Beach volleyball

Court

Beach volleyball is played on a rectangular sand court. The court is 16 m (52.5 ft) long and 8 m (26.2 ft) wide, surrounded by a clear space, which is at least 3 m (9.8 ft) wide on all sides. The minimum height clearance for beach volleyball courts is 7 m (23.0 ft). The sand should be as leveled as possible and free of potential hazards such as rocks that could cause injuries to players.^[21]

The court is divided into equal halves by a net that is 8.5 m (27.9 ft) long and 1 m (3 ft 3.4 in) wide. The top of the net is 2.43 m (7 ft 11 11⁄16 in) above the center of the court for men's competition, and 2.24 m (7 ft 4 3⁄16 in) for women's competition, varied for veterans and junior competitions. An antenna, 1.8 m (5 ft 10.9 in) long and 20 mm (0.8 in) in diameter, is attached to each side edge of the net. The antennae are considered part of the net and extend 80 cm (31.5 in) above it, forming the lateral boundaries within which the ball is allowed to cross.^[21]

Two side lines and two end lines, measuring 5 cm (2.0 in) wide, delineate the playing court.^[21]

Ball

FIVB regulations state that the ball must be spherical and made of water resistant, flexible material, such that it is appropriate for outdoor conditions. A beach volleyball ball has a circumference of 66–68 cm, a weight of 260–280 g and an inside pressure of 0.175–0.225 kg/cm².^[21] In 2022, the official ball of the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) tour is the Wilson OPTX AVP, and the official ball of the FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball) beach volleyball tour is the Mikasa VLS300. This ball was replaced with the new Mikasa Beach Pro BV550C, and was introduced in 2023.

Teams

A team is composed exclusively of two players, who must always be in play and who cannot be subjected to any substitutions or replacement. At the moment the ball is hit by the server, each team must be within its own court (with the exception of the server), but there are no determined positions on the court, such that no positional faults can be committed.^[21]

Scoring

Point, set, match

A team scores a point when: the ball lands on the opposing team's court; the opposing team hits the ball "out"; the opposing team commits a fault; or the opposing team receives a penalty. The team that won the point serves for the next point.^[21] The ball is considered "out" if it: lands on the ground completely outside the boundary lines (a ball is "in" if any part of it touches a sideline or end-line); touches an object or person (who is not a player) outside the court; touches the net's antennae; does not cross the net's lateral boundaries (within the antennae) during service or during a team's third contact; crosses completely under the net.^[21]

A set is won by the first team to reach 21 points (15 points in the deciding final set) with a two-point advantage.^[21] Thus, if the score is 20–all (or 14–all in a final set) or at any tie hereafter, whoever scores two straight points wins. A match is won by whoever wins two sets.^[21]

Faults

A fault is committed when a referee judges that a team has made a playing action that violates the rules. When a team commits a fault, the opposing team receives a point and gains the right to serve. If both teams commit a fault simultaneously, the point is replayed.^[21] Common faults include:^[21]

• Four hits: when a team uses more than three contacts before returning the ball over the net
• Assisted hit: a player uses a teammate or any object as support to hit the ball within the playing area
• Double contact: when a player contacts the ball two times consecutively, except after a block touch
• Catch/lift: a player catches or throws the ball
• Service order fault: a team serves out of the service order
• Foot fault: a player's foot touches the court (including the end line) before or during a service hit
• Net touch: a player touches the net between the antennae or the antenna itself while playing the ball

Major rule changes

In the 1990s, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball reduced the standard internal pressure for a beach volleyball ball from the indoor standard of 0.30–0.325 kgf/cm² to 0.175–0.225 kgf/cm², and increased the standard circumference of the beach volleyball ball from the indoor standard of 65–67 cm to 66–68 cm.^[22]

In the 2001 season, the FIVB began testing rule changes to the court size and scoring system. The beach volleyball court dimension was reduced from the indoor court size of 9 m × 18 m (29.5 ft × 59.1 ft) to 8 m × 16 m (26.2 ft × 52.5 ft), and the scoring system was changed from sideout scoring, wherein only the serving team can score a point, to rally scoring, wherein a point is scored on every serve.^[22] The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) adopted the FIVB's rule changes that same year, which upset many of the sport's purists at the time.^[23][24] The new rules were officially adopted by the FIVB in 2002.^[22]

Differences with the indoor game

Beach volleyball is fundamentally similar to indoor volleyball. However, there are several differences between the two games that affect players' strategies, gameplay and techniques.

