Welcome to BeachVolleyballPedia™ -- The Beach Volleyball Encyclopedia

Beach Volleyball News Links:
Brooklyn Decker Sizzles as the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Model o...
8 Feb 2010 at 9:30pm
NEW YORK, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Smiling in the clear blue water of the Maldives, supermodel Broo...
DETC Recognizes Outstanding ISSA Graduates
8 Feb 2010 at 9:00pm
CARPINTERIA, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education ...
Kings To Contribute to Haiti Relief Efforts Throughout the Month of February
8 Feb 2010 at 6:00pm
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During the month of February the Los Angeles Kings...
Clydesdales, Cockatoos and Capuchin Monkeys Agree: 'No Animals Were Harmed'(R...
8 Feb 2010 at 3:43pm
American Humane Association, the Exclusive Authority Behind the 'No Animals Were Harmed' End Cred...
HomeAway.com Super Bowl Campaign a Huge Success; Ad Featuring the Griswolds f...
8 Feb 2010 at 9:47am
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- HomeAway, Inc. – the world's leading online vacation rental...
E*TRADE Reveals Super Bowl(R) XLIV Advertisements
7 Feb 2010 at 3:25pm
NEW YORK, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. (Nasdaq: ETFC) today announced...
Largest USA Team Ever at Indoor World Masters Track Includes 46 Reigning Worl...
8 Feb 2010 at 1:59pm
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Team USA will send its biggest ever team to the ind...
Walt Disney World Parade Celebrates Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees
8 Feb 2010 at 1:47pm
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Magic Kingdom Philharmonic Band came marching ...
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...
Michigan Volleyball tops the list of AAU programs
26 Oct 2009 at 12:53pm
  The Michigan AAU Volleyball program has been providing opportunities for youth volleyball parti...
Schedule Announced for the AAU Girls? and Boys? Junior National Volleyball Ch...
9 Oct 2009 at 11:23am
  The 2010 AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships for both Girls’ and Boys’ will take place...

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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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