BEACH VOLLEYBALL RULES
1. PLAYING AREA
1.1 DIMENSIONS:
- The playing area consists of a rectangular playing court measuring 18m x 9m and a surrounding free zone that is a minimum of 3m wide. The height of the net will be 2.35m.
1.2 LINES ON THE COURT:
- The center line divides the playing court into two 9m x 9m square team courts and the playing area into two team playing areas.
- Attack lines are marked 3m from the center line to the rear of the attack line.
1.3 SERVICE ZONE:
- The service zone is behind the end line and between the extension of the sidelines. It extends in depth to the end of the playing area.
1.4 ANTENNAS:
- Antennas are not used. The posts shall act as antennas in all cases.
2. TEAMS
2.1 COMPOSITION:
- Six players on the court per team with maximum six substitutes.
- Each team must have at least one female player on the court at all time.
- The captain is the player who represents his/her team in dealings with the officials and his/her uniform must be clearly marked for identification by the referees.
- Players have to play in bare feet or aqua-socks.
3. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PARTICIPANTS
3.1 PLAYERS:
- All participants must know this Beach Volleyball Rules and abide by them.
- Participants must behave respectfully and courteously in the spirit of fair play, not only toward the officials, but also toward teammates, opponents and spectators.
- Participants must refrain from actions or attitudes aimed at influencing the decisions of the referees or masking faults committed by their team.
- Participants must accept referees’ decisions with sportsmanlike conduct and without dispute. In case of doubt, clarification may be requested by the Captain ONLY.
- While the ball is out of play, a captain may request an explanation on the application or interpretation of the rules used during the previous rally.
4. ELEMINATION AND SCORING SYSTEM
4.1 PLAYOFFS
- Participating teams are divided into six (A.B.C.D.E.F) groups with three teams in each group. Top two (2) teams in each group advance to the second round.
- Six (6) teams from the A.B.C groups will be divided into two (2) groups (G & H groups) and top two (2) teams in each group will advance to the quarter-final round. The six (6) teams from the D.E.F groups will be divided into I & J groups and top two (2) teams from each group advance to the quarter-final round.
- The winning team (G1) will meet the losing team (H2) and H1 will meet G2. The winning team (I1) will meet the losing team (J2) and J1 will meet I2. The four winning teams advance to the semi-final round.
- The winning team (K) from the G1 & H2 match will meet the winning team (L) from the H1 & G2 match. The winning team (M) from the I1 & J2 match will meet the winning team (N) from the J1 & I2 match.
- Winning teams from the semi-final round advance to the final round and losing teams compete for the third place.
- A team winning one match receives one (1) point and a team losing one match receives zero (0) points. The teams with the highest total points advance or have the highest ranking
- In the case of ties, tie breaking procedures are as follows:
i) For the first and second round, two teams tie for the first place, both teams advance to the next round. Two teams tie for the second place, count head-to-head match and the winning team advances. Three or more teams tie for the first or second place, the team(s) with the highest number of winning games advance. If all three teams have the same number of winning games, the team(s) with the highest net points (defined as total winning points minus total losing points) from the games among all tied teams advance. Games with team(s) that are not part of this tie situation should not be counted.
ii) After the second round, teams will advance to the next round by elimination.
4.2 TO WIN A MATCH:
- A best-two-out-of-three-games format is used for all rounds in this competition except for the final match where a best-three-out-of-five-games will be used. A match is won by the team that wins two games. If a team wins the first two games, no third game will be played.
4.3 TO WIN A GAME:
- A rally-point game is won by the team that first scores twenty-one (21) points with a two-point advantage. If a score of 20-20 is reached, play continues until the first team reaches twenty-five (25).
- In the final match, for all five games, a rally-point game is won by the team that first scores twenty-one (21) points with a two-point advantage. In case of a 20-20 tie, play is continued until a two-point advantage is reached or until the first team reaches twenty-five (25).
4.4 TO WIN A RALLY:
- In the rally-point game, whenever a team fails to serve properly, return the ball or commits any other fault, the opposing team wins the rally with one of the following consequences:
i) The serving team scores a point and continues to serve
ii) The receiving team gains the right to serve and scores a point.
5. PLAYING ACTIONS
5.1 PLAYING THE BALL:
- A player may touch the ball with any part of the body.
- Double contact with the ball is allowed only on the first contact of the ball (the block or other first contact). After that, double contacts are illegal and cause an immediate stoppage in play, a side-out and a point for the opposition.
- The ball must be contacted cleanly and not held, lifted, pushed, caught, carried or thrown.
- Open hand tips are not allowed. An “open hand” tip is any tip where the ball is played with any part of the fingers on the “palm” side of your hand. This includes the standard tipping motion used in indoor volleyball.
- If you volley ball over the net, then your shoulders must be facing perpendicular to the direction that the ball will travel prior to contact with the ball.
5.2 PENETRATION INTO THE OPPONENT’S PLAYING AREA AND SPACE:
- Players may not cross the center line below the net, either before, during or after a legal play of the ball.
- It is a fault for a player or a player’s clothing to touch any part of the net. Incidental contact with the net is ignored.
5.3 SERVICE ATTEMPT:
- If the server releases the ball for service and does not complete the service, the team will be penalized with a loss of rally.
5.4 BACK-ROW PLAYERS:
- Back-row players may not participate in a block.
- If a back-row player contacts the ball completely above the height of the net, and the player’s foot is touching or has last touched the ground on or in front of the attack line, the attack-hit must have an upward trajectory.
5.5 ROTATING POSITION ON THE COURT
- Players on the court should rotate clockwise each time the team gains the right of service. The team should not rotate when it gains the right of service for the first time in a game.
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5.6 EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE:
- If an external interference does not affect the outcome of play, the rally is counted. Otherwise, the rally is immediately canceled and replayed.
5.7 COURT SWITCHES AND INTERVALS
- Court switches occur after each game for the first two games. Court switches occur after the first team reaches eleven (11) points in a twenty-one (21) points game.
- The intervals between games is one (1) minute.
- There is one (1) 30-second time-out per game.
6. OFFICIALS AND PROCEDURES
6.1 FIRST REFEREE:
- There will be one referee for the first round matches.
6.2 LINE JUDGES:
- Line judges might be assigned depending on the needs on the day of the competition.
