THE man who created an Olympic sport out of a game traditionally played by young women in bikinis in California has died from cancer at the age of 69.
Charlie Saikley, who was a special education teacher for 40 years, became known as the “godfather of beach volleyball” for popularising the sport. He was instrumental in starting its leading tournament, the Manhattan Beach Open.
He also ran several other recreation programmes for the city of Manhattan Beach, near Los Angeles.
Richard Gill, the parks and recreation director, said that Mr Saikley died at his home in the city.
Mr Saikley co-founded the Manhattan Beach Open in the 1960s as an amateur beach volleyball competition and he ran the event for many years. The tournament turned professional in the 1980s.
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Leonard Armato, the commissioner of the Association of Volleyball Professionals, which now oversees the event, said: “He shaped this tournament called the Manhattan Beach Open, which became legendary as the tournament to win and to experience, both as a competitor and a fan.”
Before Mr Saikley’s involvement, volleyball was largely an indoor sport. Only in Southern California was it played on the beach.
Mr Armato said: “It was people such as Charlie who helped to take it from a Southern California-focused sport to something that reached national and ultimately international prominence.
“Now, it’s one of the hottest sports at the Olympic Games.”
Mr Saikley died of the blood disease multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. He had continued working until last month.
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Mr Saikley is survived by his wife, Rosa Lee, his sons, Darrin, Jay and Charles, and a daughter, Gina.
A private funeral was held this week and a memorial service is planned for the evening of June 29 near the volleyball courts at the south side of the Manhattan Beach pier.
The first official beach volleyball match was played in California in 1943, but the sport did not catch on until the late 1970s.
The California Beach Volleyball Association was set up in 1965 and the Association of Volleyball Professionals was set up in 1983, attracting many Olympic stars.
Although the sport became the butt of jokes about girls in bikinis, the first world championship was for men. It was held in 1987.
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This year’s event is being staged in Berlin. Beach volleyball became a full Olympic sport in 1996.