Welcome to BeachVolleyballPedia™ -- The Beach Volleyball Encyclopedia

Beach Volleyball News Links:
There?s Nothing Junior About It! Countdown Begins: 60 Days to Arrival of 12,0...
28 May 2008 at 6:31am
Originally published at News Blaze on May 27, 2008. Click here for original article. DETROIT– In ...
Online Registration Open for the AAU Girls? Junior National Volleyball Champi...
7 Feb 2008 at 11:37am
The 2008 AAU Girls’ Junior National Volleyball Championships will take place in Orlando, Florida ...
AAU Volleyball National Leadership Awards
22 Jan 2008 at 8:19am
The 2007 AAU Volleyball National Awards have been announced. Two long time volleyball supporters...

Powered by MediaPedia™

Our Mission:
To create the most complete and definitive source of information about the past and present of the Sport of Beach Volleyball.

Our Goal:
To be your source for Beach Volleyball related information. We will supply our visitors with up to date news, stories, and information about Beach Volleyball in the Beach Volleyball News Links section above.

Beach Volleyball:
The game is an Olympic team sport played on sand. Two teams, positioned on either side of a net which divides a rectangular court, hit a volleyball, usually using the hands or arms. Players on each team attempt to hit the ball over the net in such a way that it touches the ground inside the court boundaries, and to prevent the ball from touching the ground on their own side of the court. Beach volleyball is a popular recreational activity on many beaches around the world, and is generally most popular in areas with wide sandy beaches; however, it is also frequently played on inland sand courts, and has become quite popular in some land-locked countries, notably Switzerland. Though the official rules call for two players per team, recreational (non-competitive) games often have more players.

Beach volleyball evolved from indoor volleyball, and the two sports remain very similar: a team scores points by grounding the ball on the opponents' court, or when the opposing team commits a fault (error or illegal action); teams can contact the ball no more than three times before the ball crosses the net; and consecutive contacts must be made by different players. The most important differences between beach and indoor volleyball are the playing surface (deep sand rather than a hard floor), and the team size (two players per team rather than six). There are many minor differences as well, including:

* Each half of the court measures 8 by 8 meters (indoor courts are slightly larger).
* If a blocking player touches the ball, but it continues onto his side of the net, the block counts as the first contact.
* Open-hand dinks, where a player uses the fingertips to redirect the ball into the opponent's court, are illegal.
* It is legal to cross under the net as long as doing so does not interfere with the opponents' attempt to play the ball.
* Players are not required to rotate positions; they must alternate service, but there are no 'rotation errors'.
* There is no ten foot line.
* There are no substitutions (and no libero).
* The first team to win two sets wins the match. The first two sets are won by the first team to reach 21 points with a 2-point advantage, and the third set, if necessary, is won by the first team to reach 15 points with a
   2- point advantage.
* Most players, either by choice or by requirement of the rules, always play the game barefoot.
* The ball is softer (lower internal pressure) and very slightly bigger than an indoor volleyball.
* Overhand finger passes are refereed more strictly:
  a. When receiving (unless an opposing player has hit the ball downward) or attacking, overhand passes must be executed very cleanly and square to the shoulders. In practice, this means that serves are never received open-handed.
  b. When setting with an overhand motion, the standard for a double hit (a fault) is lower than when receiving or attacking, though still much stricter than in indoor volleyball. The standard for a lift (another fault) is less strict than in the indoor game (it is legal to hold the ball a little longer).

If you have information or links that you would like included in BeachVolleyballedia™, please email us at: