Tournament Rules - Warriors Beach Volleyball Tournament

Rule Number One

The Warriors Way

This is a community tournament first and a competition second. Play hard, be kind, and make sure the person across the net has as much fun as you do. Everything below follows the same standards Volleyball Australia and Volleyball Queensland expect at their events.

Respect everyone

Opponents, teammates, organisers and spectators. We are all volunteers and community members. Thank the other team after every match.

Every level belongs

From first-timers to seasoned spikers, everyone gets to play. Celebrate good rallies on both sides of the net.

Call your own faults

Matches are self-refereed. If you touch the net or the ball clips you on the way out, own it. Honesty keeps the game fun for everyone.

Keep it clean

No abusive language, sledging or aggressive behaviour towards anyone, on or off the court. Banter is welcome; disrespect is not.

Look after the venue

Respect Sandstorm Beach Club staff, equipment and house rules. Leave your court and the surrounds cleaner than you found them.

Play sun smart

Sunscreen, hats, sunnies and water. Warm up before your first match and look out for each other in the heat.

Zero tolerance: discrimination, harassment, abuse or intoxication has no place at a Warriors event. Anyone under the influence of alcohol or other drugs will not be allowed on court. One warning at most; serious or repeated behaviour means removal from the tournament without refund.

Both Formats

General Rules

1 All matches follow the FIVB Beach Volleyball Rules as adopted by Volleyball Australia, with the social adaptations listed on this page.
2 Court size is 16 x 8 metres for both formats. Net heights are set by the organisers before the first match for each division.
3 Rally scoring applies: a point is scored on every rally, whichever team served.
4 Sets are played on time rather than to a target score: each set is 8 minutes long, and the team with the higher score when time is called wins the set. If the score is level, the very next rally decides the set (golden point).
5 A match is the best of 3 sets: the first team to win 2 sets wins the match, and the third set is only played at one set all.
6 Teams switch ends between sets, with a 30 second break, so no team is stuck with the sun or wind all match.
7 Keep the day on schedule: there are no timeouts, and there is 1 minute between matches, so be warmed up and ready on your court.
8 Each draw runs as a round robin: you play every other team in your pool (a draw may be split into pools depending on entries). Standings award 3 points for a match win and 0 for a loss (golden point means no set is ever drawn). Ties in the standings are broken by two factors: set difference first, then point difference.
9 A team has up to 3 touches to return the ball. A block touch counts as one of those 3 touches; this is standard beach volleyball and differs from indoor.
10 Serve from anywhere behind your end line. Underarm and overarm serves are both fine. A serve that clips the net and goes over (a let serve) is live: play on.
11 You may not block or attack the opponent's serve while the ball is entirely above net height.
12 Open hand tips (dinks) are not allowed. Use a closed hand, knuckles (poke shot) or a roll shot instead.
13 Hand setting is allowed on any touch, but the ball must be set cleanly. In the spirit of a social tournament, only clear lifts, throws and obvious double contacts will be called.
14 Touching the net between the antennae during a play on the ball is a fault. Crossing under the net is allowed only if it does not interfere with the other team.
15 The lines are part of the court: a ball landing on the line is in.

Pick Your Battle

Format Rules

You can enter one format or both. Each format runs its own draw.

👥

Team of 4 (4v4)

The social favourite

4 players on court. Squads may register up to 6 players; substitutes rotate in at the serving position so everyone gets court time.
Teams can be any mix of genders unless separate divisions are announced on the day.
Set your service order at the start of the set and keep it for the whole set. Serving out of order loses the rally.
There are no fixed positions apart from the service order: any player may attack, block or defend from anywhere.
If a final is played to points instead of time, teams switch ends when the leading team reaches 11 points (8 points in any deciding set), following the official FIVB 4v4 rules.
A team may start and finish a match with a minimum of 3 players if someone is injured or unavailable.

🤝

Doubles (2v2)

The classic beach format

2 players per team, no substitutes. If a player cannot continue, the team forfeits the remaining matches (the organisers may approve a replacement in the social spirit of the day).
The two players alternate serves each time their team wins back the serve. There are no other rotation or positional rules.
If a final is played to points instead of time, teams switch ends every 7 points (every 5 points in a set to 15), following the official FIVB beach volleyball rules.
Hand setting is judged a little more strictly than in 4v4, in line with normal beach doubles play. A double contact is allowed on the first team touch when defending a hard driven ball.
Both players may serve, attack and block; there are no specialist roles.

Cheat Sheet

Common Faults

If any of these happen, the rally ends and the other team wins the point.

Four touches (the block counts as a touch)

Two consecutive touches by the same player (except after a block, or on a hard driven ball)

Lift, throw or carried ball

Open hand tip over the net

Touching the net during a play on the ball

Foot on or over the end line when serving

Blocking or attacking the serve above net height

Serving out of order

Reaching over the net (except when blocking after the opponent's attack, or following through after your own attack)

Keep It Friendly

Disagreements on a Call

Talk it out at the net. Most calls are resolved in ten seconds with a bit of goodwill.

No agreement? Replay the point. A replayed rally is always fairer than an argument.

Still stuck, or a repeat issue? Call a tournament organiser. Their decision is final.

If the score is ever in doubt, go back to the last score both teams agree on and continue from there.

The Fine Print

These rules are a social adaptation of the official rulebooks used across Australian beach volleyball. Where this page is silent, the official rules apply; where they differ, this page wins for our tournament. Our conduct standards follow the spirit of the Volleyball Queensland code of conduct and the National Integrity Framework.

FIVB 4v4 Beach Volleyball Rules · Volleyball Australia Referee Resources · Volleyball Queensland Policies

Spots are limited by court space. See you on the sand.