Beach Volleyball - Rules

Rules are based on Volleyball Canada rules which are based on FIVB rules. FIVB rules are international rules applying to the FIVB pro beach tour and the Olympics. Some VPEI rules have been created to work within our time constraints or to compensate for the fact that our leagues and tournaments are not refereed. Where there is a discrepancy between the three sets of rules VPEI rules will be deemed correct. You can buy a copy of Volleyball Canada Rules at www.volleyball.ca. You can download a free copy of FIVB rules at www.fivb.ch/EN/BeachVolleyball/Rules/rules.htm

1. The Court

•1.1 The dimensions of the court should be 16m long by 8m wide.

•1.2 The net height is approximately 8' for Men, 7'8" for Coed and 7'4" for Women.

•1.3 If antennas are not available the net supports (posts) will be act as the antennas.

 

2. Player Behavior

•2.1 Players must not make derogatory remarks about or to opponents or spectators.

•2.2 Players must refrain from intentionally trying to distract an opponent who is playing or about to play the ball (i.e. shouting, clapping, etc.).

•2.3 Players may not commit any act that delays the game unnecessarily.

•2.4 Players must refrain from intentionally kicking or hitting the ball out of the area of play.

•2.5 Players may not intentionally or unintentionally screen an opposing player and must move if asked to do so.

 

3. Player Responsibility

•3.1 League players are asked to assist in putting up and taking down the nets, if need be.

•3.2 Players must be on the court for the scheduled start of the match. 

•3.3 Players must call their own infractions when referees are not provided (i.e. net violations, carries, etc.).

 

4. League - Players per Team

•4.1 Teams may have one additional players on their roster and can add players at any time.

•4.2 Players must be on the roster and have played at least one league night to compete in playoffs.

•4.3 Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the VPEI board for special situations (i.e. injuries). In these cases, the board will decide whether the new player is of equal or lesser caliber than the player being replaced.

 

5. Tournament - Players per Team

•5.1 Teams may have extra players on their roster provided the tournament team entry fee has been paid. (Note: A package for a 4’s tournament will only contain 4 T-shirts no matter how many names appear on the roster although teams may purchase extra t-shirts if available.)

•5.2 Players must be on the roster at the time of registration in order to play.

•5.3 Players must be on the roster and have played at least one match to compete in playoffs.

•5.4 Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the VPEI board for special situations (i.e. injuries). In these cases, the board will decide whether the new player is of equal or lesser caliber than the player being replaced.

 

6. Tournament and League Coordinators

•6.1 The coordinator has absolute authority over players, officials and spectators on and off the court and may penalize players if necessary.

•6.2 The coordinator may cancel or change the format of the tournament or league if conditions warrant (i.e. shorten games due to weather or daylight).

•6.3 The coordinator has the authority to settle any and all disputes.

•6.4 The coordinator is responsible for timing all matches when necessary.

•6.5 The coordinator is responsible for arriving at leagues and tournament early so that equipment can be set out. Players are asked to assist with putting up and taking down the nets prior to league and tournament play.

•6.6 The coordinator is responsible for setting out schedules and collecting score sheets at end of play. Players are asked to record their own scores.

 

7. Service

•7.1 The ball may be served from anywhere along the endline and between the outside edges of the sidelines.

•7.2 Teams must alternate servers in order when they earn a side out. This does not mean that each person must play a certain position on the court. You may play the same position at all times (i.e. setting) as long as you serve consistently in a certain order.

•7.3 Starting server must be determined for the first and third games. We recommend spinning the ball to determine choice of serve. Winner of the spin has a choice of serve, receive, or side. Loser of the spin gets second choice. Loser also gets first choice on second game. (Spin again for third game).

•7.4 No service tossing errors are allowed. If you toss the ball and drop it, your team loses service.

•7.5 No player is allowed to screen the serve. If an opponent asks you to move because you are screening the serve, you are obligated to do so.

•7.6 Let serves are permitted (i.e. the ball hits the top of the net and goes over is a good serve).

 

8. Ball Contact

•8.1 A ball may be contacted no more than 3 times per side.

•8.2 A block does not count as a contact EXCEPT in doubles.

•8.3a Hard driven balls (first contact) may be contacted multiple times if executed in one motion.

•8.3b Non hard driven balls (first contact) may be contacted multiple times if executed in one motion and is not a set (overhand pass).

•8.4 Service reception may not be a set (overhand pass) in VPEI leagues & tournaments.

•8.5 Service reception may not be a block, or an attack made when the ball is entirely above the top of the net.

•8.6 The ball may contact any part of the body.

•8.7 The ball may not be lifted, held or come to rest in a players hands. This will be called a carried/held ball. This does not apply when in defense of a hard driven ball which can be held momentarily overhead with fingers.

•8.8 Open hand tips are not permitted. An open hand tip is any ball that is played over the net with the fingertips of one hand.

 

9. Setting (Overhand Pass)

•9.1 The ball must be contacted simultaneously by both hands and not come to rest.

a) (Except on first contact where the ball may come to rest momentarily in defense of a hard driven ball)
b) (Please note VPEI does not allow receive of service with a overhand pass see 8.4 above)

•9.2 Players in all divisions may set the ball over the net provided their shoulders are "squared up" to the ball's line of flight (front or back sets apply).

EXAMPLE #1: You are setting your teammate, the ball is accidentally played over
The ball is live provided it is pushed forward or backward perpendicular to your shoulders.

EXAMPLE #2: You push a ball deep into back court.
The ball is live provided it is pushed forward or backward perpendicular to your shoulders.

EXAMPLE #3: You set a ball at a sharp angle to the net away from your teammate and just barley over the net. The ball is live provided it is pushed forward or backward perpendicular to your shoulders.

