Beach Volleyball Sport

Beach volleyball is basically analogous to indoor volleyball, where 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 main differences between beach and indoor volleyball are:
- Playing surface: sand, rather than a hard floor
- And a team size: two players per team, rather than six

What's else,
- The beach court: in beach volleyball it measures 26.25 feet by 52.5 feet (8.00 m × 16.00 m), while the indoor court measures 29.52 feet by 59.05 feet (9.00 m × 18.00 m).
- There are no ten-foot line (3-meter line) hitting restrictions.
- A match consists of three sets, or games. A set is won by the first team to reach 21 points. The first team to win two sets wins the match, and a third tiebreaker set, if necessary, is won by the first team to reach 15 points. Teams must win by two points.
- Teams change sides of the court at every combined multiple of 7 points. For example, if Team A has 10 points and Team B also has 10, then the next point will cause both teams to switch sides, the total score of 21 being a multiple of 7. On the third set, teams change sides of the court at every combined multiple of 5 points.
- 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 alternate service, but are not required to rotate positions; - There are no 'rotation errors'.
- There are no substitutions.
- Most players, either by choice or by requirement of the rules, play the game barefoot.
- The ball is softer, has a lower internal pressure, and is slightly bigger than an indoor volleyball.

- Overhand finger passes are refereed more strictly:
When receiving or attacking, an overhand pass must be redirected squarely to the shoulders and put little or no spin on the ball (a "clean" pass). In practice, this means that serves are never received open-handed. The exception to this rule is when receiveing an opponent's hard-driven attack.
And when employing an overhand pass, the standard for a double contact fault is lower than when receiving or attacking, though still much stricter than in indoor volleyball. The standard for a lift fault is less strict than in the indoor game, that is to say, it is legal to allow the ball to come to rest for a small period of time.

What's more, beach volleyballists use hand signals to indicate the type of block they intend to make, also known as block signals. Block signals are made behind the back to hide them from the opposing team. They are usually given with both hands by the serving player's partner prior to the serve, with each hand referring to the type of block that should be put up against an attack from the corresponding opponent. A player may also "wiggle" or "flash" one block signal to indicate which opponent to serve to. If the server is the designated blocker, he or she may run up to the net to block after serving. Otherwise, the signaling player will perform the block. Block signals may also be given during a rally while the opposing team is preparing their attack.

The most usual are:
- Closed fist, which means: no block should be attempted for the opponent on that side of the court;
- Open hand, the blocker should block "ball," deciding how to block based upon the opposing team's set, and the hitter's approach and arm-swing;
- One finger, the blocker should block an opponent's "line" attack, or a ball hit perpendicularly from the net and parallel to the sideline;
- Two fingers, the blocker should block an opponent's "angle" attack, or a ball hit diagonally from the net and across the court.

Thats it! It is so easy.

As for me, Beach Volleyball is not just a sport, it's a lifestyle! And I would gladly touch on such topic as its history. Beach volleyball is an Olympic team sport which is played on sand, typically on the beach. Two teams, located on either side of a net which divides a rectangular court, hit a volleyball, generally using the hands or arms. Players on each team endeavor to hit the ball over the net in such a way that it touches the ground inside the court boundaries, and to avoid the ball from touching the ground on their own side of the court. Beach volleyball is a well-liked spare time activity on many beaches worldwidely, and is by and large most popular in areas with wide sandy beaches; though, it is also normally played on inland sand courts, and has become quite popular in some land-locked countries, especially in Switzerland. Though the official rules call for two players per team, leisure type (non-competitive) of the games often have more players.

Interestingly, beach volleyball takes its origins from Santa Monica, a coastal city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA in the 1920s. A decade later, beach volleyball began to appear in Europe. By the 1940s, doubles tournaments were being played on the beaches of Santa Monica for trophies. In the 1960s, an attempt to start a professional volleyball league was made in Santa Monica. It failed, but a professional tournament was held in France for 30,000 French Francs. The first Manhattan Beach Open (Southern California) was held in 1960. It is considered the "Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball" - the most prominent tournament in the world. Karch Kiraly — perhaps the greatest beach volleyball player of all time — said, "You talk to any player and if they were told they could only win one tournament in their whole career, everybody would choose it to be here in Manhattan. There's an extra fire among all the players." In the 1970s, a few professional tournaments in Santa Monica were supported mostly by beer and cigarette companies.

Whereas the history of beach volleyball is quite lengthy, the sport itself, at the professional level, remained fairly little-known until the 1980s when beach volleyball experienced a blow in popularity. This resulted in the development of stars such as Karch Kiraly, Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, Kerri Walsh, and Misty May-Treanor, who are now well known throughout the world.

For a generous period, the two nations which have dominated international beach volleyball are Brazil and the United States. Lately, Australia has appeared as a faraway third superpower, and all three of these nations have tremendously well developed national touring systems which typically hold tournaments during the summer months. A number of western European countries have built up a large and competitive following, as has China and several other countries all around the World.