Holyoke is the birthplace of volleyball and home to the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
Holyoke High's (10) Benjamin Franco celebrates Holyoke's win in game 2 in boys high school volleyball versus Minnechaug at Holyoke in May. Holyoke won 3-1.BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday voted to approve a bill to establish volleyball as the state's "official recreational and team sport."
In a speech, Sen. Michael R. Knapik, a Westfield Republican, said Holyoke is the birthplace of volleyball and the bill would boost the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke at a time when the sport is about to be featured in the Olympics.
"Volleyball is the second largest participatory sport in the world," Knapik said. "You would be proud to call volleyball the official recreational and team sport."
The bill now moves to the state House of Representatives.
If approved, the designation for volleyball would be among about 60 state arms and emblems, including the late Theodor Geisel, of Springfield, also known as Dr. Seuss, who is the "official state children's author and children's illustrator," and basketball as "the official sport" of Massachusetts.
“It would mean a lot for the Hall of Fame, just in the sense that it shows that the state is behind us,” said George Mulry of Westfield, the Volleyball Hall of Fame’s executive director. “We need to have our roots here, and to have the whole state behind us, and not just Holyoke, is huge for us.”
The bill might face difficulties in the House, where it has been defeated in the past. Holyoke State Rep. Michael F. Kane, D-Holyoke, resigned last month for a job as director of government affairs at Columbia Gas of Massachusetts.
Volleyball's Olympic history dates back to the 1924 games in Paris, where it was part of an American sports demonstration event, according to Knapik's office.
“He’s just been tireless,” Mulry said of Knapik’s efforts to pass the bill.
Staff writer Jason Remillard contributed to this report