 

10. Play At the Net

•10.1 A player, through his own momentum may not contact the net.

•10.2 Net contacts will be permitted provided it was caused by a force other than the player's momentum. (i.e. wind, opponents ball hitting the net, etc.)

•10.3 Hair does not count as net contact.

•10.4 Contacts with net supports are not faults.

 

11. Play Around the Net

•11.1 A ball completely crossing the net below the net or entirely outside the antennas (posts) may be recovered within the limits of the 3 team contacts.

•11.2 A ball completely crossing the net above the net and within or over the antennas (posts) may not be recovered.

•11.3 Players do not have to intentionally avoid a ball that their opponent has passed under the net to play. However, they cannot intentionally contact the ball or opponent or interfere with any playable ball.

12. Reaching Beyond the Net

•12.1 A player is permitted to pass his/her hand beyond the net after his/her attack hit, provided that his/her contact has been made within his/her own playing space.

 

13. The Block

•13.1 A block is defined as an attempt by a player(s) to interrupt the ball before, as, or just after it crossed the net. The blocker must be within arm's length of the net with his hand(s) over his shoulder.

•13.2 A blocker may block a ball on the opponent's side of the court:
a. After the opposing team has made it's final contact.
b. Any time the attacking team has directed the ball towards the opponent's court.

•13.3 Players reaching over the net to block their opponents attempt to set up the ball will result in a fault.

•13.4 A ball may be directed by a blocker but may not come to rest in the blocker’s hands. 

•13.5 Blocking the serve is not permitted.

 

14. Scoring

•14.1 Matches will be best of 3 games, rally point scoring, 30 to 40 minute time limit at discretion of night coordinator.

•14.2 Winner of a game will be the first to 21 for the first 2 games and first to 15 for the third game. (Third game only played if teams split the first two games) There is no win by 2 rule in league play. During league playoffs and most tournaments games are win by 2 no cap.

•14.3 If the time expires while the ball is in play, the rally must be played out. Any team stopping play prematurely will be penalized with a loss of point. 

•14.4 If time expires in the middle of a game, the combined score must be 6 or greater in order to count. If the score is tied, one more rally is played to determine a winner of that game. A tie in the match can still occur if the teams split the first two games and the third game either is not played or does not reach 6 combined points.

 

15. Defaults

•15.1 If a team does not show up for league play, they will default all matches scheduled for that night of play. The opposing teams will win the match 21-0 and 21-0.

•15.2 If a team defaults three (3) league nights during a Session, that team will be disqualified from the league and a team on the waiting list for that night will replace them. League fees will not be refunded.

•15.3 3’s teams can not have more than 2 men on the court.
4's teams can not have more than 3 men on the court.

•15.4 3's & 4's teams will default unless they have min 2 players (1 of them female)

•15.5 If a team is not present when the clock starts, this is considered a default of the first game in the match. 

•15.6 If a team is not present 15 minutes after the clock has started, the second game and match are now forfeit. The offending team is charged a $10.00 default fee.

 

16. Standings

•16.1 All matches will be worth 6 points. 2 point will be awarded to the winner of each of the first two games. If a team wins two games straight they receive the remaining 2 points for a total of 6 points. If the teams split the first two games a third game is played with the winner receiving another 2 points. In the event of a tie, 3 points will be awarded to each team. A tie occurs when the teams split the first two games (No matter what the scores) and the third game has a combined score of less than 6 points. Total points for and against are not considered when determining winners of individual matches.

•16.2 If teams are tied in the standings after any tiering round, the following criteria will be considered to determine position in next tier or playoff round. Playoff positions are determined by standings from the last tiering round only.

1. Head to head match records
2. Head to head point differential
3. Point differential for all league play

•16.3 Playoffs will run on Saturday and Sunday at the end of each session.
Exact starting times to be announced.

Session 1 Playoffs
Saturday Morning - Womens 2's Saturday Afternoon - Mens 2's
Sunday Morning - 4's Sunday Afternoon - 3's

Session 2 Playoffs
Saturday Morning - 3's Saturday Afternoon - 4's 
Sunday Morning - Mens 2's Sunday Afternoon - Womens 2's

 

17. Rainouts

•17.1 All players must show up for league night. At the start time of that league night, a group decision will be made as to whether or not to play that night. If the teams decide to play any teams not present will default. On occasion, the Board will make a decision regarding extraordinary weather conditions, and league night(s) may be cancelled with a posting on the website, and an e-mail to team captains by 4:00 pm the day of the cancellation.

 

18. Tiering

•18.1 All nights are tiered and will be re-tiered every 2 weeks.

•18.2 The number of teams moved up or down between tiers will vary depending on the division and when in the season it is. (details below) The top teams from a tier will move up to the next highest tier and the bottom teams will move down to the next lower tier.

•18.3 Men’s and Women’s doubles: 2 teams from each tier will be moving after weeks 2, 4 and 6. After week 8, NO teams will be moved. The last tiering round is use to seed teams for playoffs within your tier.

•18.4 3’s and 4’s: 3 teams from each tier will be moving after week 2. 2 teams will be moving after weeks 4 and 6 and No teams will be moved after week 8. The last tiering round is use to seed teams for playoffs within your tier.

 

19. Official Volleyballs

•19.1 Wilson balls are the official standard ball for Volleyball PEI

 

20. Switching Sides

•20.1 Switch sides every 10 points (combined scored) for games to 21 and every 7 points for games to 15. If both teams agree to switch at some different points total or at the end of each game they may do so. If there is no agreement then the above standard applies.

 

21. Match Timing

•21.1 The matches will vary in length from 30 to 40 minutes depending on the amount of light available. The night coordinator will make this call based on the time of sunset for that day.

•21.2 No matter how long the matches are for a certain night, they will start at 6:00pm