While indoor volleyball has long been popular in Macao, beach volleyball is beginning to have its time in the sun. Anny Leong and Law Weng Sam are two homegrown athletes helping the sport to grow. By day, Leong is a sports reporter and Law teaches physical education at a local high school. By night, you’ll find the pair under the floodlights at Hac Sa Beach, perfecting their bumps, sets and spikes. Together, they form the team representing Macao in women’s beach volleyball tournaments both within the region and on the international stage – including at the 19th Asian Games, which took place in 2023.
Leong and Law’s volleyball journey started when they were 8 and 11 years old, respectively. For Leong, now 28, it all began with her older brother. “He was an indoor volleyball player and inspired me,” she tells Macao magazine. “Since we studied at the same school, the coaches there thought I might have the same potential as him, so they suggested I join the volleyball team.” Leong’s height – 172 cm – and natural athleticism proved ideal for the game, which gradually started taking over her free time. Leong says she even gave up playing the piano to focus on her sport.
For Law, who is 26, the journey was a little more accidental. She played indoor volleyball during primary school, but it took awhile for the passion to kick in. “I never thought I would get this far in the sport,” she admits. “I was actually in the dance team and my teacher didn’t want me to play volleyball because it could affect my posture.” Nevertheless, Law’s talent eventually earned her an invitation onto her high school’s volleyball team. “The more I played, the more I liked it,” she explains.
Embracing the sand
Leong and Law were both introduced to beach volleyball in 2014, via a competition at Hac Sa Beach organised by local coach Cheong Ka Chon. By 2016, the teenagers had partnered up and were training regularly together in the outdoor, two-aside variant, while still competing in indoor competitions.
Beach volleyball’s popularity grew in the region over the next few years, resulting in more opportunities for its enthusiasts. In 2019, Law abandoned indoor volleyball to focus fully on its sandy counterpart. Leong continued playing both sports, serving as the captain of the Macao Women’s Indoor Volleyball Team. “I still felt a strong sense of responsibility to represent Macao in indoor volleyball, and that’s why I couldn’t just walk away,” she says.
That changed late last year, when a new rule was introduced by the East Asian Zonal Volleyball Association, which governs all types of volleyball in the region. It barred players from competing in more than one variant, forcing Leong to make a tough decision. In the end, she joined Law and committed to the beach format.
A brief history of beach volleyball
Beach volleyball evolved in the US and gained popularity along California’s sunny shores during the early to mid-1900s. Like surfing, it became a staple of the ‘Cali’ lifestyle while slowly spreading around the world. The International Volleyball Federation, or Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), was founded in France in 1947; the first FIVB-sanctioned international tournament was held on Brazil’s Ipanema Beach 40 years later (the sport remains incredibly popular in the South American country). Beach volleyball was introduced to the Olympic Games as a demonstration event in 1992 and its Olympic status was made official in 1996.
The 2000s saw Chinese players start making their mark in the sport, with duos from the mainland earning both the silver and bronze medals for women’s beach volleyball in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Interest didn’t really start warming up in Macao until the mid-2010s, however. That’s when Cheong – currently the head coach of the Macao Women’s Indoor Volleyball Team – began pushing for indoor players like Leong and Law to branch out into beach volleyball.
Local tournaments were being held regularly by 2015. Two beach volleyball tournaments are now held in Macao every year, one in May and the other in August. According to Leong and Law, these have been a game changer for the sport’s growth in the city.
The joys of playing outdoors
The differences between indoor and beach volleyball go beyond their namesake venues. Indoor teams have six players, allowing for specialisation. Beach volleyball, on the other hand, is played in pairs, meaning each athlete has to be an excellent all-rounder. Mother nature’s influence on the outdoor variant – be that via wind, rain or scorching sun – adds an extra layer of unpredictability to its games, an aspect Leong and Law both relish.
Transitioning into beach volleyball wasn’t without its challenges for the women, mainly due to Covid-19 restrictions kicking in shortly after they started getting serious about the sport. The restrictions limited their ability to compete and travel, so they spent a lot of time training at home. “We couldn’t go out to join matches for at least a year and a half,” Leong laments.
These days, the athletes train at the University of Macau’s dedicated sand courts, on Hac Sa Beach (where there’s a permanent net) and in Hong Kong, where beach volleyball is more established as a sport.
Leong and Law both love playing on a two-person team, citing the close camaraderie it fosters as a reason they opted to leave indoor volleyball behind. When it’s just the two of them, every win lies squarely on their combined four shoulders – making successful matches all the more sweet. Smaller teams also mean lower costs for competing abroad, and can make it easier to receive government support. This helps level the playing field on the international circuit, they say.
The pair train three times a week, on top of workout sessions at the gym. They also enter as many competitions as is feasible: “Nothing is more important than match experience,” Leong says. “We try to get out and compete whenever possible, especially since competition opportunities in Macao are limited.”
Girl power
After nine years of playing together on the court, Law and Leong have strong chemistry. According to Law, communication and empathy are their biggest strengths. “Even when we’re not playing our best, we stay focused on supporting each other,” Law says. “I think that’s one of the reasons we’re able to perform well together.”
The pair agree that their most memorable match was beating Hong Kong’s team 2-0 at the 19th Asian Games last year, where they went on to be ranked 9th overall.
Unlike most sports, beach volleyball is female-dominated. As Leong puts it, “Women’s volleyball is actually more enjoyable to watch and it gets more attention on the international stage.” The FIVB maintains that volleyball in general stands out as the most gender-equal team sport globally. Male and female players tend to receive equal pay and prize money pools (Leong suspects women are paid even better than men), evidence of the sport’s commitment to uplifting female athletes.
While this parity has helped beach volleyball attract diverse audiences and inspire young players, regardless of gender, to pursue the game, it does remain a niche sport in Macao – where indoor volleyball continues to dominate. Leong and Law have made it their mission to help beach volleyball achieve a more stable footing in the city.
To anyone hoping to follow in their footsteps, Leong and Law offer this advice: Be disciplined, stay focused and never give up. The pair hope to be seen as role models in the sport they are so passionate about. “For us, beach volleyball is more than just a sport, it’s a lifestyle,” says Law.
Looking ahead, Leong and Law have their sights set on the National Games. These are scheduled to take place in November, staged across Macao, Hong Kong and Guangdong Province. The pair will also compete in several international tournaments in the lead up to the games. “We’re always pushing ourselves to improve and represent Macao at the highest levels,” Leong says.