The main differences in the rules of beach and indoor volleyball for international competitions governed by the FIVB include:^[26]

Facilities and equipment

• Playing surface: Beach volleyball is played on sand courts instead of hard courts as in indoor volleyball. The softer sand makes it more difficult for players to move and jump,^[27] but also reduces the likelihood of injuries such as jumper's knee.^[28][29] Footwear is not required and players usually play barefoot or with "sand socks".^[21]
• Environment: The beach game is often played outdoors, and environmental factors such as wind, rain and sun affect beach players' strategies.^[30]
• Court size: A beach volleyball court is 8 m × 16 m (26.2 ft × 52.5 ft), slightly smaller than the 9 m × 18 m (29.5 ft × 59.1 ft) indoor court.^[31]
• Balls: Beach volleyball balls are water-resistant and slightly larger than indoor balls, with a rougher external texture and a lower internal pressure to better suit the outdoor playing conditions.^[32]

Participants

• Number of players: There are two players on a beach volleyball team and no substitutions, compared to indoor volleyball which has six players and six substitutions per set. This means that beach volleyball players require a versatile skill set, as opposed to specializing in one skill.^[30] Fewer players on court also results in the utilization of a wider variety of attack shots in beach volleyball.^[33]
• Coaching during matches is not allowed, although exceptions are given for junior tournaments and can only occur when switching sides.^[21]
• Aside from alternating service order, there are no player-specific rules
  • No restrictions on which players can attack from which locations (as for back-row players or liberos in indoor volleyball)
  • No positional faults: players may switch positions at will

Playing format

• Scoring system: Matches are best of 3 sets played to 21 points^[30] (15 points for a deciding set).
• Switching sides: Teams switch ends of the court every seven points^[30] (every five points on a deciding set). This ensures that neither team has an advantage due to environmental factors such as wind and sun glare.^[31]

Playing actions

• Open hand tips and dinks are not allowed in two-man beach volleyball as they would allow players to score points too easily.^[31]
• A touch off the block counts as one of the three allowed touches, and either player may make the subsequent touch after the block.^[30][31]
• It is legal to cross under the net as long as it does not interfere with opponents' play.^[30]
• A ball set over the net as an attack must travel perpendicularly to the player's shoulder line.^[30]
• Each team has one time out per set, and there is an official time out in first and second sets when the score sums up 21 total points for both teams.

Player specializations

While there are no fixed positions, competitive players generally have specialized defensive and offensive roles.^[34]

On defense, players may specialize as either a blocker or a defender:^[35][36][37]

• Blocker: A blocker is positioned at the net and is responsible for taking away part of the court (e.g. line or angle) with their block.^[35] Height, jumping ability, timing and positioning are important factors in blocking.^[38]
• Defender: A defender's responsibility is to position oneself in the backcourt area not covered by the block, so as to dig the hard-driven spike or chase down the soft shot.^[35] Agility, speed and digging skills are important factors in defense.^[36][37]

Some competitive teams have no specializations, with the two players taking turns blocking and playing defense. This style of play is known as split blocking and allows teams to conserve energy since the demand for energy on the sand is higher.^[37][39]

On offense, players tend to specialize in playing on either the right side or left side of the court.^[38] This allows for greater consistency in receiving serve and shot selection. Left-handed players generally prefer to play on the right side while right-handed players generally prefer to play on the left side, as it is easier to spike a ball that has not passed across the line of one's body.^[34] A player who is playing on the opposite side of their handedness is said to be playing on the on-hand side, while a player playing on the same side as their handedness is playing on the off-hand side.^[40]

