Skills
Is hand setting stricter for indoor or outdoor volleyball
Beach volleyball
Volleyball variations Beach volleyball Beach volleyball Detroit Yacht Club Beach volleyball
Volleyball_variations-Beach_volleyball Beach_volleyball-Characteristics_of_the_hit Beach_volleyball-Skills Detroit_Yacht_Club-Club_facilities Beach_volleyball-Rule_differences_between_beach_and_indoor
A variation of the game rivaling the original sport of volleyball in popularity, beach volleyball evolved from the recreational games of volleyball played on many beaches around the world. It became an official Olympic sport in 1996. This version, rather than being played on indoor hard courts, is played on sand courts which may either be formed naturally or built specifically for the purpose. Instead of a team of six, each team consists of only two players, but otherwise the rules are almost identical with some exceptions including:  The size of the court (16m x 8m)  The block counts as the first contact  The banning of the open-hand "dink" or "dump" plays where a player uses his or her finger tips to redirect the ball into the opponent's court instead of a hard spike. A dink may be performed with a closed hand or knuckle  Stricter rules around double-contacts during hand setting  The time limit for serve is 5 seconds  Games are usually played to 21 points, rather than 25 as common in indoor volleyball. The first team to win two sets wins the match. If a third deciding set is required, it is played to 15.  
The ball may touch any part of the body, but must be hit, not caught or thrown. In particular, in defensive action of a hard driven ball, the ball can be held momentarily overhand with the fingers. When receiving a ball from a hit that is not hard driven, the ball must be contacted "cleanly"—if a player receives the ball open-handed, the contact of each hand with the ball must be exactly simultaneous. In practice, this means that serves are never received open-handed. When receiving an opponent's hard-driven attack, a double contact (provided both contacts occur in a single action) and/or a slight lift of the ball is allowed. When employing an overhead pass as the second of three team touches (usually with the intent of "setting" the ball, so that the other player may make a more effective attack-hit), 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 during an overhand pass is less strict than in indoor games—it is legal to allow the ball to come to rest for a small period of time. Attack-hits using an "open-handed tip or dink" directing the ball with the fingers are illegal, as are attack-hits using an overhand pass to direct the ball on a trajectory not perpendicular to the line of the shoulders (overhand passes which accidentally cross over the net are an exception). These differences between the rules of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball strongly affect tactics and techniques. 
As in indoor volleyball, there are several basic skills competitive players need to master: serving, passing, setting, attacking, blocking, and digging. Serving is the act of putting the ball into play by striking it with the hand or arm from behind the rear court boundary. The skill is similar on the beach and indoors, with the exception that on the beach the wind often has a significant effect on the trajectory of the ball. The pass is the first of a team's 3 allowed contacts, and is also very similar on the beach and indoors. However, the standards for hand setting (handling the ball overhand using finger action with the hands separated) are stricter on the beach. In practice, this means that players are effectively forbidden from setting the ball on serve receive; similarly, players seldom use a hand setting motion as the first (except on a hard driven attack) or last of the three allowed team contacts. Digging is a similar skill to passing, but the term is not used to describe receiving the serve or a free ball, but rather refers to an attempt to prevent an opponent's attack hit from touching the court. The set is the second team contact, and its purpose is to position the ball for an attack on the third hit. A hand setting motion is often used, but bump setting, an underhand motion in which the ball bounces off the forearms, is also common. When using the hand motion contact for the setting the ball has to come out "clean". This means that the ball cannot spin at all in the air once it leaves the setters hands. If a referee determines that it was not a "clean" contact then they will call a double contact and the point will be given to the other team. After completing the contact, the setter typically turns his attention to the defense and communicates to his partner whether a blocker is up and which area of the court is open. The second contact can also be used to attack the ball. Attacking includes skills such as spiking—hitting the ball hard with one open hand on a downward trajectory from above the top of the net; rolling—a similar motion to spiking, but softer and with an arcing trajectory; and dinking—directing the ball very softly low over the net. Attack hits are also frequently made with a poking motion with the knuckles or stiff straight fingers. Blocking is an attempt to direct an attack hit by the opponents back into their court by reaching above the top of the net. Players often decide against blocking (if the pass and set are not in a good position to produce a spike attack) and instead opt to Peel off the net and dig. This peeling action is a skill almost exclusive to beach volleyball.
  Racquetball Courts  Indoor and Outdoor Pools  Outdoor Hot Tub  Outdoor Tennis courts  Bocce Ball Court  Volleyball Court  Indoor and outdoor restaurant  Marina for over 300 boats  
Rules and gameplay. Rule differences between beach and indoor. Beach volleyball is fundamentally similar to indoor volleyball: a team scores points by grounding the ball on the opponents' court, or when the opposing team commits a fault (error or illegal action); consecutive contacts must be made by different players. The major differences between beach and indoor volleyball are: Playing surface – sand rather than hard court The dimensions of the court are 16 by 8 meters, compared to 18 by 9 meters in the indoor game. The beach court has no "attack line", unlike the indoor court, which has such a line 3 meters from the net. Team size – two rather than six, with no substitutions allowed Scoring system – best of 3 sets played to 21 (15 for a deciding set) rather than best of 5 to 25 Overhand touches and tips – open-hand dinks are illegal  A block at the net counts as one of the three allowed touches in the beach game, but not in the indoor game Open-hand setting standards are different in the beach game –double hitting is called tighter but lifts are slightly more lenient Coaching during matches is not allowed There are no rotation errors on the beach – players may switch sides at will It is legal to cross under the net in beach volleyball as long as it does not interfere with opponents' play Teams switch ends of the court every seven points, rather than between sets There is no Libero in beach like there is in indoor The only similarity in the courts used in the two forms of volleyball is the net. In both versions, the height of the net is 2.43 meters for men and 2.24 meters for women. 