Beach Volleyball Facts/Rules

While beach volleyball is similar to indoor volleyball in many aspects, there are many differentiating aspects between the two sports. Advanced players tend to take weeks adjusting from the indoor to the outdoor before competing. Below you will find a brief outline of the major differences in the rules.

Major Differences:

• The beach game is typically played as 2 players per team, no substitution players as you would find indoors. 
•  The scoring and most rules on the beach are similar to indoor, although slight variations apply.  For instance, the beach game tends to use much more strict rules with hand setting (more about this below)
• One major difference between beach volleyball and indoor volleyball is that on the sand any blocks count as one of the teams touches.  This means if you touch a ball on the block your team only gets 2 more touches to get the ball over the net. However, the played making the block is allowed to play the ball again.
• Uniforms aren’t typically worn other than at the FIVB tournaments (Olympic qualification tournaments).
• Beach volleyball allows timeouts, much like indoor, which usually are used to recover your breathe after exhausting rallies. 
• Players typically switch sides several times during a set (more in the detailed description).  
• Open hand “dumps/dinks” are not allowed on the beach however “cobra’s and pokies” are.
• A typical amateur tournament is “self refereed” with only one referee per game, no line judges or score table.

More Detailed Differences:

• Each side of the court is approximately 27 feet by 27 feet, as opposed to an indoor court of 30 feet by 30 feet.

• Setting is "called" differently on the beach.

• Switching sides during the set.

• To offset the advantages a team might experience due to the sun, wind, or sand conditions on a particular side is offset by the teams switching sides after a set number of points scored in a set.

• In a set to 15 teams switch sides every 5 points (thus a score of 2-3 would result in a switch, as well as a score of 10-0)

• In a set to 21, 25, and 28 team switch sides every 7 points

• Usually teams switch sides before shagging the ball, but it is always a nice gesture to get the ball for your opponent before leaving your side.

• It is an acceptable practice to take a few seconds to get a drink and catch ones breath upon a side switch, however, if you want to take a break outside of side switches, you have to call an official time out.

• You are allowed to go under the net and even onto the opponents side as long as you are not interfeering with your opponent attempting to play the ball.

• If you go under during a hit and touch a blocker on his side of the net, your team loses the point due to interference.

• When your partner passes the ball acroos the net (between or outside the antenas) and the ball is going out, you are allowed chase it and bring it back (outside the antenas) for your partner to hit it over.

• While a player is allowed to "hold" the ball for a longer period of time, the ball has to be touched and released simultaneously (usually translating to virtually no spin) for a hand set to be legal.

• Players are not allowed to receive the ball open handed (in a setting motion) unless it is the result of a hard driven, downwards hit. This rules out any "open-hand" freeball passing or serve receive. To legally overhand pass your hands have to be together in a "tomahawk" style or one hand supporting the other.

• Players are technically allowed to set the ball over on the third contact, but this practice is much frawned upon and usually called by the refs as a double contact (so if you plan on using it, you better make sure the ball has no spin at all and you are facing the way you set).