Characteristics of a hit

The ball may touch any part of the body (except during the serve, when only the hand or arm may make contact), but must be hit, not caught or thrown. During a hit, a player may only make contact with the ball one time. When two players from the same team contact the ball simultaneously, it is counted as two hits, and either player may make the next contact. When two players from opposing teams contact the ball simultaneously over the net, in what is known as a joust, the team whose side the ball ends up on is entitled to another three contacts.^[21][41]

When receiving a ball overhand with fingers from a hit that is not hard driven, the ball must be contacted "cleanly". If a player receives the ball open-handed, the contact of each hand with the ball must be exactly simultaneous.^[21] In practice, this means that serves are never received open-handed. When receiving an opponent's hard-driven attack, a double contact (provided both contacts occur in a single action) and/or a slight lift of the ball is allowed. In particular, in defensive action of a hard driven ball, the ball can be held momentarily overhand with the fingers.^[21]

Attack-hits using an "open-handed tip or dink" directing the ball with the fingers are illegal, as are attack-hits using an overhand pass to direct the ball on a trajectory not perpendicular to the line of the shoulders (overhand passes which accidentally cross over the net are an exception).^[21] These differences between the rules of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball strongly affect tactics and techniques.

Block signals

Beach volleyball players use hand signals to indicate to their partners the type of block they either intend to make (if they are the designated blocker) or that they want their partner to make (if they are the designated defender). Block signals are important so that both the blocker and defender know which area of the court is their responsibility to cover.^[35] Block signals are made behind the back to hide them from the opposing team.^[42] They are usually given with both hands by the serving player's partner prior to the serve, with the left hand referring to the type of block that should be put up against the left-side attacker, and the right hand similarly referring to the right-side attacker.^[43] A player may also "wiggle" or "flash" one block signal to indicate which opponent to serve to.

Block signals may also be given during a rally while the opposing team is preparing their attack.^[43]

Common block signals

• Closed fist: No block should be attempted for the opponent on that side of the court. The blocker should thus "pull-off" the net and play backcourt defense with the defender.^[35][44]
• One finger: The blocker should block an opponent's "line" hit, or a ball hit hard towards the nearest sideline. The defender's responsibility is to dig all "angle" attacks, as well as run down any "line" shot that goes high over the block.^[35][44]
• Two fingers: The blocker should block an opponent's "angle" hit, or a ball hit hard diagonally across the court. The defender's responsibility is to dig all "line" attacks, as well as run down any "angle" shot that goes high over the block.^[35][44]
• Three fingers: The blocker pretends to block an opponent's "angle" hit, but dives into a "line" block at the last moment. At the same time, the defender pretends to cover the "line" attack, but moves to cover the "angle" attack at the last moment. With this setup, the team on defense is trying to bait the opponent into a hard "line" hit or a cut shot.^[43][44]
• Four fingers: The blocker pretends to block an opponent's "line" hit, but dives into an "angle" block at the last moment. At the same time, the defender pretends to cover the "angle" attack, but moves to cover the "line" attack at the last moment. With this setup, the team on defense is trying to bait the opponent into a hard "angle" hit or a high "line" shot.^[43][44]
• Open hand: The blocker should read the attack and block "ball", deciding how to block based upon the opposing team's set, and the hitter's approach and arm-swing technique. Similarly, the defender has free rein to read the attack and defend accordingly.^[44]
• Shaka: The blocker should spread their arms as wide as possible over the net for a "spread block", thus blocking all hard hits that travel low over the net. The defender's responsibility is to dig any shot that goes over or around the block.^[44]

Note: For some teams, closed fist and open hand signals have the opposite meaning of blocking. If the partner is showing the closed fist the blocker should block "ball" and open hand means that the blocker should "pull off" the net.

