Welcome to BeachVolleyballPedia™ -- The Beach Volleyball Encyclopedia

Beach Volleyball News Links:
Red Bull Flugtag Set to Make a Splash in the 'Gopher State' This Summer
12 Mar 2010 at 1:26pm
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Red Bull Flugtag is cleared for takeoff...
Coachtalk: Research on Post-Game Comments
12 Mar 2010 at 12:12pm
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Whether they win or lose in the upcoming...
U.S. Gazelles to Pilot HUMMER H3 in Women-Only Off-Road Rally
12 Mar 2010 at 12:04pm
DETROIT, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- When deciding what vehicle to use in the grueling Rallye Aicha ...
Women's Surf Camp @ chicasurfadventures.com Says No Need to Wait for Summer
12 Mar 2010 at 11:57am
LOS ANGELES, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Learning to surf for the first time or improving your surfi...
Kangaroo TV expands partnership with Miami Dolphins
12 Mar 2010 at 11:19am
MIRABEL, QC, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Kangaroo TV today announced that it has expanded ...
Wounded Warrior Project Congratulates Wounded Warrior Heath Calhoun on His Se...
12 Mar 2010 at 11:07am
- Calhoun will compete in alpine skiing events - JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewsw...
Red Man Moist Snuff Brings NASCAR(R) To Your Home!
12 Mar 2010 at 11:00am
RICHMOND, Va., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Red Man Moist Snuff is bringing the excitement of NASCAR®...
Fans to Choose 75 Most Valuable Draft Picks of All Time
12 Mar 2010 at 10:04am
NEW YORK, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Jerry Rice, 1st Round, Pick 16. Emmitt Smith, 1st Round, Pick ...
2010 AAU Junior Beach Volleyball Tour Schedule
24 Feb 2010 at 8:08am
ORLANDO, FL ? The 2010 AAU Junior Beach Volleyball Tour schedule, now in its 17th season, will in...
Beach Volleyball New Age Divisions
17 Feb 2010 at 1:10pm
The AAU Beach Volleyball Program is implementing new age divisions for the 2010 tour season.    T...
The AAU Beach Volleyball 2010 Tour
8 Feb 2010 at 9:07am
The AAU is proud to announce the Beach Volleyball Tour for 2010.  This schedule begins in March a...
Upcoming JVA Mid-Year Events
4 Feb 2010 at 7:55am
The AAU has partnered with the JVA on two mid-year tournaments.  The following JVA events are san...
AAU volleyball player finalists for Sports Kid of the Year by Sports Illustrated
19 Jan 2010 at 8:08am
Tiffany Morales, a volleyball player from Redondo Beach, California, is featured in the December ...
Sand Volleyball and the NCAA
11 Jan 2010 at 6:34am
Sand Volleyball to Remain a NCAA Emerging Sport UPDATED (1/16/10):   An attempt to override the d...
AAU Partners with Beach Tennis USA
3 Dec 2009 at 8:20am
The AAU is pleased to announce a new partnership with Beach Tennis USA for the 2010 AAU Junior Ol...
Take Your Athletes to Vienna with People to People
10 Nov 2009 at 6:24am
AAU invites you and your athletes to travel to Vienna, Austria, with our partner, People to Peopl...

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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).

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