BEACH VOLLEY BALL
SUMMARY
Beach volleyball is a team sport played on a beach court divided by a net by two teams of two or more players. The goal of the game, similar to indoor volleyball, is to send the ball over the net and onto the opponent’s side of the court. Each team works together to keep the ball from being grounded on their side of the court by the opposing team.
Individual players may not touch the ball twice in a row, except after a touch off an attempted block, and teams are permitted up to three touches to return the ball across the net. After making a block touch, the ball just needs two more touches before being hit over.
A serve is a stroke by the server from behind the back court boundary over the net to the opponents that puts the ball in play. The rally continues until the ball is grounded on the playing court, goes “out,” or a return attempt is made with a fault. [1] [2] The winning team earns a point and gets to serve first in the next rally. Throughout the match, the players serve in the same order, changing servers each time the receiving team wins a rally.
Beach volleyball is thought to have begun in 1915 on Hawaii’s Waikiki Beach, whereas the contemporary two-player game began in Santa Monica, California. Since the Summer Olympics of 1996, it has been an Olympic sport.
HISTORY OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL
It is noted that beach volleyball began in Hawaii around 1915. Although the initial game was played in Hawaii, the modern beach volleyball competition concept is credited to Santa Monica in the mid-1920s. Beach volleyball has grown in popularity as a result of the ease with which it can be played on public beaches and the low cost of equipment. Formal competition arose as the leisure game developed in popularity, and the game was eventually played on a global scale. The game was initially introduced to the globe at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, although it was not formally recognized as an Olympic sport until the 1996 Games.
RULES and REGULATIONS
Beach Volleyball follows a set of strict rules as a court sport, including:
- Players are only permitted to touch the ball three times before returning it across the court, including blocks.
- In Beach Volleyball, some several actions and hits are considered prohibited, including “hand touches,” “tips,” and “dinks.”
- In Beach Volleyball, players are allowed to cross below the net, although this is considered a foul if it tampers or interferes with the opposing team’s play.
- Players do not have a defined position, so they can move to any portion of the court they want at any time — as long as it is on their side.
OBJECT OF THE GAME:
The core objective of Beach Volleyball is to hit the ball in such a way that the opposition team is unable to return it in a “legal” manner.
The game will start with one team striking the ball over the net, known as a “serve.” Both teams will then compete in a “rally,” in which the ball is passed between both sides of the court and flies above the net. A rally ends when one side is unable to return the ball, and the team that forced the blunder is awarded a point.
PLAYERS & EQUIPMENT
COURT
Each Beach Volleyball team consists of two players, and the sport is played on a 26.2 ft square sand-based court. During male matches, a 7 ft 11-inch high net is put in the center of the court. The net is placed at a slightly lower height of 7 ft 4 inches for female matches. The posts on either side of the net are spaced evenly between the sidelines and the post padding.
BALL
Beach Volleyball balls are usually brightly colored (white, yellow, or orange) and weigh roughly 9-10 ounces, with 2.5-3.2 lb/sq inches of pressure inside.
TECHNIQUE
Professional players must improve their services to increase their chances of winning, knowing how to hit the ball hard enough and in the right spot so that the opposing team cannot return it.
After serving, attacking is the second most crucial ability in Beach Volleyball. Players can “attack” the ball in a variety of ways, including by utilizing various parts of their hands to direct the ball to specific regions of the court (where the opposing team cannot return the ball). The knuckles and fingers are regularly employed to aid in the control of the ball’s speed and direction.
CLOTHING
When playing Beach Volleyball, players have been forced to wear certain jerseys since the turn of the millennium. Long-sleeved tops and shorts, or a one-piece swimsuit, are authorized for females. Beach volleyball jerseys continue to be a source of contention. While many players prefer shorter, lighter gear that exposes less skin, organizations are hesitant to approve it for fear of spectators and audiences thinking it is “too revealing.”
SCORING
Points are awarded in Beach Volleyball when a team hits the ball in such a way that the opposing team is unable to return it lawfully. An unlawful return hits the net, hits the ball too many times in one rally (three touches are allowed), or does not strike the ball at all.
During the first two sets, teams must swap ends and move to the opposite side of the court after every 7 points. During the third set, they also demanded switching to the other side after every 5 points.
A timeout is held when there is an accumulated total of 21 points scored, like when the score line reads 14-7, for instance.
WINNING
The victor in Beach Volleyball is the first team to win two sets. A set is won when the player scores 21 points – or 15 points in the last set – by two clear points. If the score is 21-20, for example, the set will continue until one team has a two-point lead.