Serve

Serving is the act of putting the ball into play by striking it with the hand or arm from behind the rear court boundary. It can take the form of an underhand serve or an overhand serve, and examples include: float serve, jump-float serve, top-spin serve, jump serve, sky ball serve and reverse sky ball serve.^[45] As beach volleyball is usually played outdoors, the direction and speed of the wind and the position of the sun are considered when choosing which serve to use.^[45] Wind can significantly affect the trajectory of a serve and so players can employ different serving strategies to take advantage of the wind conditions. For example, players may choose a top-spin serve when serving into the wind, causing the ball to drop short in front of the passer.^[46] Players can also take advantage of the position of the sun. For example, a sky ball serve is especially effective at high noon, because the sun gets into the passer's eyes and can cause the passer to become disoriented.^[30]

Another factor the server considers is choosing which of the two opposing players to serve the ball to. Because of the three-contact rule, the player who receives the serve will likely also be the attacker,^[47] and serving strategies can thus target an opposing player's relative weakness in passing, setting or attacking.^[30]

Although the serve can be used as an offensive weapon, most rallies are won by the receiving team, as they have the first attack opportunity.

Pass

The pass is the first of a team's 3 allowed contacts. In indoor volleyball, passing involves two main techniques: forearm pass, or bump, where the ball touches the inside part of the joined forearms or platform, at waist line; and overhand pass, where it is handled with the fingertips, like a hand set, above the head. However, unlike indoors you may not double contact the first ball using overhand with fingers action on the beach. In practice, this means that bump pass is much more popular in beach volleyball; similarly, beach players rarely use an overhand passing motion as the first (except on a hard driven attack) or last of the three allowed team contacts. Digging is a similar skill to passing, but the term is not used to describe receiving the serve or a free ball, but rather refers to an attempt to prevent an opponent's attack hit from touching the court.

Set

The set is the second team contact, and its purpose is to position the ball for an attack on the third hit. Similar to a pass, the ball can be set with either a forearm pass technique, known as a bump set, or an overhand pass technique, known as a hand set.^[48] Due to the environmental factors that make it harder to hand set a ball "cleanly",^[30] the bump set is more common in the beach game.^[48][49] When hand setting, the player's hands must contact the ball simultaneously. If a referee determines that a double-hit has occurred, the point will be given to the other team. Excessive spin after a ball has been set is often used as an indicator of a double contact fault, but causing a ball to spin while setting is not explicitly prohibited. After completing the contact, the setter typically turns their attention to the defense and communicates to their partner whether a blocker is up and which area of the court is open. The second contact can also be used to attack the ball, known as an "over-on-two" attack.

Attack

A beach volleyball attack can be categorized as either a spike or a shot. A spike involves hitting the ball hard with one open hand on a downward trajectory from above the top of the net. A shot is a relatively soft attack used to place a ball into an open (undefended) area of the court.^[48] Unlike indoor volleyball, a wide variety of shots are utilized in beach volleyball due to the fewer defenders on court.^[33] Common shots used in beach volleyball include: roll shots, in which the attacker puts a lot of topspin on the ball so that it has an arcing trajectory that will go over the block then drop quickly; cut shots, in which the shot crosses the net at sharp angles; pokeys, in which the ball is contacted with the attacking player's knuckles; and dinks, in which the ball is directed very softly low over the net.^[50]

Block

A block can be used to: score a direct point by directing an attack back into the opponent's court; channel an attack to the defender by "taking away" part of the court;^[35] or slow down the ball so the defender has time to chase it down.^[45] At the competitive level, blockers will often reach across the net and "penetrate" the opposing team's side as much as possible to take away more hitting angles. Blockers may also attempt a shot block, where instead of maximum penetration across the net, the blocker reaches with their hands as high as possible to achieve maximum height above the net.^[48]

Players often decide against blocking (if the opposing team's pass and set are not in a good position to produce a spike attack) and instead opt to retreat and play defense. This skill is known as peeling, dropping or pulling off the net,^[30][51] and is almost exclusive to beach volleyball.

