Beach Volleyball is one of the most successful and popular competitive and recreational sports in the world. It is fast, it is exciting and the action is explosive. Yet the Beach form of Volleyball comprises several crucial overlapping elements whose complimentary interactions render it unique amongst rally games.
Dating back to the 1930’s when Beach Volleyball was first played on California beaches, 4 vs 4 Beach Volleyball has been played as an exciting version of the sport between teams of 4 athletes on the court at any one time. The strong interest in the 4 vs 4 game, especially in recent years, has led to the need and introduction of a specific version of the Rule Book designed for International and Domestic competitions. Although the 4 vs 4 game is very similar to the more popular 2 vs 2 game, there are some specific rules that apply to 4 vs 4.
The object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent. The team has three hits for returning the ball (including the block touch). The ball is put in play with a service: hit by the server over the net to the opponents. The rally continues until the ball is grounded on the playing court, goes “out” or a team fails to return it properly. In Beach Volleyball, the team winning a rally scores a point (Rally Point System). When the receiving team wins a rally, it gains a point and the right to serve. Its serving player must rotate one position clockwise every time this occurs.
Five significant steps in the history of Beach Volleyball
1915: Beach Volleyball originates on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii (USA).
1948: The first tournament to offer a prize is held in Los Angeles (USA).
1986: The first international FIVB-sanctioned tournament is played on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro (BRA).
1996: Beach Volleyball appears at the Olympic Games for the first time in Atlanta (USA).
2019: The first Beach Volleyball 4×4 tournament is played in Doha (QAT).
