Beach volleyball bronze medallists Sandra Pires & Adriana Samuel (Brazil) at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
Volleyball in Brazil
Beach volleyball bronze medallists Sandra Pires & Adriana
Samuel (Brazil) at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
For many sports, it has been observed certain countries are strong in those sports at the international level due to the presence of a large base of grass root participants. The sports do not have to be popular nationally, for it suffices to have a strong base in certain regions. In the case of the United States of America, volleyball is a prominent sporting tradition due to the fact the game is highly popular in the climatically suitable west coast. Thus, the core of the national team of the USA appears to have come from college players from institutions such as the University of California campuses at Long Beach, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, Pepperdine University, Stanford University and the University of Southern California.
Brazil has a strong tradition in the sport of volleyball, with teams being world champions in indoor volleyball as well as beach volleyball. It has been conjectured that the strength of Brazilian volleyball was in fact built around the culture associated with people playing beach volleyball all day at the famous beaches such as those in Rio de Janeiro. Myth or reality?
PARTICIPATION
We will refer to some data from the TGI Brasil study. This is a consumer survey of 10,103 persons between the ages of 12 and 64 in Brazil conducted by IBOPE. Overall, 9.3% of the survey respondents said that they have played volleyball in the past 12 months. This is not a high number, especially compared to other sports such as soccer.
The following table provides some demographic characteristics of volleyball players in Brazil. The players are more likely to be affluent, male and young, but we note that the highest participation rate occurs among teenage girls as volleyball may be a scholastic sport.
|
Demographic Characteristic |
% played volleyball in past 12 months |
| Socio-economic Level AB C DE |
11.3% 8.9% 8.0% |
| Age/Sex Male 12-19 Male 20-24 Male 25-34 Male 35-44 Male 45-54 Male 55-64 Female 12-19 Female 20-24 Female 25-34 Female 35-44 Female 45-54 Female 55-64 |
20.1% 15.3% 7.6% 3.4% 1.3% 0.6% 29.6% 4.7% 3.8% 5.3% 1.7% 0.9% |
| TOTAL | 9.3% |
(source: TGI Brasil, IBOPE)
Understanding sports participation is crucial to defining the size, composition and trend of the product markets associated with the sport. However, the relationship between participation and product market is not always obvious, due to differences in product needs, purchase cycles, discretionary income, product availability, marketing and advertising campaigns. In the case of volleyball, participation in the sport is neither necessary nor sufficient for purchasing volleyball shoes. So beach volleyball is played on bare feet and shoes are a cumbrance. At the professional level, volleyball players may find specialty shoes to be a necessity, but recreational players playing on dirt or grass fields may find them unnecessary. Conversely, people buy athletic shoes as fashion statements without ever playing the sport.
The following table shows the relationship between participation in volleyball and athletic shoe purchases in Brazil. It would appear that those who purchase volleyball shoes are much more likely to be playing volleyball. Conversely, the size of the volleyball shoe market is strongly dictated by the level of participation in the sport.
|
Consumer purchase behavior |
% played volleyball in past 12 months |
| Purchased volleyball shoes in past 12 months | 66.7% |
(source: TGI Brasil, IBOPE)
Brazil vs. Cuba in the women's indoor volleyball semi-final at
the 2000 Sydney Olympics
TELEVISION VIEWING
There are a great many sports that are not mass-participatory, but are nevertheless quite popular because the fans can intellectually identify with the practice. A good example would be automobile racing, for which most fans do not expect to drive cars at those astonishing speeds. Rather, the fans can identify with the physical and mental demands of the sport through their own personal experience as well as through media coverage.
As a sport, volleyball is fairly easy to learn, both intellectually and physically. According to the TGI Brasil study, 23.9% of Brazilians between the ages of 12 and 64 have watched volleyball on television in the past 12 months. The following table shows the demographic composition of this audience.
|
Demographic Characteristic |
% watched volleyball on television in past 12 months |
| Socio-economic Level AB C DE |
35.3% 22.3% 15.0% |
| Age/Sex Male 12-19 Male 20-24 Male 25-34 Male 35-44 Male 45-54 Male 55-64 Female 12-19 Female 20-24 Female 25-34 Female 35-44 Female 45-54 Female 55-64 |
25.2% 29.1% 30.5% 24.9% 22.6% 15.9% 27.7% 25.1% 20.7% 20.1% 20.1% 15.5% |
| Played volleyball in the last 12 months | 47.0% |
| Played volleyball at least once a week | 41.9% |
| TOTAL | 23.9% |
(source: TGI Brasil, IBOPE)
We note that the television audience of volleyball is skewed toward the affluent, the young and the masculine. Furthermore, the viewing levels are significantly higher among volleyball players themselves. Those who played volleyball themselves are more likely to watch the sport on television.
Brazil vs. Cuba in the women's indoor volleyball semi-final at
the 2000 Sydney Olympics
LIVE ATTENDANCE
According to the TGI Brasil study, 0.8% of Brazilians between the ages of 12 and 64 have attended a volleyball game in the past 12 months. The following table shows the demographic composition of this audience. The live audience is affluent, young and male. Those who play volleyball themselves are much more likely to attend volleyball agmes.
|
Demographic Characteristic |
% attended volleyball game in past 12 months |
| Socio-economic Level AB C DE |
1.3% 0.7% 0.4% |
| Age/Sex Male 12-19 Male 20-24 Male 25-34 Male 35-44 Male 45-54 Male 55-64 Female 12-19 Female 20-24 Female 25-34 Female 35-44 Female 45-54 Female 55-64 |
1.3% 2.3% 0.9% 0.6% 0.3% 0.0% 1.5% 0.1% 0.5% 0.7% 0.4% 0.0% |
| Played volleyball in the last 12 months | 3.9% |
| Played volleyball at least once a week | 5.2% |
| TOTAL | 0.8% |
(source: TGI Brasil, IBOPE)
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WWW LINKS |
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2000 SYDNEY OLYMPICS RESULTS
(posted by Roland Soong on 9/31/00)
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