Beach volleyball is a popular outdoor sport that follows the basic rules of indoor volleyball. Beach volleyball is played on sand with two players on a side. Some versions are played on grass, or with three, four, or six players on a team. The teams may be all male, all female, or coed (mixed). Rules vary slightly for each version.
The playing area for the two-person game is a rectangular court 521/2 feet (16 meters) long and 261/4 feet (8 meters) wide. When the game has three or more players on a side, the court is expanded to the regular indoor size of 59 feet (18 meters) long and 291/2 feet (9 meters) wide. A surrounding free zone must be at least 9 feet 10 inches (3 meters) wide. The court boundary lines are usually marked by flat tape, or ropes. Sometimes, the lines are drawn in the sand. The net is about 8 feet (2.4 meters) high for men and slightly lower for women. The ball is similar to the one used in indoor volleyball.
Loading the player...Beach volleyball
Most games are played by rally scoring to 21 points. Under this system of scoring, the team that wins a rally earns a point, regardless of whether it was the serving team. Sometimes side out scoring is used, when a point can be scored only while serving. Then a game is played to 15 points.
Beach volleyball was first played in the 1920’s in the United States and became a competitive sport in California in 1947. The first world championships were held in 1976. The first sponsored professional tour started in 1980. Beach volleyball became a sport in the Summer Olympic Games in 1996.
See also Volleyball.