Professional

National

Some countries also have domestic professional tours, but only FIVB-approved national tours can award FIVB ranking points.^[53] As of 2017, there are 21 FIVB-approved national tours.^[59]

In the United States, the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) is the main domestic professional tour, organizing tournaments annually such as the Manhattan Beach Open.^[60] The AVP tour is not FIVB-approved and has had conflicts with the FIVB in the 1980s and 1990s over regulations and sponsorship, leading to an initial boycott of FIVB events by the top American players.^[61][62]

In Germany, the Techniker Beach Tour, previously known as the Smart Beach Tour, is the top domestic tour and is FIVB-approved. It is the organized by the German Volleyball Association and each season ends with the German Beach Volleyball Championships.^[63]

In Brazil, the FIVB-approved Brazilian Beach Volleyball Circuit (pt:Circuito Brasileiro de Voleibol de Praia) is the main national tour. It has been organized by the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation since 1991. The tour consists of the main Open Circuit^[64] and a Challenger Circuit.^[65] Each season concludes with the Superpraia championship.^[66]

Multi-sport events

Men and women's beach volleyball has been contested in the Summer Olympics since 1996.^[7] It is also contested in other international multi-sport events, including the Commonwealth Games (since 2018), Pan American Games (since 1999), Central American and Caribbean Games (since 1998), Asian Games (since 1998), Pacific Games (since 1999), African Games (since 2011), and Asian Beach Games (since 2008).

College

United States

Main article: NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship

See also: List of NCAA women's beach volleyball programs

In the 2010–2011 academic year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began sponsoring women's beach volleyball, then called "sand volleyball", as an "emerging sport". Initially, it was sponsored only for Division II, with Division I added the following academic year. NCAA competition follows standard beach volleyball rules, with competitions involving five doubles-teams from each participating school.^[67] For a sport to classify as a championship, at least 40 schools must sponsor it. In 2015, sixty schools had teams, allowing it to become NCAA's 90th Championship sport.^[68] Beach volleyball became a fully sanctioned NCAA championship sport in the 2015–2016 school year, following votes by leaders of all three NCAA divisions to launch a single all-divisions national championship.^[69]

In 2019, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) approved women's collegiate beach volleyball as an "emerging sport" with 16 NAIA institutions fielding teams in the 2019–2020 school year.^[70]

Junior

The FIVB organizes the annual U19 and U21 World Championships.^[53] World Championships for the U17 and U23 age-groups were previously held as well. Teams are awarded FIVB ranking points at these Championships, but not prize money. Instead, the winning U19 teams get a direct main draw entry into the next U21 World Championships, while the winning U21 teams get a direct main draw entry into a World Tour 4 or 5-star event of their choice.^[53]

Beach volleyball is also contested at the Youth Olympic Games (since 2014).

Naturist volleyball

Naturists were early adopters of the game. Records of regular games in clubs can be found as early as the 1920s.^[88][89] Given the outdoor nature of naturism, a beach version of volleyball was naturally adopted. By the 1960s, a volleyball court could be found in almost all naturist clubs.^[90] A large (over 70 teams) nude volleyball tournament has been held each fall since 1971 at White Thorn Lodge in western Pennsylvania,^[91] and several smaller tournaments occur each year throughout North America.^[92]

4x4 beach volleyball

4x4 beach volleyball is a variant of the regular two-man beach game that is popular in the United States and Brazil. FIVB-sanctioned matches are best of 3 sets played to 21 points (15 points in a third set tie-break), with four starting players and up to two substitutes in a team. 4x4 is contested at the World Beach Games.^[94][95]

Snow volleyball

Snow volleyball is a winter sport played by two teams on a snow court divided by a net. Originating as a variant of beach volleyball, the rules of snow volleyball are similar to the beach game,^[96] with the main differences being the playing surface, the scoring system and the number of players. As in the beach version, matches were originally best of 3 sets played to 21 points, with two players in a team. In December 2018, the FIVB approved new rules for snow volleyball which changed the scoring system to a best of 3 sets played to 15 points, and the number of players to three starters and one substitute in a team.^[97] Another difference is that unlike beach volleyball, a touch off block does not count as one of the three allowed touches, and any player may make the subsequent touch after the block.^[98]