Olympic Games won’t be the same anymore.

China vs. Austria in Olympic Beach Volleyball. The Austrian team are sisters. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This morning has been a sad morning for me. Even though it started so well, with our successful  training session, the news i read later at Yahoo sports  have ruined my day.  I saw an article called :

Women beach volleyball players don’t have to wear bikinis at Olympics

Why are you doing this to us? Women beach volley is a highlighted event, especially for men fans. Sitting at my couch, drinking a beer and watching beautiful girls with perfect bodies wearing bikinis and rolling in the sand was something i was waiting for during every Olympic Games. Hopefully the players won’t follow this instruction, otherwise will be the end of an era. Here is the article:

Women beach volleyball players won’t have to wear bikinis at the 2012 London Olympics. A new rule announced Tuesday says that participants in this summer’s beach volleyball competition can wear shorts and sleeved tops.

Athletes in the event have exclusively worn bikinis since the sport was introduced at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Competitors could also wear bodysuits in cold-weather events.

The change was made to reflect cultural conventions of various participating countries.

“Shorts of a maximum length of [1.18 inches] above the knee, and sleeved or sleeveless tops,” will now be allowed, according to the new IOC ruling.

Since the Beijing Olympics, most beach volleyball competitions have changed rules to allow for more modest uniforms. It’s an attempt to broaden the diversity in the sport, which tends to be dominated by athletes from Europe, Brazil and the United States. Allowing shorts and shirts can encourage participation from countries with more modest cultural beliefs.

As the AP reports, the field at London’s beach volleyball competition won’t be dictated by world rankings, as in Olympics past. Qualifying tournaments on various continents will fill the 24-team draw.