hurt in terms of incentive.

How does that help me? Publicity never hurts. The more people who get follow the sport, the more sponsors want to get involved to those same people are watching them too. The more sponsors interested in beach volleyball as a sport, the more opportunities there are for athletes, male and female alike, to get sponsorship dollars. In Canada, where much of the travel and housing costs comes out of pocket, every dollar counts.

I guess now is as good a time as any to mention and, more importantly, to thank all my current sponsors. Links to their sites can all be found on the right side of my blog. So thank you to the Volleydome, Overkill, Canuck Stuff, Volleyballstuff.net, and finally Volleyball Canada. If I'm forgetting anyone, let me know, I'll be sure to get your name up here.

Be sure to check for the next book in Benny's Book Club tomorrow, as for today, that's all I've got.

Cheers,

Ben Jammin