club sport BEACH/SAND VOLLEYBALL RULES  Revised 11/07 - 

1. MEN'S 4's: Teams must have a minimum of 2 players on the court for the entire game to avoid a forfeit. 2 of the players on the court must be from their roster. Any players picked up must be registered Club Sport volleyball participants for that season.
2. COED 4'S: Teams must have a minimum of 2 players on the court for the entire game to avoid a forfeit. If two players are on the court, 1 must be female. If three players are on the court, 1 must be female, but you may play with more. If four players are on the court, there must be at least 2 females. 1/2 of the players must be on the roster. Any players picked up must be registered Club Sport volleyball participants for that season.
3. COED 6'S: Teams must have 4 players on the court for the entire game to avoid a forfeit. To qualify their team, 1/2 of the players on the court must be from their roster. Teams may then pick up additional players (male or female) to field a team of 4,5, or 6, as long as the additional player(s) are registered Club Sport volleyball participants for that season. A minimum of 2 females are needed on the court to play. No more than 3 males may play at a time for a team.
4. All players, including players added during the season, must sign the roster waiver BEFORE the final game of the season in order to be eligible to play in the tournament. If a player is not signed in on the roster by then, they are not eligible for the tournament. Playing with ineligible players in the tournament may result in a forfeit. This call will be made by TBCS staff. Pickup players are NOT allowed in the tournament. ID may be required for tournament play if roster questions arise.   If your team is making a team payment, after the first week members may only add to the team for no charge by contacting the Club Sport office prior to game day. Any additions made at the field to rosters with team payments will be $10 a player, regardless of membership status.
5. Any team that picks up players forfeits 4 points to the opposing team, per game for each player picked up (i.e. 2 players added=8 points awarded per game).
6. Forfeit times are: 1st game --10 minutes after start time. 2nd game --10 minutes after 1st game. 
7. The referee will call forfeit times accordingly. Your team should be at the court by game time to avoid a forfeit. Refs will not look for teams. NOTE: If your team forfeits without prior notice twice within the season they may not be eligible to play in the playoffs!
8. If a player arrives late and is necessary to complete a full team, said player may rotate in by requesting a substitution. If the team is full, said player may rotate in on the serve.
9. Teams will be penalized points or serve for bad mouthing the ref or other unsportsmanlike conduct. Referees will explain in greater detail if the occasion occurs.
10. Match play will be best 2 out of 3 games. NEW SCORING RULE:  Games will be played RALLY SCORING. First 2 games to 21 points, winning by a 2-point advantage, and a cap of 25. If necessary a third game will be to 15, winning by 2, with a cap of 19. Rally scoring is where a point is won on every serve, regardless of which team served. On a third game teams will switch sides every 8 points.
11. Characteristics of Contact with the Ball:
    a) A player may touch the ball with any part of the body. 
    b) A player may have successive contacts with the ball during a single attempt to make the team's first contact provided the fingers are not used to direct the ball. 
    c) It is legal to receive a served ball using the fingers in a setting action, provided that there is not a double contact or a held ball. A double contact or held ball with the fingers in a setting action receiving the ball is illegal.
    d) The ball must be contacted cleanly and not held, lifted, pushed, caught, carried or thrown. The ball cannot roll or come to rest in any part of the body. It can rebound in any direction. 
    e) An exception shall be allowed during the defensive play of a hard-driven ball (an attack-hit or blocked ball traveling at a high rate of speed), as judged by the referee. In that case, the ball may be momentarily lifted or pushed. 
    f) A contact of the ball using the fingers (setting action) of one or two hands to direct the ball toward a teammate is a set. A player may set the ball in any direction toward his/her court. 
    g) Rotation of a set ball may indicate a held ball or multiple contacts during he set, but in itself is not a fault. 
    h)  When contacting the ball with one hand, other than for setting the ball to a teammate, the ball must be cleanly hit with the heel or palm of the hand (a roll shot), with straight, locked fingertips (a cobra), knurled fingers (a camel toe) or with the back of the hand from the wrist to the knuckles. One-handed placement or redirection of the ball with the fingers (a dink or open-hand tip) is a fault.
12. LET SERVES ARE LEGAL. Any served ball that contacts the net and continues over is considered a live and legal serve.
13. Under the Net Violations will not be called as long as you do not interfere with anyone on the opposite side of the net.
14. Rec 6's ONLY - if the ball is hit 2 or 3 times a female must have one of those hits.
15. Service Foot Faults will be called in all levels. The server must contact the ball within five seconds after the referee authorizes service.
16. Two (2) 30-second time outs per game are allowed. Weeknight Leagues- One (1) 30-second timeout will be allowed.  A time out must be called before the service has been authorized.
17. When in doubt, outdoor USAV/AVA rules will be enforced. If there are any questions or concerns please have your team captain or team representative speak with the official directly. Your referees will be happy to answer any questions or explain any rules to your team.
18. Serve will be determined for the first game based on a "odd-even" call by a team. During playoffs the team with the higher seed will get choice in first game of serve or side. If seedings are not known, then "odd-even" will be used.
19. Tournament Seedings. If a team plays 8 games, their 8th game will not count toward the standings.  Seeding for the tournament will be based on the following criteria: 1) winning percentage, 2) head-to-head play (if any), 3) most total games won, 4) fewest total games lost, 5) record vs. common opponents, 6) coin toss.