Growing snow volleyball in snow-restricted countries: A pilot study
Abstract
Snow volleyball is an increasingly popular sport that has been earmarked as a potential Winter Olympic discipline. However, it is not typically associated with Africa. This study provided an in-depth retrospective exploration of the experience of an African player who participated in the inaugural Snow Volleyball World Championships in 2019. Through a focused one-on-one interview, the study examined her transition to snow volleyball, the challenges she faced, and her insights into the feasibility of African participation in the sport. Drawing from both her tournament experience and her broader knowledge of the volleyball landscape, she identified key barriers such as climate, accessibility, and financial constraints, while also proposing strategies to improve feasibility. These include leveraging African players competing in European leagues, developing training opportunities in North Africa, and exploring artificial snow environments. While the study primarily focuses on the player's personal journey, it also highlights pathways for the sport’s potential expansion in non-snow countries. This qualitative study serves as a pilot for a larger investigation into the introduction of snow volleyball to regions without winter sports traditions.
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The works and papers that are published in this Journal are subject to the following terms:
1. The Publication Service of the University of Murcia (the publisher) has the Publication Rights (Copyright) to the published papers and works, and favors and permits the reusing of the same under the license indicated in point 2.
© Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, 2013
2. The papers and works are to be published in the digital edition of the Journal under the license Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No Comercial-Sin Obra Derivada 3.0 España (legal text). The copying, using, spreading, transmitting and publicly displaying of the papers, works or publication are permitted as long as: i) the authors and original sources (Journal, publisher and URL of the publication) are quoted; ii) it is not used for commercial benefit; iii) the existence and specifications of this users license are mentioned.
3. Conditions of Self-Archiving. It is permitted and encouraged that the authors spread electronically the pre-print (before printing) and/or post-print (the revised, evaluated and accepted) versions of their papers or works before their publication since this favors their circulation and early diffusion and therefore can help increase their citation and quotation, and also there reach through the academic community.
