Rules - Women's World Beach Volleyball Club (2024)

Beach volleyball is played on a rectangular sand court. The court is 16 m (52.5 ft) long and 8 m (26.2 ft) wide, surrounded by a clear space, which is at least 3 m (9.8 ft) wide on all sides. The minimum height clearance for beach volleyball courts is 7 m (23.0 ft). The sand should be as leveled as possible and free of potential hazards such as rocks that could cause injuries to players.

The court is divided into equal halves by a net that is 8.5 m (27.9 ft) long and 1 m (3 ft 3.4 in) wide. The top of the net is 2.43 m (7 ft 11 11⁄16 in) above the center of the court for men's competition, and 2.24 m (7 ft 4 3⁄16 in) for women's competition, varied for veterans and junior competitions. An antenna, 1.8 m (5 ft 10.9 in) long and 20 mm (0.8 in) in diameter, is attached to each side edge of the net. The antennae are considered part of the net and extend 80 cm (31.5 in) above it, forming the lateral boundaries within which the ball is allowed to cross.

Two side lines and two end lines, measuring 5 cm (2.0 in) wide, delineate the playing court.

A team scores a point when: the ball lands on the opposing team's court; the opposing team hits the ball "out"; the opposing team commits a fault; or the opposing team receives a penalty. The team that won the point serves for the next point. The ball is considered "out" if it: lands on the ground completely outside the boundary lines (a ball is "in" if any part of it touches a sideline or end-line); touches an object or person (who is not a player) outside the court; touches the net's antennae; does not cross the net's lateral boundaries (within the antennae) during service or during a team's third contact; crosses completely under the net.

A set is won by the first team to reach 21 points (15 points in the deciding final set) with a two-point advantage. Thus, if the score is 21–20 (or 15–14 in a final set) the set continues. The first team to win two sets wins the matchץ

The teams start on opposite sides of the net. One team is designated the serving team and opposing team is the receiving team. A coin toss is conducted by the referee before the warm-ups to determine which team serves first and which sides of the court the teams start on for the first two sets. If a third deciding set is needed, another coin toss will be conducted prior to the third set. The service order decided at the coin toss before a set is maintained throughout the set.

For each point, a player from the serving team initiates the serve by tossing the ball into the air and attempting to hit the ball so it passes over the net on a course such that it will land in the opposing team's court. The opposing team must use a combination of no more than three contacts with the ball to return the ball to the opponent's side of the net, and individual players may not touch the ball twice consecutively except after a block touch. The three contacts usually consist first of the bump or pass by the receiving player, second of the set by the receiving player's teammate so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards a spot where the receiving player can hit it, and third by the receiving player who spikes (jumping, raising one arm above the head and hitting the ball so it will move quickly down to the ground on the opponent's court) or shoots to return the ball over the net. The team with possession of the ball that is trying to attack the ball as described is said to be on offense.

The team on defense attempts to prevent the attacking team from directing the ball into their court: a player at the net jumps and reaches above the top (and if possible, across the plane) of the net to block the attacked ball. If the ball is hit around, above, or through the block, the defensive player positioned behind the blocker attempts to control the ball with a dig (usually a forearm pass). After a successful dig, the team transitions to offense.

The game continues in this manner, rallying back and forth, until the ball touches the court within the boundaries or until a fault is committed.

Teams switch ends of the court after every 7 points (set 1 and 2) and 5 points (set 3) played. When the total points are 21 (adding the score of both teams) there is a technical time-out. Each team may request one time-out per set.