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　　Originally played on California's shores by fun-loving beachgoers to decide who would buy the beer, beach volleyball has since evolvedsintosa serious sport. Seriously skilled and beautiful athletes are serving it up, often for substantial amounts of money.

　　With participants dressed in bikinis and tight swimming trunks, athletic ability is not the only thing on display. The tanned and toned bodies of beach volleyball players suggest carefree, healthy lifestyles. Not surprisingly, corporate sponsors have been unable to resist beach volleyball, and have awarded lucrative contracts to the game's sexiest players.

　　But portraying athletes as Baywatch-like hunks and babes concerns critics, who argue that doing so makes the players seem like "objects." But for the players themselves, the controversy is minor. They are serving, volleying, and blocking balls not for amusement, endorsements, or beer, but for the love of a game that lets them demonstrate their athletic skills while \having\ fun in the sun.