The origins of volleyball in Spain in the context of school, military and civil (1920-1938)

Abstract

Volleyball is one of the least studied team sports in Spain, in terms of its origins. This article provides new data on the beginnings of volleyball in Spain in the period 1920 to 1938, in the context of school, military and civil. The object of study consists of determining why this sport did not gain the same acceptance as other team sports. The use of a methodology based on primary source document analysis reveals that volleyball was regarded as an unmanly sport, in the sense that it did not attain the ideal of toughness-building that other sports provided, in which direct, close-quarter combat with opponents was seen to lend greater masculinity. For this reason it did not meet the regenerationist demands of the times.