Player's Guide to Volleyball Australia Beach Volleyball All Ages 2025-2028

Under the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2025-2028:

• Both players of each team must always be in play, and there are no substitutions.
• The players are free to position themselves: there are no determined positions on the court and no positional order faults. At the moment the server hits the ball, each team must be within its own court (except the server).
• Only the service order is controlled. The captain sets it straight after the toss, and it must be kept throughout the set. When the receiving team gains the right to serve, its players "rotate" one position.
• A service order fault costs the team a point and service to the opponent.

Under the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2025-2028 (indoor figures are from the FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028):

In a beach set, a 20-20 tie continues until one team leads by two (22-20, 23-21 and so on).

Under the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2025-2028, teams switch sides after every 7 points played in sets 1 and 2, and after every 5 points played in the deciding third set.

During a switch the teams must change immediately without delay. If a switch is not made at the proper time, it takes place as soon as the error is noticed, and the score at that time stays the same.

At the start, the first referee runs the toss to decide the first service and the sides of the court. The toss winner chooses either to serve or receive, or the side of the court, and the loser takes the remaining choice. In the second set the loser of the first toss chooses first, and a new toss is held for the deciding set.

Under the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2025-2028:

• Each team may request a maximum of one time-out per set. The only regular game interruptions are time-outs, and there are no substitutions.
• Only the captain may request a time-out, using the hand signal when the ball is out of play and before the whistle for service.
• All requested time-outs last 30 seconds.
• For FIVB, World and Official Competitions, sets 1 and 2 have one additional 30-second technical time-out, applied automatically when the two teams' points add up to 21. There are no technical time-outs in the deciding third set, only one 30-second time-out per team.
• The interval between sets lasts one minute.

Under the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2025-2028:

• The server hits the ball with one hand or any part of the arm after tossing or releasing it, and only one toss or release is allowed.
• The server must hit the ball within 5 seconds after the first referee whistles for service. A service before the whistle is cancelled and repeated.
• At the moment of the service hit or take-off for a jump serve, the server must not touch the court (end line included) or the ground outside the service zone.
• Service order is set by the team captain straight after the toss and must be kept all set. After the first serve, the player who served keeps serving while the team wins rallies. When the receiving team wins a rally, the player who did not serve last time serves.
• Serving out of order costs a point and the service.
• Screening: a serving-team player must not stop the opponent seeing the service hit and the flight path of the ball, and must not raise hands above the head during service until the ball has passed beyond the net.

No. Under the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2025-2028, it is a fault if a player completes an attack hit using an open-handed finger action, or using finger tips that are not rigid and together.

Other rules on playing the ball in the same rulebook: each team has a maximum of three hits (a fourth is a fault); the ball may touch any part of the body but must not be caught or thrown; and at the first hit of the team, provided it is not made overhand with the fingers, consecutive contacts are permitted if they occur during one action. A double contact otherwise is a fault.

Under the FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2025-2028, all actions that direct the ball towards the opponent, except service and block, are attack hits. It is a fault if a player:

• Completes an attack hit using an overhand pass with a trajectory that is not perpendicular to the line of the shoulders. The exception is when the player is attempting to set to their teammate.
• Completes an attack hit on the opponent's service when the ball is entirely higher than the top of the net.

Separately, on the first hit of the team, if the ball is played overhand using the fingers, the ball may not contact the fingers or hands consecutively, even if the contacts occur during one action.

Volleyball Australia's tour website lists the 2027 Mahindra Australian Beach Volleyball Tour, running January to April 2027:

• Canberra, ACT: 22 to 24 January 2027
• Glenelg, SA: 12 to 14 February 2027
• Coolangatta, QLD (Mahindra Australian Championships): 12 to 14 March 2027
• Cobram, VIC: 9 to 11 April 2027

Event days run like this: team check-in and uniform collection from 1 hour before the first Friday match; Elite Division matches start between 9:00am and 11:00am; Challenger Division matches from about 8:00am; finals from about 8:00am to 4:00pm; medal presentations 4:00pm to 4:30pm after the last gold medal match.

Nominations are made through the Revolutionise platform (revolutionise.com.au/volleyballaustralia/events). The tour site also has entry fees, wildcard information and the Australian Beach Volleyball Ranking System (ABVRS) rankings at abvt.volleyball.org.au.