A soccer supporter helped kill the volleyball bill in 2008.
BOSTON – A couple of state legislators from Western Massachusetts are aiming to deliver on a bill to establish volleyball as the state's "official recreational and team sport."
The bill has been spiked in the past by soccer supporters, but legislators said Holyoke is the birthplace of volleyball and the bill would help the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke.
State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, who is sponsoring the bill with Rep. Michael F. Kane, D-Holyoke, said volleyball is second only to soccer in worldwide popularity.
Knapik said the bill should be a "slam dunk," in basketball parlance.
Massachusetts State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, is taking aim with a bill to set volleyball as the state's official recreational and team sport."Is there anyone who hasn't played volleyball in their life?" Knapik asked the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, which held a public hearing on the volleyball bill on Monday at the Statehouse.
During his testimony, Knapik placed two new volleyballs on the table in front of him, one for the state House of Representatives and one for the state Senate. In order to help underscore the importance of the bill and the sport, he said he was willing to have sand delivered to the Great Hall of the Statehouse to create a court for a volleyball game between the two branches.
Knapik said the bill would complement a 2006 law that designated basketball as "the official sport" of Massachusetts. Former Gov. and Republican presidential candidate W. Mitt Romney signed that 2006 law with the support of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield and officials with the Boston Celtics.
Overall, there are about 59 state arms and emblems. For example, the late Theodor Geisel, of Springfield, also known as Dr. Seuss, is the "official state children's author and children's illustrator," and Norman Rockwell is "the official artist" of the state.
Knapik said basketball was born in Springfield and volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, a director of the YMCA in Holyoke.
George Mulry, executive director of the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke.George R. Mulry, executive director of the Volleyball Hall of Fame, said volleyball occupies "a special place" in Massachusetts because it was invented here. He said he is "absolutely" in support of the bill by Knapik and Kane.
"Anything that brings awareness to the sport in general, but especially in the Northeast, would be key for helping us move forward," Mulry said.
The volleyball bill was defeated in 2008 after a legislator from south of Boston said that soccer also deserves consideration for the state designation. Last year, the bill perished amid a hot state election and a deepening state fiscal crisis.
Knapik said he may team up with students at the Maurice A. Donahue Elementary School in Holyoke to help advance the bill in the fall. He said he is hopeful the students might write letters of support, something they did in 2007.